NAB 2012: Sonnet Products Preview

2012 NAB Show Preview
Sonnet Technologies

Booth SL8713

Website: www.sonnettech.com

Sonnet Technologies Inc. provides storage systems and media readers for professional users of Macintosh, Windows and UNIX systems in the film, video and broadcast industries.

Xmac mini Server 1U Rackmount PCIe 2.0 Expansion System With Thunderbolt Ports
Sonnet’s Xmac mini Server (previously known as RackMac mini Xserver) 1U rackmount PCIe 2.0 expansion system with two Thunderbolt Ports mounts a Mac mini inside a specially designed enclosure that also contains two x16 (x4 mode) PCIe 2.0 slots, a 150W power supply and an installed Gigabit Ethernet card. This system lets users plug in two PCIe 2.0 adapter cards (one half-length and one full-length) to slots connected to the Mac mini via locking Thunderbolt cables while allowing the connection of additional Thunderbolt peripherals to the daisy-chain Thunderbolt port.

Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis
The Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis with Thunderbolt Ports lets users plug in high-performance PCI Express 2.0 adapter cards to any computer with a Thunderbolt port. Professional video capture, digital audio, 8Gb Fibre Channel, 10Gb Ethernet, and RAID controller cards are examples of the PCIe adapters that may be used.

Available in two sizes, the standard Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis supports one half-length, single- or double-width, x16 (x4 mode) PCIe 2.0 card while the XL model supports two single-width, full-length cards, or one double-width, full-length card. Both have integrated universal power supplies, fans to cool the cards, and two Thunderbolt ports to support daisy-chaining up to six devices to the host computer.

Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter
The Sonnet Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter adds an ExpressCard/34 slot to any computer to which it’s connected, extending Thunderbolt technology-equipped Macs’ capabilities like never before. The adapter enables users of the latest iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models with Thunderbolt ports to seamlessly connect compatible ExpressCard/34 cards from Sonnet and other manufacturers. ExpressCard/34 adapters offer users additional connectivity and functionality beyond what is available through their computers’ stock configuration.

Qio CF4 Professional CompactFlash® Media Reader
Sonnet’s Qio CF4 continues the Qio family tradition of offering a cost-effective, high-speed alternative to ordinary card readers for videographers and studios alike. The CF4 is the first four-slot CompactFlash (CF) memory card reader available, and it includes an integrated two-port 6 Gb/s eSATA interface for connecting external storage systems.

The Qio CF4 increases users’ efficiency, providing the ability to transfer data concurrently from four CF cards (used with professional HD camcorders from RED and Canon and DSLR cameras from Canon and Nikon) with an aggregate ingest speed up to 400 MB/sec. (desktops, 200 MB/sec. with notebook computers). Mac OS X- and Windows-compatible, the Qio CF4 connects to a computer through an included ExpressCard/34 or PCIe 2.0 interface adapter card.

Qio E3 professional SxS Media Reader
Sonnet’s Qio E3 is a cost-effective, high-speed alternative to ordinary card readers for videographers and studios alike that rely upon SxS media workflows. The E3 is the first three-slot SxS memory card reader available. It includes an integrated two-port 6 Gb/s eSATA interface for connecting external storage systems and doubles as a bus expansion system for ExpressCard/34 adapter cards.

The Qio E3 provides the ability to transfer data concurrently from three SxS cards for Sony XDCAM EX professional HD camcorders with an aggregate ingest speed up to 400 MB/sec. (desktops, 200 MB/sec. with notebook computers), increasing users’ efficiency. Mac OS X- and Windows-compatible, the Qio E3 connects to a computer through an included ExpressCard/34 or PCIe 2.0 interface adapter card.

Qio MR – PC-Compatible
Sonnet’s Qio MR is the industry’s first compact mobile, rack-mounted device to support all major HD video memory card formats, providing a convenient high-speed alternative to stand-alone card readers for videographers and studios alike. Like the original Qio, which is now PC-compatible, the MR supports SxS, CompactFlash, P2 and SDXC (with included SDXC adapter) media, with two slots for each (SDXC shared with SxS) and the ability to transfer data from all cards concurrently.

Qio MR delivers the original Qio’s capabilities and advantages that Mac users have come to appreciate in an easy-to-install Windows-compatible package, as well as the ability to reads files from any combination of cards with aggregate bandwidth up to 200 MB/sec. The Qio MR connects through an included internal PCIe interface adapter card.

Fusion RX1600 Vfibre Video Editing SAN Server
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 with up to 16 ports for 8Gb Fibre Channel client connections, plus a 10Gb Ethernet interface.

The Fusion RX1600 Vfibre includes a metadata controller, Tiger Technologies’ metaSAN server software, redundant and hot-swappable storage, power supplies, fans, and server control drives out of the box. This video editing SAN server offers heterogeneous operating system support for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux users and easy expandability to up to 384TB of storage — all backed by Sonnet’s five-year pro storage warranty.

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