Mobile Rocket with MacBookPro & MacPro

[Steve Johnson]

Okay, wondering who out there is using a Mobile Rocket attached to a MacBookPro and who also uses it attached to a MacPro? Wanting to find out how it's working, any different to a Red Rocket attached directly inside a MacPro.

Reason I ask is I am looking at 2 different DAM set ups.

1. DAM Cart
MacPro with Mobile Rocker attached, Red Station, external RAID storage, LTO, extra spinning backups. The a MacBookPro for using with Teradek cube streaming to iPad.

2. Low Budget DAM
MacBookPro with Mobile Rocket attached, external storage for backups.

Now both options would benefit from having Thunderbolt options. For example, option 1. Would work great WHEN the MacPro has multiple Thunderbolt ports (given new iMacs have 2, this seems almost certain), would also help when Maxx Digital Mobile Rocket has thunderbolt. Thewe could go MacPro > Mobile Rocket > external RAID (again, if there is a good 16/32 TB option with Thunderbolt. And to finish it off, Red SSD Station with Thunderbolt.

Again, with Thunderbolt on the Mobile Rocket and Red Station, this would make for very interesting mobile DAM stations for low budgets.

So to the original question, given the Mobile Rocket is eSATA, how do it work in multiple situations with MBP and MP for those using it. Any performance drop off when using the HBA kit in the MacPro?

Thanks

Steve

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

I have one, and I have it connected to my macpro when in the edit suit and to the macbookpro when in the field. I have not really noticed a difference, but it does say when you open RedCine that it will be slower, even thought I have not really noticed...I have not taken a stopwatch to it, just normal play back and encoding to Pro-res...but it kind of felt like the same
Some one might have done tests...any one???

 

[Steve Johnson]

I have one, and I have it connected to my macpro when in the edit suit and to the macbookpro when in the field. I have not really noticed a difference, but it does say when you open RedCine that it will be slower, even thought I have not really noticed...I have not taken a stopwatch to it, just normal play back and encoding to Pro-res...but it kind of felt like the same
Some one might have done tests...any one???

Great Antonio. Thanks

How is it working with the EVO 4K? What slots are you using in the MacPro?
What card do you attach the EVO to the MacPro?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Steve

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

Great Antonio. Thanks

How is it working with the EVO 4K? What slots are you using in the MacPro?
What card do you attach the EVO to the MacPro?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Steve

It works fine with the EVO 4K, even though the EVO i think is faster...
The EVO is connected to the MacPro using an SAS card, in slot 3...third one counting from the bottom, not really sure what number it is.
The Mobile Rocket is connected to the MacPro in the same slot the Rocket was before I had the Maxx Mobile, now there is a card they supplied, I think it is also SAS, at least the connectors are similar.
I have actually not opened the Mac since the day I installed it

one thing though, when changing from MacPro to MacBookPro, you must change the dip switches in side the Mobile Rocket...a bit of a pain, but ok

when I have it connected to the MacPro, I have a SSD connected via FireWire 800, and the Mobile Rocket connects to a SAS connector in the slot on the side of the macbookpro

 

[Steve Johnson]

It works fine with the EVO 4K, even though the EVO i think is faster...
The EVO is connected to the MacPro using an SAS card, in slot 3...third one counting from the bottom, not really sure what number it is.
The Mobile Rocket is connected to the MacPro in the same slot the Rocket was before I had the Maxx Mobile, now there is a card they supplied, I think it is also SAS, at least the connectors are similar.
I have actually not opened the Mac since the day I installed it

one thing though, when changing from MacPro to MacBookPro, you must change the dip switches in side the Mobile Rocket...a bit of a pain, but ok

when I have it connected to the MacPro, I have a SSD connected via FireWire 800, and the Mobile Rocket connects to a SAS connector in the slot on the side of the macbookpro

Great. Sounds like what I am looking at. Any idea what the SAS card is?

Can anyone recommend a decent SAS card for say the Evo 4K? I know that you can get a Mobile Rocket with a SAS card direct from Maxx Digital. It would be good to confirm what slots are best for each in the MacPro. I have a 8-Core MacPro but will be upgrading when the new ones come out later this year.

Would also be great if we can get a Mobile Rocket, Red SSD Station and say an Evo 4K all with Thunderbolt. Save having to worry about cards etc.

 

[Steve Johnson]

Looking into this a but more and Sonnettech are releasing a PCIe Expansion Chassis with thunderbolt attachment, which means it would make an option for a red rocket to a MacBookPro then backup to TB hard drives and still able to transcode.

Link to sonnettech http://www.sonnettech.com/news/nab2011/index.html

 

[Steve Johnson]

Can anyone answer - does the Mobile RED Rocket attach to the MacBookPro through a port multiplier? Is the connection a eSATA cable going to a Port multiplier or is is a cable that goes from the Mobile RED Rocket straight into the PCIe Port on the MBP?