News

posted on 02 July 2008 10:30

Sonnet Technologies  has upgraded its twin 2.5-inch Fusion 2 external drive system to use 500GB SATA drives. It can offer 1 TB of capacity or 500GB at RAID 1 (mirroring) and transfer data at a sustained 134MB/sec through twin eSATA ports.

Neither USB or FireWire are fast enough for mobile video editimg or similar applications. As eSATA is not a powered interface the product needs a separate power feed, either FireWire from the host system or via a power cord. USB 3.0 is sorely needed by such applications.

The diminutive system consists of two 2.5-inch drives mounted side by side in a rugged aluminum enclosure, just a bit larger than two stacked CD cases. It  features two eSATA (external SATA) data ports for maximum data throughput, and is designed for use with the Sonnet Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 controller for the MacBook Pro and Windows notebooks.

Fusion F2 was devised as a high-performance, high-reliability alternative to existing FireWire and USB portable drives for mobile video editors. It draws power from a powered FireWire port and supports portable video capture in conjunction with an AJA Video Systems’ ioHD, which requires dedicated use of FireWire bandwidth. When configured in RAID 1 mirrored mode, Fusion 2 can still capture Apple ProRes HQ HD fed from an AJA ioHD. This protected mode also allows safe field transfer of Panasonic P2, Sony SxS Pro, or similar memory cards. Footage verification by a MacBook Pro/Fusion F2 system gives users the peace of mind to erase and reuse cards on location.

Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies, said: “The original 640MB Fusion F2 storage system has been met with great success due to its uncompromising performance and reliability. By offering the system with increased storage and data transfer speeds in the same compact, low-power package, we’ve taken its capabilities for film and video editing applications to a new level. Fusion F2 has found a home in the equipment cases of many mobile editors.”

Each Fusion F2 drive is individually shock-isolated, not only protecting the drives during transport, but also virtually eliminating cross-coupled vibration — a potential source of soft-error-induced skipped frames. Fusion F2 is energy-efficient, and extremely cool and quiet. Side-by-side placement of its drives increases the metal case’s cooling surface area, thereby eliminating the need for a fan.

Fusion F2 with 1TB of storage (part number FUS-F2-1000M5) will be available in early July with a suggested price of U.S. $995. Fusion F2 with 640MB of storage (part number FUS-F2-640M5) is available now with a suggested price of $695. Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 (part # TSATAII-E342P) has a suggested retail price of U.S. $99.95.

^{[Paul Roberts, news editor.]}