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Best Thunderbolt I/O card for under $500?
I’m looking for some advice on the best IO device for my editing needs.
Here are my needs:
1. Must be Thunderbolt. My two computers for editing are an iMac and Macbook Pro.
2. Must be under (or at least near) $500.
3. Must have HDMI and SDI out and and least SDI in. Other options, including analog IO would be nice, but not mandatory.
4. Last, but not least, I would like it to play nicely with Symphony/MC, FCP7 and Premiere 6/AE6. I still jump around a lot between all three and would love to use one device for all.Not sure if this is the best place for this, but couldn’t think of a better place as I didn’t want to limit it to one of the brand specific IO forums.
Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.
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10 Replies
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Sounds like your specific and very demanding criteria leave just one product. The BMD ultrastudio express. Not sure how it works with MC as I don’t believe it’s shipping, yet.
I think you need to raise some more money for this endeavor so that you actually have some options.
Online Editor | Colorist | Post Super | VFX Artist | BD Author
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Is that a good product? I don’t need it right away, so if it’s worth waiting for it, I can.
If I raised my budget a bit would it be worth it? What else would I be getting?
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IMO when it comes to MC/Symphony support your best bet is the AJA ioXT. But it’s three times your budget. Though it’s a shipping product, has everything you want and is known to reliably work well.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?Q=&O=&A=details&is=REG&sku=824287
Anything less is a compromised solution.
Online Editor | Colorist | Post Super | VFX Artist | BD Author
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The ioXT will play nice with all three NLE’s.
Matrox MXO2 LE is a little bit less expensive alternative. They work with all 3 NLE’s but use a different driver for MC6. You will need to have a second boot drive or do the unisnstall/reinstall each time you switch apps.
$500 is a VERY LOW number for a Tbolt i/o device.. The soon to be released T-Tap is an alternative solution. It is output only. Under $300.
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
Matrox MXO2 MIni…under $500. SDI in and out…HDMI too. Thunderbolt adapters for it.
ROCK SOLID with FCP, FCX, Adobe and Avid? Well…not all of the hardware IO makers are. Adobe CS6 isn’t solid with anything at the moment (not even AJA…no drivers out yet…nor for Matrox). AJA is solid under Avid and FCP…FCX, it’s ahead of the curve. Matrox, BMD are a little behind it.
But asking for an IO device, Thunderbolt, that is rock solid with all NLE’s for under $500 is asking too much. YOu need to spend more if you want that.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
The Mini would be good if it had SDI. Only has analog component, S-Video and HDMI i/o.
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Creative Pro Users Group -
Gah. Thanks Steve. The Mini doesn’t have SDI. The LE does. Where was my mind?
BMD is the only option for under $500. But their stability with the latest NLEs is not good. They take a while to get up to speed.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
It sounds like the BMD 3D Studio Express would be the best fit for my original requirements and budget. Of course, it isn’t a shipping product yet and it sounds like there could be some initial stability concerns. Other than the price of course, I also like that it would work with all 3 NLEs and wouldn’t need ant separate boot drives, etc. That works well with my workflow.
Other than that it sounds like the AJA ioXT would probably be my “best” solution, if not for being more than 3 times the dollars I had hoped to spend.
Good food for thought. I appreciate the input.
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the aja xt is at present also he only io that has thunderbolt loop through. (it has its own power supply)
The others will need to be on the end of the chain.
I use an external monitor, 23′ cinema screen, off my thunderbolt so that HAS to on the end of the chain!Steve
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I have been using a BMD Ultrastudio 3D with great results on both FCP and Media Composer. If that performance is anything to go by the Ultrastudio Express might meet your needs and budget.
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