Sonnet Announces Thunderbolt Dock With Internal Drive Bay and Blu-Ray Drive

[a0me]

While I have no desire for a blueray drive as my mac has a magical ability by where HD films just appear in the downloads folder , I hardly think watching a film on my 27 iMac (spoiler, that's a big ass computer ) with a Phillips 7.1 surround sound system is a poor experience.

You're free to pirate movies and watch them sitting at your desk.
I'm more into paying for the stuff that I like and watching movies on a big screen (over 40") from my couch.
To each his own, I guess, but I'd like to think I'm in the majority on this one.

 

[X38]

Interesting, but where are the Thunderbolt docks with PCI slots already? That would actually be worth a few hundred dollar price.

 

[Paclypse71]

I'd rather have a Thunderbolt Display with a drive bay and video card (Not the same as an iMac).

Interesting, but where are the Thunderbolt docks with PCI slots already? That would actually be worth a few hundred dollar price.

Or a suitable PCIe video card to use with this: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/PCIe_Chassis/Mercury_Helios/
(I was in the middle of writing this when you posted your comment.)

 

[a0me]

Just wait till 4K is standard. You can't stream 4K at the rate people will want to watch it. I downloaded a 4 minute clip and it was 900MB. Now make that a 2 hour movie.

I can tell the difference from a Blu-ray movie vs. a standard DVD on my 42" screen but I seriously wonder what screen size you would need to tell 1080p and 4K apart.

 

[schaibaa]

I can tell the difference from a Blu-ray movie vs. a standard DVD on my 42" screen but I seriously wonder what screen size you would need to tell 1080p and 4K apart.

I was at CES this year and witnessed 4K -- the difference is more dramatic than the difference between 720p and 1080p. You could be 20 feet away from a 42" and tell the difference. It's very similar to a rMBP - without two side by side it might not seem that much better - but put them next to each other and it's dramatic.

 

[ctdonath]

Does it randomly replace data with ads?

(Belkin used to sell a router which did.)

 

[JesterJJZ]

Must have if the next MacPro lacks an optical drive and/or firewire.

 

[nzalog]

I'm not carrying a chunky device that costs $400 that has a whole bunch of stuff I don't need.

Lol i don't think you understand the concept of a docking station. You're not supposed to carry it everywhere with you. It what you "dock" to when you get home.

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I'd rather have a Thunderbolt Display with a drive bay and video card (Not the same as an iMac).



Or a suitable PCIe video card to use with this: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/PCIe_Chassis/Mercury_Helios/
(I was in the middle of writing this when you posted your comment.)

That's pretty awesome, why didn't they just put a full length PCIe slot in there even if it on goes at 8x speed.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

You're wrong. Blu-ray sales of films are strong. P.s. Tell me the non optical disc solution to where consumers can get films in TRUE 1080p HD with loads of special features and subtitles.

Um.... iTunes? Netflix? Amazon?

All three offer 1920x1080, 24 or 30 fps progressive-scan video. That is "True 1080p HD". All three offer subtitles. iTunes offers varying levels of special features depending on the title.

But yes, Blu-ray does still have the most special features, and the reliably-repeatable high picture quality. (Note: bit rate alone does not dictate picture quality - many Blu-ray discs still use ultra-high-bit-rate MPEG-2, even when much lower bit rate AVC would produce a better picture.)

 

[ikir]

Awesome, a lot of port even eSata and FW800.
When you come back from work, just plug one Thuderbolt port and you have anything you need already plugged. Cool.

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Dead??

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1415117/2...istorical-sales-figures-and-comments-here-new


Apple just wants to herd people to iTunes.

Optical media is terrible support, even Blueray for space, energy efficient, speed, damage over time reasons.The future is digital but nobody is saying Blueray are already dead.

 

[JesterJJZ]

Um.... iTunes? Netflix? Amazon?

He means not compressed to hell and back...

 

[RoastingPig]

i hope the mini stax gets thunderbolt because i got the one with blu ray and this thing is sweet

 

[Nightarchaon]

I just need an adapter: 1 thunderbolt -> 2 thunderbolts...

isnt there a limitation in thunderbolt that precludes that ? i could be very long but my understanding is devices on thunderbolt can only have a max of two ports because thunderbolt devices need to be chained in series once you leave the initial host computer (which could in theory have 7 ports chained internally), its not like USB where you can easily have a HUB that splits the channel into many ports without the HUB also containing a brand new thunderbolt enabled motherboard of some sort (so not impossible, just probably VERY expensive for a hub)

as for this device, love the idea, make the box a little bigger and give me a full length PCI slot so i can drop in an external GPU and you've got the perfect macbook pro/air docking station/iMac upgrade device for $450 (id even go $700 for a PCI slot version)

 

[shabbasuraj]

Thunderblunder is just fail. Heads need to roll....

 

[Anonymous Freak]

He means not compressed to hell and back...

