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The new adapter was designed to support all three popular platforms: Macintosh, Windows, and Linux; this is a rare trait among similar products, and therefore it’s an advantage over competitors. Currently the NitroAV host bus adapter aims toward the professional market, since most devices that use eSATA or 1394b (FireWire 800) are usually made for the more experienced users.
The eSATA interface is used in many storage devices, such as portable hard-drives. Firewire is utilized by numerous devices, including camcorders, digital cameras, professional audio capturing devices (such as microphones), and almost all HD-based display systems, allowing faster data transfer. Specifically, the Fusion Pro is capable of handling multi-stream from a variety video formats, such as DVCPro HD, 8 bit SD, 10-bit SD, HDV.
According to specifications, the Fusion Pro has two external 1394b ports, one internal 1394b port, and two external 3Gbps eSATA channels. In addition, it offers an optional power connector for direct connection to the system power supply, therefore allowing supplemental 1394b device power. Moreover, it supports multiple commands for each port, and thanks to the on-chip memory, the need for host CPU intervention is eliminated.
Verge Labs (also known as Akumen) based the new adapter on SiI 3132. They implemented FIS port multipliers, and installed the Texas Instruments XIO2213 on the 1394b channel. Currently they price the Fusion Pro at $130.
TFOT has also covered the Voyager, a new docking station for SATA hard drives, and the OCZ Throttle, a new product that integrates eSATA with a conventional USB drive. Another TFOT related story is the Future of the Motherboards, as demonstrated by Seagate and AMD at the Everything Channel Xchange Conference.
For more information about the NitroAV Fusion Pro, see the product’s website.
