ThunderMax Mac Expansion System Shipped by 1 Beyond

1 Beyond, Inc., in purpose-built professional video systems, announced that its ThunderMax Expansion System for Macs is now shipping.

Previewed at NAB 2014 in April, the ThunderMAX is an all-in-one Macintosh Thunderbolt 2 peripheral that can accommodate a large collection of devices in one compact, small footprint package for office or on-site use. ThunderMAX is an Mac expansion system with multiple Thunderbolt 2 inputs for maximum throughput to devices.

In addition, the company announced the ThunderTape2 Thunderbolt LTO-6 with two LTO drives, a second generation version of the ThunderTape.

Recently six ThunderMax units were delivered to Dubai TV, UAE, to support Mac Pro tower workstations editing 4K. In addition, at 2014 Cine Gear Expo, YoYotta will demonstrate the ThunderMax providing necessary peripherals to support their archiving and dailies workflows.

ThunderMax
All the peripherals, ports and cards users wish they had in their Macs, but for which there is no longer room or slots, can now be in a single 1 Beyond ThunderMax unit that connects with 1-3 Thunderbolt 2 cables to take advantage of up to 60Gb/s throughput to/from devices and a single power cord.

The result is no more desktop clutter (adapters, devices, data cables, power cords, expansion boxes, and docks, from different manufacturers). The ThunderMAX is designed to grow with the user, who can buy just what is needed now, with or without devices, and add as needs increase. There is no need to purchase additional adapters or expansion boxes or rack units in the future.

The ThunderMax uses include the following:
Move all cards, storage, and devices from an old Mac tower to a new Mac Pro Tower with the ThunderMax.
Offload camera memory cards to internal RAID, external RAID, and LTO-6 tape.
Edit 4K using fast RAID storage, playout via quad SDI card and archive to LTO-6.
Color-grade with HD-SDI I/O and option for RED Rocket-X card.
As a server or hub for shared access to fast RAID storage and LTO-6 backup
ith legacy ports for external card readers and storage

The devices that may be integrated include:

Camera card readers (SxS, REDMAG, CF , P2, AXSM, SRMemory)
LTO-6 tape drive(s)
Internal RAID (SSD or HD) up to 8 drives
e-SATA , 10GbE, USB3, FireWire 800 ports
HD-SDI I/O
4-8 PCI-e slots with 2-3 Thunderbolt connections

Other industry firsts include:

Three models are available with 0, 4, or 8 disks and 5.25″ and 3.5″ openings for future expansion. All models include hardware for rack-mount installations. Pricing starts at $1,595.
Modular design for flexibility and growth enabling access to all devices from a single MacBookPro laptop or connection of two or more Macs directly to access different peripherals or share resources via Thunderbolt, 1 or 10GbE networking
Two power options: AC or DC, including 1 Beyond’s ‘Auto-Fail-Over’ feature to ensure uninterrupted operation.

ThunderTape2
Introduced 18 months ago, it was the first Thunderbolt LTO tape drive available for Macintosh. Now, 1 Beyond has gone a step further bringing to market the ThunderTape2, which takes advantage of Thunderbolt 2 technology. In addition, the ThunderTape2 responds to customer requests to support one or two LTO-6 drives in a single unit. The two LTO drives can be used to write the same data creating simultaneous duplicates, double throughput, or they can be used independently with one reading while the other is writing. The ThunderTape2 may be purchased with one LTO drive initially with the flexibility to add the second later as requirements dictate. Like the original ThunderTape, the ThunderTape2 is housed in an all metal, rugged portable chassis with a handle on top.