NAB: ProGrade Digital Unveils CFexpress 1.0 Type B Up to 1TB Cards and Readers

ProGrade Digital, Inc. announces broader sampling of its CFexpress 1.0 Type B cards.

First demonstrated by the company in April 2018 at the NAB inLas Vegas, NV, CFexpress 1.0 offers next gen memory card performance by leveraging PCIe, Gen 3 interconnect with NVMe host controller interface. The company’s CFexpress cards provide read speeds up-to 1,600MB/s, and burst write speeds up to 1,400MB/s. Two performance levels are available: Cobalt label: delivers minimum sustained write speed of 1,300MB/s; Gold label: delivers minimum sustained write speeds of between 150MB/s and 400MB/s depending on card capacity.

Evaluation samples of the firm’s CFexpress cards and readers are available to qualified partners by completing an evaluation form. Once qualified by the company, sample purchases can be made through the company’s ecommerce site. The firm’s cards and readers will be available for purchase by the general public as soon as firmware for existing compatible cameras is updated or when new devices are introduced into the market.

PG-05 reader

“Having demonstrated the capabilities with CFexpress early last year, ProGrade Digital is pleased to invite development partners globally to evaluate this new card standard for use with their next generation products,” said Wes Brewer, founder and CEO, ProGrade Digital. “The CFexpress form factor provides extremely fast data read and write speeds with very low latency, which makes it ideal for imaging, as well as a range of industrial, computational and enterprise applications. Our new CFexpress high speed USB 3.1, Gen 2 reader, adds immediate access of high-speed data transfers from camera to any workstation utilizing commonly available USB ports. Through our new sampling program, plus our ongoing work with imaging industry leaders, ProGrade Digital continues to advance the market adoption of this important new standard for removable storage.“

Company’s CFexpress portfolio:

• CFexpress Cobalt

  • • Maximum read speed 1,600MB/s

    • Burst write speed 1,400MB/s

    • Minimum sustained write speed 1,300MB/s

    • Capacities: 325, and 650GB

• CFexpress Gold

  • • Maximum read speed 1,600MB/s

    • Burst write speed 600MB/s – 1,000MB/s

    • Minimum sustained write speed 150MB/s – 400MB/s

    • Capacities: 120, 256, 512GB, and 1TB

CFexpress 1.0 Cobalt and Gold both deliver:

• Compliant with CompactFlash Association 1.0 specification

• NVMe host interface with PCIe Gen3 X2 interconnect

• Extended battery life and low standby power through NVMe PS0 – PS4 support

• XQD host interoperable with firmware support

• Metal enclosure for improved durability and heat dissipation

• Thermal throttling protects card from overheating

• Optimized controllers specifically designed for use in professional-grade motion and still capture cameras

• Serialized tracking of every card enabling identification of key components and manufacturing data for the highest quality control

• 100% testing down to individual memory chips

• X-ray proof, shock-proof

• Temperature ranges: operating 14°F to 158°F/-10°C to 70°C; storage -4°F to 185°F/-20°C to 85°C

• Dimensions: 29.6×38.5×3.8mm

• 3-year warranty

The CFexpress form factor is forecasted to gain broad industry adoption starting in 2019 due to its backward compatibility with XQD, and its open industry standard support from major device manufacturers.