Ah, zealots. Yes, iTunes is of marginally lower quality than Blu-ray. But have you honestly watched a 1080p iTunes purchase and a Blu-ray of the same movie, on the same TV, from a reasonable viewing distance? WITHOUT making a point of specifically looking for flaws?

For the vast majority of movies, you won't be able to see any difference.

Please don't get a "FLAC/ALC lossless compressed versus uncompressed WAV/AIFF music" argument too...

 

[komodrone]

Lol i don't think you understand the concept of a docking station. You're not supposed to carry it everywhere with you. It what you "dock" to when you get home.

you didn't understand the context of this conversation. thanks for butting in.

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isnt there a limitation in thunderbolt that precludes that ? i could be very long but my understanding is devices on thunderbolt can only have a max of two ports because thunderbolt devices need to be chained in series once you leave the initial host computer (which could in theory have 7 ports chained internally), its not like USB where you can easily have a HUB that splits the channel into many ports without the HUB also containing a brand new thunderbolt enabled motherboard of some sort (so not impossible, just probably VERY expensive for a hub)

as for this device, love the idea, make the box a little bigger and give me a full length PCI slot so i can drop in an external GPU and you've got the perfect macbook pro/air docking station/iMac upgrade device for $450 (id even go $700 for a PCI slot version)

this docking station does what I want: 1 port -> 2 ports, but I dont want the extras.

 

[nzalog]

you didn't understand the context of this conversation. thanks for butting in.

Oh my mistake...

However, as internet commenter that sort of is my obligation.

 

[utekineir]

Ripping copy-protected DVD and Blu-ray discs is illegal in most countries; in some cases (like where I live) it can also carry a prison sentence.

Maybe lots of people around you do, but most people only use what came in the box with the PC.

Movies, TV shows and music that are in my iTunes library. Also, Internet radio stations. Isn't that how most people use it?

So we agree.

Not everyone is like you, and those people may find this sort of thing appealing.


You don't see me knocking the used underwear vending machines in your country, dont knock our fondness for ripping and putting big speakers onto computers.

 

[a0me]

So we agree.

Not everyone is like you, and those people may find this sort of thing appealing.

That's about the only thing we agree on.
I'd argue however that most people are 1) willing to pay for content and 2) prefer to watch movies and TV shows on their couch, not a computer...

You don't see me knocking the used underwear vending machines in your country.

Thanks for this completely uncalled for, and unnecessary stereotyped swipe at Japan. I just happen to live here BTW, so you can go on knocking that country all you want to, I won't be insulted.

 

[appahappa]

Looks really nice. That's the first Thunderbolt Dock I might consider to buy. Isn't that expensive.

 

[a0me]

I was at CES this year and witnessed 4K -- the difference is more dramatic than the difference between 720p and 1080p. You could be 20 feet away from a 42" and tell the difference. It's very similar to a rMBP - without two side by side it might not seem that much better - but put them next to each other and it's dramatic.

The store near my place has the new 84" BRAVIA 4K model and the difference with a 1080p TV of the same size is very obvious 10 feet away from the set.

Based on the definition of Retina Display and Pixels Per Degree (PPD) however, it doesn't sound like most people would be able to tell the difference between 4K and 1080p on a 42" screen.

A 1080p 42" screen viewed from a 10 feet distance works out to about 110 PPD, which is already about twice the iPhone 5 Retina Display resolution and 1.5 times the 15" rMBP. A 4K screen seen in the same conditions works out to 220 PPD and I'm really curious to see any study showing that the human eye can differentiate the two.

 

[Nightarchaon]

These devices are useless to me without 3 thunderbolt jacks. I want one wire to my rMBP and then to plug 2 monitors into the dock.

I have not yet found a thunderbolt splitter cable.

You cant do that, Thunderbolt needs to be in series, so its one device to one device to one device, .

The only way to make a Thunderbolt "HUB/Splitter" would be if the hub or splitter contained a full new Thunderbolt controller (as on the motherboard of your Mac/PC now) so it would be VERY expensive

Remember, Thunderbolt is just a stupid name for an external PCI Express bus, its nothing magical or special, its the same as the PCIe ports on the motherboard of a normal PC, do not think of it as a super fast USB or Firewire type connection, its not, its a SLOW PCI Express type connection.

 

[itickings]

this docking station does what I want: 1 port -> 2 ports, but I dont want the extras.

I don't think it does what you think it does...

It doesn't turn one TB port into two ports, it allows you to connect the docking station to the computer and to connect something else to the docking station. Daisy chaining, not splitting. You don't get extra ports.

 

[JM-Prod]

It's only missing a half-length PCI-e slot, and we could add special audio or video boards to our laptops when they are connected @home.

 

[Nightarchaon]

So you're saying that at 900MB for a 4 min clip to a 2 hour movie streaming is terrible. So with that math they are going to be able to put 27GB worth a movie on a disc...Your logic is unflappable.

Blu-rays can hold upwards of 50GB with existing tech, so yar..