Sonnet Demos Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis

Sonnet Technologies Inc. participated in a demonstration with Red Digital Cinema, Inc. at IBC2011 of its Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis working with the RED Rocket playback and transcoding card.

The new Echo Express expansion chassis enables the use of PCIe expansion cards – designed for desktop computers – with computers equipped with Thunderbolt ports, including the latest Apple MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini systems.

The RED Rocket card delivers real-time 4K RGB video playback and real-time transcoding of R3D files generated by RED Digital Cinema’s line of professional high-resolution digital motion picture cameras. In the demonstration, RED installed the RED Rocket card into the Echo Express chassis and connected it via a Thunderbolt cable to a MacBook Pro to decode and edit RED footage at high resolution without dropped frames. In the past, achieving this level of performance and functionality in a portable package required a desktop computer, monitor, and large storage system.

"The ability to combine the versatility of a MacBook Pro, the speed of fast external storage, and the power of the RED Rocket in a portable package really is the holy grail for many on-set data technicians working on RED jobs day in and day out on big movies, TV shows, and commercials. Until now, they would have to set up a Mac tower with some hefty Fibre or SAS storage to get the kind of performance needed for the data copying and file preparation on these types of projects," said Ted Schilowitz at RED Digital Cinema. "Now, all it takes is a new MacBook Pro, some portable Thunderbolt storage, and a RED Rocket installed in the small, lightweight Thunderbolt expansion chassis from Sonnet."

The Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis contains one x16 (x4 mode) PCIe 2.0 slot, an integrated universal 75W power supply, and two Thunderbolt ports. This system enables users to connect one PCIe 2.0 adapter card to a computer via a Thunderbolt cable, while allowing the connection of additional Thunderbolt peripherals to the daisy chain Thunderbolt port, including displays.

The RED Rocket is an tool for the cinematographers and videographers working with RED ONE and RED EPIC cameras on a daily basis. The card reduces the time necessary to get the footage to post production, delivering real-time conversion of raw 4K to other formats used in post.

"We’re excited to be bringing such a groundbreaking new solution to digital cinema professionals – one that will literally change the way they work," said Greg LaPorte, vice president of sales and marketing at Sonnet Technologies. "The Echo Express chassis enables a truly portable solution that is exponentially faster than currently available options. It really creates a paradigm shift in on-location RED project work, to be able to use a backpack to carry on-set what typically has been transported in a rolling cart."

The Echo Express PCIe 2.0 expansion chassis with Thunderbolt ports is expected to be available at the end of November, with pricing to be announced at a later date. The RED Rocket card is available now through RED at the price of $4,750.