Teradeck Cube

Everyone has been talking about the Cube for a while as a cost-effective and expandable HD monitoring solution.  Seeing the Cube in person was critical because of all the criticism it gets because of the lag.  So here's what it is and how it works.

The cube is a WiFi transmitter that creates a hotspot.  Devices like a laptop or iPad can join that network to view the stream.  With the iPad, because the software needs to decode the video stream, there is a 3-frame delay to the picture, and a video I have will show what that delay is like.  With a laptop, because of the much more powerful decoding, the delay is closer to 1-1.5 frames.  There is also a separate decoder that will output HDMI to go directly to a monitor, with the same delay as the laptop's stream.

The cube can be adjusted by a laptop, and if I remember correctly, there is either a streaming option (viewable through VLC) or a web-viewing option.  Because the broadcast is digital, the Cube can transmit to 2-3 devices before it degrades or drops the signal.  It comes in either an SDI or HDMI option only; not both.  The Cube is also one of very few products to run off of the RED's rear AUX ports, highly simplifying the camera setup.  There's also an option to power it off DV batteries.  In its newest form, it can also live stream through a Sprint 4G antenna, directly broadcasting the signal to the web where anyone with an internet connection can watch.

So what's this all mean?  If your a director, get this now if you can manage the lag.  Walking around with an iPad for a monitor is so shiek; talk about impressing clients and watching an HD signal instead of SD from that 4K camera of yours.  If your an AC,  forget about it, just pull focus by distance.  At $1000, the Cube really seems like a great value, and now you can get a little Angry Birds in-between setups without anyone suspecting a thing.

Cars + NAB?

So what happens when a gearhead goes to NAB?  He recognizes the Ford GT40 and Indy F1 cars in QNet and GoPro's booth and takes tons of pictures.  The footage from the GoPro mounted at the top of the F1 car by the way is incredible.

Promise Technology's Thunderbolt

Promise has introduced two concepts in the Thunderbolt line; a medium-sized hardware RAID option and a very unique interface to fiber networks.  Promise has always designed products leaning toward permanent installation, so its no surprise their concepts were 4 and 8-drive RAIDs that produced incredible speeds to a laptop.  They have a reputation for providing very powerful drive solutions, and these look to be no different.

While the fiber interface doesn't apply to me, or many with small-to-medium sized facilities, it is a great example of how versatile and powerful Thundebolt really is.  A small box converts the connector into a typical fiber cable, designed to give full-speed access to high-speed SANs.  There's no proprietary software to install; the box plugs in and the network drives simply appear as a drive.  Promise had a huge multi-drive multi-terabyte SAN setup as an example, and the data speeds clocked on a laptop were ridiculous; the fastest on any Thunderbolt setup I've seen yet.

Blackmagic Design's Thunderbolt and Rugged Mini Converters

Blackmagic Designs wouldn't be BD if they weren't pushing the edge of new possibilities.  They introduced the UltraStudio 3D, a Thunderbolt device that gives a laptop access to what a Decklink Extreme card does to a Mac Pro.  On their preview system, a laptop had a Promise Thunderbolt prototype 4-drive RAID and UltraStudio connected, and played back a 1080p uncompressed stream to a professional broadcast monitor.  All in a very simple setup.

BD also introduced a tougher version of their Mini Converters.  Not that the original designs had very many problems, these are just more accomodating for all the velcro and bashing that converters get while on-set.  Very handy.

G-Technology Thunderbolt proof-of-concept

G-Technology didn't really have a working prototype that is a possible shipping option; there has been a lot of feedback for a Thunderbolt solution, they just aren't sure which product will be the first with the new port.  In their display, they had actually rigged adapter cards and existing chipsets to convert a G-Speed eS Pro into a Thunderbolt cable.  The result?  Ridiculous speeds on a laptop.

The eS Pro shown is a 4-drive RAID 0 system, with a mini-SAS connector that's very popular on high-speed RAIDs.  Their proof of concept has definitely proven Thunderbolt has the capability of pushing data at incredible speeds, defeating connections that typically require an entire desktop tower.

Those speeds are real; it's nearly 1.5x faster than a certain 8-drive Mac Pro system I know...

Lacie's "Little Big Disk" Thunderbolt Drive

Lacie has the most applicable solution so far for fast, portable DIT drives.  These little guys are the Little Big Disk with dual Thunderbolt ports, each housing two 500GB 2.5" drives for a total of 1TB each.  In their demonstration, the first two drives and last two drives are setup in a software RAID 0 (striped).  Final Cut Pro is playing back full 1080p Uncompressed 10-bit footage, one resized and overlayed over the other, and is playing back at FULL speed.  The laptop?  Just the 13" Macbook Pro.  Scary how good the performance on these little drives are.

This drive is also available retail with FireWire 800, eSata, and USB if you want it now.  The prototype, however, only had dual Thunderbolt ports, limiting its connectivity.  There is no word on the final shipping product.

Behind the scenes on Thunderbolt

Before I get in to showing all the products with Thunderbolt in the works, I need to mention that there is a feud going on.  Every Thunderbolt cable on the floor was a very recognizable white, manufactured specifically by Apple.  Why?  They're fighting with Intel for exclusivity on the damn port.  (Don't forget that Intel is actually the owner of the technology)  Apple I get it, you want world domination, but stop being the whiney kid in the corner of the sandbox.  Making the port exclusive will reduce adoption of the protocol and raise prices across the board of hardware.  What about exclusivity makes this a good idea!?

All these third-party companies clearly have Thunderbolt working in various forms, but as explained to me by the folks at Lacie, the only holdup is manufacturing and shipping rights.  When I asked about pricing from G-Tech, they mentioned that a Thunderbolt-equipped drive system will likely be more expensive, because of the port.  Because of these fusses, no one has a manufacturing and shipping date, or a price point.  Right now, all they have to offer us is a dream in the form of a prototype.