ProAvio EditBOX 8PM
TMS SKU #PREB8PM
Product Overview
The EditBox 8 PM system is an 8-Bay Port Multiplier eSATA enclosure. The EditBox 8 PM provides the solution for those applications requiring high performance coupled with massive amounts of storage capacity. Offering tremendous flexibility and speed, the EditBox 8 PM can be used in a video editing, photography, music, publishing, or data back-up environment. When in a JBOD scenario, it allows 8 SATA drives to be housed in a single enclosure. With the ability to remove and insert drives on the trays, and buy more trays to add more hard drives, it is a convenient way to store and access a lot of data. Using your OS built-in RAID formatting, you can also format the 8 drives as a RAID 0 or 1. RAID 0 on a desktop will allow video editors to do Standard Def 8 or 10 bit Uncompressed with no problems, and handle compressed HiDef including HDV, DVCProHD, and ProRes. (Uncompressed HD is possible thought not guaranteed - will have limits on real-time effects/layers). RAID 5 is also possible if the eSATA card supports it. It connects to the computer via two eSATA cable to a Port Multiplier eSATA card, and if it is a 4 port PM card, it will allow you to add another 8 bay enclosure to a single card, allowing 16 drives to be attached to a single eSATA 4 port card.
Benchmarks
Benchmarks will of course vary depending on the system, the eSATA card, motherboard, hard drives used, but these will give you a guide on what to expect.
Single Drive (JBOD Scenario)
Apple MacPro Tower - Read 73 MB/s - Write 83 MB/s
Apple G5 Tower - Read 73 MB/s - Write 83 MB/s
Apple MacBook Pro laptop - Read 83 MB/s - Write 79 MB/s
RAID 0 (4 Drives)
Apple MacPro Tower - Read 210 MB/s - Write 211 MB/s
Apple G5 Tower - Read 202 MB/s - Write 211 MB/s
Apple MacBook Pro laptop - Read 123 MB/s - Write 86 MB/s
RAID 0 (8 Drives)
Apple MacPro Tower - Read 397 MB/s - Write 375 MB/s
Apple G5 Tower - Read 394 MB/s - Write 381 MB/s
Apple MacBook Pro laptop - Read 142 MB/s - Write 142 MB/s
NOTES:
- Drives used in these tests were Hitachi 7K1000 750 GB drives, and
benchmark results were from AJA System Test, with frame size set to 1920x1080
10 bit, File Size 2 GB. eSATA cards were Sonnet.
- Best speeds were recorded on a MacPro Tower, with the highest numbers listed
above being from that computer
- Due to bandwidth limitations of the Express34 bus on the MacBook Pro, speeds
will be lower on the RAID settings than on a Tower.
The Box
The EditBox 8 PM system comes in a silver aluminum enclosure. It uses a backplane design to connect the drives, which means no internal cabling. Just slide the drive in, and the drive connects with the backplane for both power and data. Drive trays are hot-swapable, so you can remove and insert drives without powering off the computer. Two eSATA ports on the back to connect to a Port Multiplier eSATA card. Fan is fairly quiet. Power supply is built into the box, so there is no external power brick to worry about.
Dimensions
6" W x 17.5" D x 11.5 " T
15cm W x 44cm D x 29cm T
What's In The Box: Enclosure, 8 hard drive trays, 3' eSATA cable x 2, power cable, hard drive screws, and keys to lock drive trays.
Qualified Hard Drives
TMS Photo Video recommends Seagate or Hitachi SATA drives. The EB 8 PM supports 1 TB drives.
Qualified eSATA Cards
This enclosure connects to the computer with two cables to a port-multiplier
eSATA card. While in theory any eSATA card that supports Port Multiplication
will work, these are the cards that ProAvio and TMS Photo Video have tested.
As we test various cards, we will update this list.
Mac Computers
- Sonnet Tempo SATA E4P PCIe
- Sonnet Tempo SATA X4P PCIx
- Sonnet Tempo SATA Express 34
Windows Computers
- list coming soon!
Optional Accessories
Spare Hard Drive trays - TMS Sku#PRTRAY - Spare hard drive tray that allows you to add more hot-swap drives to your ProAvio enclosure. This tray fits numerous ProAvio enclosures, allowing you to swap drives with numerous enclosures. Fits the ProAvio X4, EditBox 4PM, 8PM, 10PM, 4ML, & 8ML. Also fits the Sonnet Fusion 400 and 500 enclosures.
3' eSATA Cable - TMS Sku#PRSATA3 - Replacement eSATA cable that comes with the enclosure, in case the original gets lost or damaged.
5' eSATA Cable - TMS Sku#PRSATA5 - Need longer cable length than what comes with the enclosure? This cable is an extra 2 feet longer than the one that's in the box.