Panasonic introduces AU-XPD3EJ expressP2 Drive: Broadcast Industry’s Fastest Offload Device with Thunderbolt3*

Panasonic is shortening multi-camera production times with the release of the AU-XPD3EJ expressP2 Memory Card Drive – the industry’s fastest offload device.

The AU-XPD3EJ is equipped with a Thunderbolt3 interface twice as fast as Thunderbolt2 and eight times faster than USB 3.0. Users will be able to daisy chain up to six XPD3 units to allow simultaneous multiple offloads.

Matthew Alexander, Product Marketing Manager, Panasonic Broadcast, said: “VariCam productions that shoot in high speed or high ratios will see impressive advancements with this new Thunderbolt reader. When linked to a high speed digital offload centre, the AU-XPD3EJ can download a full 512GB expressP2 card, which is over three hours of AVC-Intra4K422 content, in as little as seven minutes. In today’s fast paced productions, this kind of time efficiency is a game changer.”

“When two readers are daisy chained for simultaneous access to two expressP2 cards, six hours of content (AVC-Intra4K422, 4K/24p), can be offloaded in about eight minutes. For even greater speed up to six readers can be daisy chained.”

Key Features

Designed for optimal performance with Panasonic’s expressP2 B series cards, the AU-XPD3EJ delivers single-drive performance of 10Gpbs and daisy-chain performance of 17.6Gbps, which translates to offload speeds of 512GB (AVC-Intra 4K 4:2:2 24p) in seven minutes and 1TB (daisy-chained, AVC-Intra 4K 4:2:2 24p) in eight minutes.

The XPD3EJ is compatible with expressP2 A series and legacy P2 memory cards, as well as microP2 cards when using the optional AJ-P2AD1G adapter. The majority of current generation PCs and Apple® Mac computers support Thunderbolt3, and Thunderbolt2 bidirectional adapters for Mac computers and one-way adapters for Mac/WIN are readily available. Popular storage devices such as the LaCie Bolt3 drive will support the ultra-fast XPD3EJ workflow.

The AU-XPD3EJ expressP2 Memory Card Drive is priced at RRP$3,198 (inc GST) and is available this month from Panasonic Broadcast dealers and distributors. For further information, please visit www.panasonic.com.au or call 132 600.

*As of March 2017