New Thunderbolt Products Are Coming: Announcements from NAB

Since the introduction of the new MacBook Pros in February, many have wondered how long it would take for third-party manufacturers to ship the first Thunderbolt-compatible products. Developed by Intel and brought to the market by Apple, Thunderbolt is a brand new I/O technology that allows for multiple data transfers at 10 Gbps connection over a cable, with an additional 10 Watt feed to power external devices with the addition of “daisy-chaining” one peripheral to another. You can read more about Thunderbolt in our initial roundup.

At the NAB trade show that’s currently ongoing in Las Vegas, several companies have unveiled their first Thunderbolt products that will ship later this year starting in July. As reported by MacRumors these products are aimed at video editing / movie professionals, but they show the industry is clearly interested in supporting the new technology that’s rumored to be implemented in upcoming refreshes of the iMac and Mac mini lines as well. AJA, Blackmagic, and Promise have all announced Thunderbolt-enabled peripherals for audio capture and playback device (Blackmagic’s UltraStudio 3D) or “high-framerate 2K 3D, 4K and 5K workflows, and portable HD connectivity” (AJA). Promise had already announced its Pegasus storage line with Thunderbolt back in February.

Early reports coming from the NAB show floor indicate the Thunderbolt enclosures from Promise “scream” with the updated CS 5.5 suite, and hopefully we’ll have the chance to check out demo videos and benchmarks in the next few hours.

Meanwhile, we’re all waiting for the Final Cut announcement rumored to be scheduled for tomorrow at the tenth annual SuperMeet at the Bally’s Event Center. According to people familiar with the matter, the new Final Cut will take advantage of Thunderbolt and feature iPad integration, as well as file based workflows.