Western Digital Announces New G-DRIVE® and G-SPEED® Thunderbolt™ 3 SSD Offerings for Creative Professionals

Western Digital is augmenting its award-winning G-Technology® G-DRIVE® and G-SPEED® lineups of storage solutions with new Thunderbolt 3 SSD offerings.  With the continued growth of 4K and now even 8K RAW video, professional  content creators are having to deal with ever-larger file sizes.

The latest cameras are able to capture RAW data at rates of over 400MB/s, resulting in incredibly high-resolution footage and increasingly immersive viewing experiences.  The main drawback is the massive file sizes required to store and/or transfer these files.  Production crews can be on site shooting for up to 2-3 months, recording up to 3-4TB a day of video files.  WD’s latest offerings help make sure that storage is not the bottleneck in the production equation.

blankAccording to Scott Vouri, Western Digital’s Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, “Saving time means getting more done, which means booking more jobs over the course of a year.  Creative professionals need to know that their drives will keep up with the growing demands of their workflows.  To capitalize on these opportunities, the right tools are crucial.  When working in the field, production teams need a fast solution that can handle demanding workflows of 4K and 8K content with the ability to quickly collect that valuable footage and be able to edit on the spot.  With the power of Thunderbolt 3, and transfer rates of up to 2800MB/s, the new G-Technology Pro SSDs offer an ultra-fast, super-reliable solution for any creative project team.”

blankG-DRIVE Mobile Pro SSD

The G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD provides data transfer speeds of up to 2800MB/s, allowing for the editing of multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rates, allows for rendering projects and experiencing them at full resolution, and be able to transfer as much as a terabyte of media files in seven minutes or less (1TB or larger capacity model) no matter where you are.  The G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD is constructed in a durable, shock-resistant design that features specially-engineered components that can endure the constant rigors of travel, with an aluminum core that prevents overheating and allows for consistent high performance.  A single Thunderbolt™ 3 port enables the instant editing of video footage anywhere, at incredible speeds and without requiring wall power.  The G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD is backed by a 5-year limited warranty.  WD is anticipating Summer of 2018 availability, with the 500GB model at an MSRP of $659.95, and the 1TB version at an MSRP of $1049.95.  You can view the G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD product page here.

blankG-DRIVE Pro SSD

The G-DRIVE Pro SSD has not only the same (up to) 2800MB/s data transfer rates and performance benefits as the G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD, but also adds capacity points all the way up to 7.68TB.  The G-DRIVE Pro SSD sports dual Thunderbolt 3 ports to enable daisy-chaining of up to five additional devices.  The G-DRIVE Pro SSD is housed in a rugged and stackable aluminum enclosure, helping to avoid desktop clutter.  The G-DRIVE Pro SSD utilizes enterprise-class solid state drives with an endurance rating of up to one drive write per day (DWPD), and this reliable and high-performance desktop storage is backed by a five year limited warranty.  WD anticipates May 2018 availability of the G-DRIVE Pro SSD, with the 960GB model at an MSRP of $1399.95, the 1.92TB model at an MSRP of $2099.95, the 3.84TB model at an MSRP of $4099.95, and with even a 7.68TB version at an MSRP of $7599.95.  You can view the G-DRIVE Pro SSD product page here.

blankG-SPEED Shuttle SSD

The G-SPEED Shuttle SSD is WD’s highest-capacity G-Technology storage solution, and is offered in both 8TB and 16TB models.  Its Thunderbolt 3 interface supports multi-stream workflows, whether HD, 4K, 8K, VR or VFX.  It features 8 removable SSDs that are pre-loaded  and configured in RAID 5, and it also supports RAID 0,1,10 and 50 to handle even ultra-demanding workflows.  WD has the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD available this month, with an MSRP of $5099.95 for the 8TB model and an MSRP of $7599.95 for the 16TB version.  You can view the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD product page here.

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