Thunderbolt Devices for Video Professional
With the introduction of the new ‘trash can’ Mac Pro there have been many questions from the professional user. How do I connect my devices? Thunderbolt will now be the main gateway to all hardware not already built into the Mac system. In this article we will be covering the main thunderbolt devices you will need to be connected to the future.
Thunderbolt 2.0
One of the most interesting additions to the Mac Pro is Thunderbolt 2.0. Apple says, “Thunderbolt 2 delivers throughput, providing up to 20Gb/s of bandwidth to each external device. You can connect massive amounts of storage, add a PCI expansion chassis, and work with the latest external displays – including 4k desktop displays and peripheral devices capable of broadcast monitoring in 4K.” While the overall transfer rate remains the same, Thunderbolt 2 combines four 10Gbps channel into two 20Gbps bi-directional channels.
Apple fails to mention internal expandability, needs by most video professional, has been removed – forcing all devices to connect via USB 3.0 (4 total), and Thunderbolt 2.0 (6 total). Mac Pro users most popular peripherals (ie hard drives, bluray drives, and graphics cards) must now connect externally via Thunderbolt.
Thunderbolt Devices Video Professionals May need to Buy:
1/ Capture and Playback
AJA IO XT - Turn your Thunderbolt™ - enabled Mac or PC into a professional editing station for HD and SD 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 workflows.
AJA IO 4K - Io 4K is the next evolution of capture and output hardware offering a full set of professional video and audio connectivity with support for the latest 4K and UltraHD devices and High Frame Rate workflows. The power of Thunderbolt 2 enables Io 4K to handle a wide range of formats from SD to HD, UHD and full 4K over both SDI and HDMI and support 4K frame rates up to 50p/60p.
Blackmagic Ultrastudio 4K - Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 capture and playback, Dual Link 6G-SDI, HDMI, Analog, 4:4:4, 3D, compatible with SD, HD, Ultra HD and 4K.
2/ PCIe, SAS, and Fibre Expansion
Atto Thunderlink SH - The ATTO ThunderLink SH 1068 acts as an external Thunderbolt to SAS/SATA adapter, connecting all-in-one systems and laptops to 6Gb/s SAS/SATA storage devices. 6Gb/s SAS Desklink devices are designed to provide flexible connectivity to SAS/SATA storage, and are engineered to manage latency for real-time environments.
Atto Thunderlink NT - The ATTO ThunderLink NT 1102 acts as an external Thunderbolt to 10GBASE-T adapter, connecting all-in-one systems and laptops to 10Gb/s Ethernet storage devices. ThunderLink 10GbE, with support for link aggregation and failover, offer redundancy and high availability for critical network applications. With 10Gb/s data transfer rates and multiple offloads (TCP, IPv4, UDP), Ethernet Desklink devices are the premier connectivity choice for bandwidth-intensive applications such as data back-up and restoration, clustered computing, IP content delivery, medical imaging, and video rendering. With multi-core processors driving the need for higher bandwidth, ThunderLink 10GbE delivers superior throughput to meet that need.
Atto Thunderlink FC - The ATTO ThunderLink FC 1082 acts as an external Thunderbolt to Fibre Channel adapter, connecting all-in-one systems and laptops to 8Gb/s Fibre Channel storage devices. With dual channel configurations, the 8Gb/s Fibre Channel Desklink device is an ideal solution for users looking to achieve the highest I/O and data throughput for advanced video and access to IT applications.
AJA T-Tap - Get 10-bit SD, HD and 2K output from any Thunderbolt™ enabled Mac or PC.
Blackmagic Mini Monitor - Ultra small pocket sized Thunderbolt powered playback for SDI and HDMI.
Blackmagic Mini Recorder - Ultra small pocket sized Thunderbolt powered recording from SDI and HDMI.
4/ Storage
There are many thunderbolt solutions out there from LaCie, Promise and Areca just to name a few. They come in all shapes and sizes and with different levels of redundancy. Give us a call on 02 9431 6000 to discuss further.