AJA Introduces Io Xpand Thunderbolt™ 5 Expansion Chassis For KONA And Corvid PCIe I/O Cards
AJA Video Systems announces Io Xpand, a high-performance Thunderbolt™ 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards.
As demand for higher bandwidth, higher resolution content intensifies across industries, Io Xpand unlocks the performance of AJA PCIe I/O cards for video professionals leveraging Thunderbolt 5 laptops and mini-PCs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Io Xpand is ideal for creative or live production environments where space is limited and portability matters, including on-set, remote production, and live switching. Video professionals can pair the new chassis with either a KONA 1, KONA 4, or KONA 5 I/O card and a Thunderbolt 5-equipped computer to create a powerful, compact workstation with advanced throughput and video capture/playback functionality. For AJA Developer Partners, most AJA Corvid I/O cards can easily be used with the Io Xpand enclosure to develop smaller-footprint solutions.
AJA’s new Io Xpand chassis includes a 0.8-meter Thunderbolt 5 cable, Thunderbolt cable lock, power cable, and universal power adapter. It will be offered as a standalone unit, or in three bundles that include the Io Xpand and either a single KONA 1, KONA 4, or KONA 5 card. The KONA 5/Io Xpand bundle provides Thunderbolt 5 laptop and mini-PC users with access to the PCIe card’s high-performance 12G-SDI I/O, additional frame stores, and full I/O stack – including AES/EBU audio and machine control – in a portable, plug-and-play solution.
Io Xpand feature highlights include:
- Thunderbolt 5, 4, 3 and USB4 compatibility
- Windows, macOS, and Linux support
- Support for full height, half length, x4 Gen 4 PCIe cards
- Compatibility with double-width PCIe cards and PCIe cards with daughter cards
- Up to 6000 MB/s of bi-directional PCIe bandwidth to the installed card
- Support for PCIe 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 cards
- Nearly silent operation via a temperature-controlled fan
- Thunderbolt daisy-chaining support via second Thunderbolt port
- A portable, lightweight, and rugged aluminum internal enclosure
- A two-year warranty
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