Sonnet Shipping Qio MR Pro Media Reader ($999)

Sonnet Technologies Inc. announced that its Qio MR professional universal media reader for Windows PCs is shipping and available for purchase.

Qio MR is a compact, mobile rackmounted device to support all major HD video memory card formats, providing an alternative to stand-alone card readers and various adapters for videographers and studios alike. Along with the release of this product, Sonnet is announcing that all Qio models now shipping are both Mac and Windows compatible, and that new software is available to update original desktop Qio models to work with Windows desktop PCs and laptop computers equipped with an ExpressCard slot.

The Qio MR supports the HD video memory card formats including Sony SxS, CompactFlash, Panasonic P2, and SDXC (with included SDXC adapter), and is able to transfer data from all cards concurrently. Connecting through the computer’s PCIe bus, it reads files from any combination of cards with aggregate bandwidth up to 200 MB/sec., which is much faster than USB 2.0 or FireWire adapters are capable of delivering. Designed for in-studio use, the Qio MR takes up one standard 5.25-inch drive bay in desktop and tower PC cases, and its included low-profile interface adapter card uses one PCIe x1 slot.

"For Windows desktop PC users, Qio MR provides the capabilities and advantages of the original Qio desktop reader that users have come to appreciate, in an easy-to-install model that mounts in a PC’s expansion bay," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "Studios utilizing multiple cameras and card formats will immediately benefit from a more efficient workflow, using this product instead of multiple devices to read the various cards. With a PCIe interface for speedy data transfers, ingest speeds are faster and efficiency is dramatically improved."

Compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista , Windows Server  2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008, Qio MR is available at a suggested retail price of $999.

Owners of the original Qio may now download at no charge a firmware update to enable the use of their previously Mac-only pro media reader on a Windows computer.