NAB: Western Digital G-Technology G-DRIVE and G-SPEED Shuttle SSD Storage Systems

Western Digital Corporation (WDC) is meeting the fast-transfer and high-capacity demands of professional content creators by enabling real-time 4K and 8K workflows with three professional-grade fast solutions in its G-Technology G-DRIVE and G-SPEED Shuttle product families.

Working with large 4K and 8K RAW video means massive file sizes and is undoubtedly one of the largest pain points for content editors. With new cameras capable of capturing over 400MB/s of RAW data, there is an opportunity for content professionals to create high-resolution footage and ever-more immersive viewer experiences. It is not uncommon for a production crew to be on-location for two or three months recording three to four terabytes per day of footage from multiple cameras. With this expansion of data capture, comes a potential bottleneck in maintaining a real-time workflow on location – until now.

“Saving time means getting more done, which means booking more jobs over the course of a year,” said Scott Vouri, VP, strategy and business development, WDC “Creative professionals need to know that their drives will keep up with the growing demands of their workflows. To capitalize on these opportunities, the right tools are crucial. When working in the field, production teams need a fast solution that can handle demanding workflows of 4K and 8K content with the ability to quickly collect that valuable footage and be able to edit on the spot. With the power of Thunderbolt 3, and transfer rates up to 2,800MB/s, the new G-Technology Pro SSDs offer an ultra-fast, super-reliable solution for any creative project team.“

G-DRIVE Mobile Pro SSD

With storage running at 2,800MB/s, the G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD (up to 1TB of capacity) lets edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate, quickly render projects and experience them at full resolution, and transfer as much as a terabyte of media in seven minutes or less (for capacities 1TB or larger) wherever you are. A durable, shock-resistant design uses specially engineered components to endure traveling, while a single Thunderbolt 3 port lets instantly edit footage on the go with speed without the need for wall power. An aluminum core prevents overheating and maintains a consistent performance, and with a 5-year limited warranty, you get durable, fast solutins. The G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD solution with Thunderbolt 3 is available in the U.S. summer of 2018 in capacities of 500GB ($659.95) and 1TB ($1,049.95).

G-DRIVE Pro SSD

Equipped with fast transfer rates of up to 2,800MB/s, the G-DRIVE Pro SSD solution (up to 7.68TB of capacity) with Thunderbolt 3 technology enables a filmmaker to edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate, quickly render projects and experience them at full resolution, and transfer as much as a terabyte of content in seven minutes or less (for capacities 1TB or larger). Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports are ready to daisy-chain up to five additional devices, while a stackable, rugged aluminum enclosure offers a durable way to help keep your workplace tidy. Combined with enterprise solid state drives, an endurance rating of one drive write per day (DW/D) endurance rating, and a trusted five-year limited warranty, the G-DRIVE Pro SSD delivers reliable, performance desktop storage. The G-DRIVE Pro SSD solution with Thunderbolt 3 is available in the U.S. May of 2018 in capacities of 960GB ($1,399.95), 1.92TB ($2,099.95), 3.84TB ($4,099.95) and 7.68TB ($7,599.95).

G-SPEED Shuttle SSD

With up to 16TB of SSD capacity, the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD with Thunderbolt 3 is optimized to support multi-stream HD, 4K, 8K, VR and VFX workflows. Equipped with transfer rates up to 2,800MB/s, hardware RAID-0, 1, 5, 10, 50, and eight removable SSDs pre-loaded and configured in RAID-5, it is built for demanding production workflows. The G-SPEED Shuttle SSD is available in the U.S. this month in capacities of 8TB ($5,099.95) and 16TB ($7,599.95).

^(*) Backward compatible with Thunderbolt 2 using Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter
^(**) Based on read speed.
⁽¹⁾ As used for transfer rate, MB/s = one million bytes per second. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software components and configurations.