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[TonyWilliams]

I saw that Apple released a new version of the Macbook Pro, and what caught my eye is a new connector called Thunderbolt. It is apparently 10Gbps in both directions and 12 times faster than Firewire 800. I could see this being a useful connection for pro audio with multitrack recording and such. Hopefully it is not vaporware. Thoughts?

http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/

[Mac Kerr]

I saw that Apple released a new version of the Macbook Pro, and what caught my eye is a new connector called Thunderbolt. It is apparently 10Gbps in both directions and 12 times faster than Firewire 800. I could see this being a useful connection for pro audio with multitrack recording and such. Hopefully it is not vaporware. Thoughts?

As an interface on those computers it is not vaporware, but since there are no peripherals that use it yet it is vaporware in the practical sense. It is likely to become widely used because of its speed, and being part of the Intel chipset, but we are at the bleeding edge right now. It is also 2 channels of bidirectional 10GB.

I have always bought new technology the day it was released, and been pissed when 30 days later the price goes down, or features are added. I'm waiting 30 days, then pulling the trigger on the higher end 15".

Mac

[Greg_Cameron]

Just ordered two 17" top o' the line MBPs for work today with the bumped up processor speed, extra RAM, and the SSD. The new 10Gb interface will be useful for what we do. That combined with the Express slot will make it possible to edit/output uncompressed HD video in the field from a very compact package. Cool stuff.

Greg

[Gareth Marsh]

Dammit, I brought my new Macbook Pro about 3 months ago feeling pretty sure that USB 3.0 wasn't going anywhere fast. I didn't imagine that a real fast standard would come in this soon.

Not that any time is a good time to buy a future-proof computer....



Gareth

[Jasen Jacobsen]

A better link from Intel.
http://www.intel.com/technology/io/thunderbolt/index.htm

Scroll down to the bottom where they have cheery quotes from Apogee, AVID, and Universal Audio.

- Jasen.

[Cameron Stuckey]

I'm waiting for Intel to release the specs for this IO, something that I can sink my teeth into. While Apple is calling it 'Thunderbolt' it is Intel's standard formally called Light Peak, and has been around for a few months in quiet press releases, and the reason Intel didn't support USB 3.0.

I am amazed that they are able to surpass Fiber bandwidth with copper, but I still have a lot to learn.

[Mac Kerr]

I'm waiting for Intel to release the specs for this IO, something that I can sink my teeth into. While Apple is calling it 'Thunderbolt' it is Intel's standard formally called Light Peak, and has been around for a few months in quiet press releases, and the reason Intel didn't support USB 3.0.

I am amazed that they are able to surpass Fiber bandwidth with copper, but I still have a lot to learn.

Apple is calling it Thunderbolt, just like Intel is. Yes, the code name during development was Light Peak. Just as with USB1, Apple is installing it before there are really any peripherals available, but USB worked out OK. I think in both cases Apple had the early release because they worked with Intel on the development.

The high bandwidth over copper is probably due to the limit on transmission length. It is only good to about 10'. I assume when fiber becomes available the length will grow a bit, but they are still talking about something like 30' so far.

Judging by the quotes on the Intel page the audio and video manufacturers are going to embrace this interface. With Avid, Apogee, and AJA onboard there is a big boost in the audio and video production areas.

Mac

[Justice C. Bigler]

Judging by the quotes on the Intel page the audio and video manufacturers are going to embrace this interface. With Avid, Apogee, and AJA onboard there is a big boost in the audio and video production areas.

Does this mean that AVB is dead?

[Mac Kerr]

Judging by the quotes on the Intel page the audio and video manufacturers are going to embrace this interface. With Avid, Apogee, and AJA onboard there is a big boost in the audio and video production areas.

Mac

Does this mean that AVB is dead?

Thunderbolt isn't about wide area networking, it is more a replacement for USB3 and Firewire. Because of that it will probably become popular in post production studios, ProTools rigs (if Avid adds it to the hardware) and edit suites. I don't see it replacing a multichannel audio distribution system. You can get a lot of audio channels on a 1GB Ethernet circuit, not so much with HD video alongside.

LaCie has already released a drive, others are sure to follow. When/If AJA adds it to their video hardware, and Avid adds it to their video and audio hardware, it will have a good chance to become a production standard.

It is not going support long cable runs in the foreseeable future though.

Mac

[Jasen Jacobsen]

Here's a couple of YouTube videos showing an AVID box using TB:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO0GrdgK2h8&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY5TjnR5Z-c&feature=relmfu

I imagine the AVID Venue desks will be getting Thunderbolt connections to ProTools.

- Jasen.

[ProSoundWeb Community]