Sonnet Showcases Thunderbolt Products

At IBC2011, Sonnet Technologies will showcase Thunderbolt technology products and several products that cater to the needs of AV professionals in the broadcast and post-production industries.

Sonnet’s offerings will include Thunderbolt-enabled RAID storage and the Echo Express PCIe 2.0 expansion chassis for Thunderbolt, which enables the use of special-purpose PCIe cards (such as full size video capture cards, 8Gb FC cards, 10Gb Ethernet cards and more) with Thunderbolt equipped computers. Also featured will be the Fusion RX1600 Vfibre high-performance workgroup shared storage system, which offers a built-in SAN controller, up to 16 onboard 8Gb Fiber Channel ports and 10Gb Ethernet connectivity out of the box.

Fusion F2-SSD Portable Two-SSD RAID Storage System
Debuting at IBC2011, Sonnet’s diminutive Fusion F2-SSD two-SSD RAID storage system betters the performance of its predecessor, the Fusion F2. Mounting two 2.5-inch, 256MB SSDs side by side in an aluminum enclosure about the size of two stacked CD cases, this silent-running compact system offers editors performance in the field and on location. With its included 2-port 6Gb/s eSATA controller card, the Fusion F2-SSD delivers up to 385 MB/s sustained read speeds, and can be bus-powered via a FireWire power cable.

DIO Pro CompactFlash and SDXC Media Reader
Also showcasing for the first time at IBC2011, Sonnet’s DIO pro CompactFlash and SDXC media reader transfers files from CompactFlash, SDXC, and SDHC media. With one slot each for CF and SD media, this compact media reader uses a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface to transmit data at maximum speeds supported by today’s media, with higher speeds supported as faster, next-generation cards become available. This Sonnet pro media reader is compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP; and with Sonnet’s Mac OS X compatible Allegro USB 3.0 PCIe and USB 3.0 ExpressCard/34 adapters.

Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis
With Thunderbolt Ports
Making its first European debut, Sonnet’s Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis enables users to plug in PCI Express 2.0 adapter cards to any computer with a Thunderbolt port. Adapters such as professional video capture cards, 8Gb FC Cards, 10GbE cards, and RAID controller cards are examples of the adapters that may be used. Available in two sizes, the standard Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis with Thunderbolt ports supports one half-length, double-width, x16 (x4 mode), PCIe 2.0 card, while the XL model supports one full-length card; both models have integrated universal power supplies and fans to cool the card. The standard model includes a built-in 75W power supply, while the XL model includes an integrated 150W power supply with a supplemental 75W PCIe power connector. Two Thunderbolt ports support daisy chaining of up to six devices to a single port on the host computer.

Fusion D800TBR5 8-Drive RAID 5 Storage
Featuring Thunderbolt Technology

Making its first European debut, Sonnet’s Fusion D800TBR5 8-drive RAID 5 desktop storage system featuring Thunderbolt technology includes an internal RAID controller that supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and JBOD. Drive configuration is managed through a simple-to-use application. Available in 8, 16, or 24TB configurations, Fusion D800TBR5 is suited for high-definition video editing. Enhanced with a large cache and latency management technology, this system achieves high-speed data transfers, fast enough to handle a single stream of uncompressed 10-bit 1080 4:4:4 HD, or multiple streams of ProRes 422, uncompressed 8-bit 1080 HD, DV, HDV, and DVCPRO video. Fusion D800TBR5 is backed by Sonnet’s five-year pro storage warranty. The storage system is equipped with two Thunderbolt ports to support daisy chaining of up to six devices to a single port on the host computer.

Fusion RX1600 Vfibre
Video Editing Shared Storage System
Available in 16TB, 32TB, or 48TB configurations to start, the Fusion RX1600 Vfibre delivers amazing data throughput for video editing workgroups. Capable of supporting 4K workflows, this system delivers more streams to more users through its up to 16-port 8Gb Fibre Channel client connections plus a 10GbE interface. The Fusion RX1600 Vfibre includes a metadata controller, Tiger Technology‘ metaSAN server software, redundant and hot swappable storage, power supplies, fans and server control drives out of the box. This video editing shared storage system offers heterogeneous operating system support for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux users, easy expandability to up to 384TB of storage, and is backed by Sonnet’s five-year pro storage warranty.

Qio Professional Universal Media Reader/Writers Plus
eSATA Host Controller
Sonnet’s Qio professional universal media reader/writer plus eSATA host controller has gained a place in the gear bags and on the edit consoles of many Mac computer-using editors. With its support for P2, SxS, CompactFlash, SDHC and SDXC media, ExpressCard/34 and CardBus adapters, plus SATA storage systems with an eSATA interface, this Sonnet pro tool replaces multiple card readers and separate host controller cards to improve video editing workflows. This year, Sonnet adds Windows support to the original Qio. Sonnet will also show its previously announced Qio MR for Windows PCs, and the Qio E3 professional SxS media reader plus eSATA host controller.

"At IBC2011, we will be demonstrating several innovative solutions for the broadcast market that dramatically improve workflow efficiency and cut costs. During the show, we’re looking forward to demonstrating the new Thunderbolt technology and how it is being used to dramatically improve Sonnet’s Fusion product line," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies.