Sonnet Technologies at 2013 BVE

Echo™ Express Thunderbolt™ Expansion Family for PCI Express® Cards
Sonnet's award-winning Echo™ Express family of Thunderbolt™-to-PCI Express® (PCIe®) expansion chassis enables the use of a wide variety of high-performance PCIe cards — originally designed for use in desktop computers — with any computer equipped with a Thunderbolt port.

On display at BVE 2013 will be several Echo Express chassis-based workflow solutions featuring pro cards from Avid®, Blackmagic Design, Red Digital Cinema, RME, Universal Audio, and Sonnet. The Echo Express Pro, which supports two standard-width, full-length x16 PCIe 2.0 cards, or one double-width, full-length card, now provides an auxiliary power connector and compatibility with Avid Pro Tools®|HDX PCIe cards. The newest member of the line is the Echo Express II, which support two half-length (up to 7.25 inches long), full-height, single-width PCIe 2.0 x16 cards. Also featured is the Echo Express SE, a value-priced model that is light and compact, supporting a single half-length (up to 6.6 inches long), full-height, single-width PCIe 2.0 x8 card. All Echo Express systems enable the use of compatible full-size professional video capture, audio interface, 8Gb Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, SAS and SATA HBA and RAID controller cards with iMac®, Mac® mini, MacBook Air®, or MacBook Pro® computers. Plus, all Echo Express chassis feature dual Thunderbolt ports to support daisy-chaining of devices.

xMac™ mini Server
Sonnet's award-winning xMac™ mini Server securely mounts a Mac® mini inside a specially designed 1U rackmount enclosure and connects two PCI Express® (PCIe®) 2.0 slots — with a 100W power supply for installed cards — to enable users to harness the power of full-size pro video capture and processing, digital audio interface, DSP accelerator, FireWire®, and RAID controller cards. Temperature-controlled fans deliver strategic airflow to cool the enclosure that fits easily into any 19-inch or deeper rack.

Two Thunderbolt™ ports — one to connect the PCIe slots to the Mac mini and a second for daisy-chaining other Thunderbolt devices — are included. A USB 3.0 port and a power button on the front panel allow operation of the system without requiring access to the back of the computer. Panel-mount HDMI®, Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB 3.0 cables are included to connect the ports on the back of the Mac mini to ports on the back of the xMac mini Server for convenient external connection. One Thunderbolt cable is also included. On display at BVE 2013 will be an xMac mini Server with a Blackmagic Design Decklink Quad video capture and playback card installed, with additional Thunderbolt adapters daisy-chained to the xMac mini Server.

Qio™ Family of Media Readers/Writers
Sonnet will feature its Qio™ line of desktop and portable professional, high-speed media readers/writers. The Qio is the industry's first universal device that supports all major HD video memory card formats in one compact high-performance device, reading from and writing to just about any memory card — SxS, P2, CompactFlash®, SDHC™ and SDXC™ — all at high speed.

Also highlighted at BVE 2013 will be the Qio CF4, the first four-slot CompactFlash (CF) memory card reader supporting concurrent file ingest from all four slots. Sonnet will demonstrate at BVE 2013 a new Thunderbolt interface option for the Qio, Qio CF4, and Qio E3 (an SxS card reader) that enables the use of these products with any computer with a Thunderbolt port, including the iMac®, Mac® mini, MacBook Air®, and MacBook Pro® computers. In addition, Sonnet will display the Qio MR, the industry's first compact mobile rack-mounted device for PCs to support all major HD video memory card formats, with the ability to transfer data from all cards concurrently. The Qio MR provides a convenient and high-speed alternative to stand-alone card readers and various adapters for videographers and studios alike.

Tempo™ SSD and Tempo SSD Pro High-Performance 6Gb/s PCIe 2.5-Inch SSD Cards
The Tempo™ SSD and Tempo SSD Pro are PCI Express® (PCIe®) 2.0 SATA cards to which one or two solid-state drives (SSDs) can be directly attached, with the assembly installing neatly into a single PCIe slot without requiring cables or drivers. Unlike other PCIe SSD cards, the Tempo SSD Pro and Tempo SSD utilize widely available 2.5-inch SATA SSDs (sold separately), giving users great flexibility in selecting the SSD capacity and performance that best suit their needs and budget, as well as the option to upgrade easily as required. Both cards have been updated to support booting in Mac Pro® (Early 2008 and newer) computers. The Tempo SSD features a unique modular design, allowing the card to be used in a half-length or full-length card configuration, with one or two SSDs, respectively. This card supports read speeds up to 660 MB/s. The full-length Tempo SSD Pro features a high-performance 6 Gb/s SATA controller and supports read speeds up to 960 MB/s.

Sonnet Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of storage systems, Thunderbolt™ technology PCIe® expansion products, interface cards, and media readers for professional users in the audio, video, and broadcast industries. Sonnet's Thunderbolt expansion products enable the use of pro audio I/O and DSP cards, pro video capture and transcoding cards, interface cards, and other high-performance PCIe cards with mini, portable, and all-in-one computers. The company's product line features a range of high-performance, cost-effective, and reliable portable, desktop, and rackmount RAID storage solutions. For more than 25 years Sonnet has pioneered and brought to market numerous innovative and award-winning products that enhance the performance and connectivity of Mac®, Windows®, and other industry-standard computers.