New Sonnet Technologies Qio Card Reader Gets Editors Editing Fast

Holdan is to demonstrate Sonnet Technologies' Qio professional universal media reader/writer in the UK for the first time at BVE 2011.
Qio allows production teams to transfer files to edit stations 2 camcorder and DSLR storage cards concurrently - many times faster than with standard USB 2.0 or Firewire devices.
Qio connects to workstations through a PCI Express bus interface allowing high-speed transfers with aggregate bandwidth of up to 210 MB/sec. Qio enables easy transfer of content from several cards with support for major HD video memory card formats including Sony SxS, Panasonic P2, CompactFlash, SD(HC) and SDXC cards. With two slots of each card format (SDHC shared with SxS) and the ability to transfer two data from cards simultaneously. Qio allows large amounts of data to be transferred very quickly.
The reader promises immediate benefits for production teams, bringing greatly improved speed of data ingest. Until recently, multi-camera crews of teams with a number of disks to transfer to edit have had to resort to ingesting material onto a string of laptops, using simple card readers. With Qio, one single device can import files fast, from up to six cards at a time.
Holdan's Allan Leonardsen said: "Sometimes it takes a practical device such as Qio to make the most out of breakthrough technologies. There's no doubt that tapeless recording and file-based editing are revolutionary but there's an irritating bottleneck - getting data from the cameras to the editor quickly and safely. Qio is a really elegant solution."
Qio goes further than simply providing an interface to a Mac: card data can also be transferred directly onto a RAID storage unit, giving operators not only fast access to material but also confidence in the security of this content. This is made possible by the Qio's in-built eSATA controller. Its four eSATA ports enables users to connect two Sonnet Fusion F2 portable rugged RAID storage units, four Sonnet Fusion D400QR5 4-drive RAID 5 systems, or any other drive system with an eSATA interface. Instantly crews have the potential for back up to large-scale, secure storage at their finger-tips without having to sacrifice their local system hard drives.
Qio also functions as a PCI Express bus expansion system so that laptops in the field can be instantly upgraded to increase their functionality. The unit's SxS and P2 slots accept ExpressCard/34 adapters and CardBus cards, respectively, enabling users to expand their system with WiFi, FireWire, USB or Gigabit Ethernet.
This rugged device is housed in an aluminium case that measures a mere 15cm x 15.7cm x 3.1cm. When used in the field, Qio is compatible with external battery packs with an XLR 4-pin power connector.
Currently, Qio is Mac-only with a PC version to follow.
(KMcA)