Maxell Launches iVDR at NAB

April 16, 2008

Maxell's Professional Media Products Division has introduced a light weight, rugged and shock resistant compact removable hard drive solution for field archive operations. The new product made its debut at the 2008 National Association for Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas.

The first “Field Tough Media” solution of its kind leveraging Maxell iVDR technology is being demonstrated at the NAB show as a highly efficient storage solution that connects directly through a bi-directional USB or eSATA adapter to a shoulder-mounted camcorder capable of delivering 10-bit, 4:2:2 master-quality video and native full HD video. In its current form factor, Maxell iVDR solution is capable of storing 160 GB of data and has a transfer rate of 540 Mbps.

Maxell iVDR will take center stage at NAB given its promise to offer efficiencies across a broad range of broadcast applications in the total work flow from material gathering, to editing, transmitting and storing video content while eliminating the time it takes to convert content from tapes to hard disk drives and storing video content. The Maxell iVDR removable hard disk features a rugged, durable and light weight construction that can withstand shock and vibrations.

“What makes the Maxell iVDR unique from other removable hard disk drives, is its drop protection of up to 1.2m (4 feet) provided by a hardened plastic shell and specifically designed shock isolation systems, said Barbara Sommer, vice president of marketing for Maxell. “This latest technological application of iVDR from Maxell expands our line-up of broadcast products to be one of the most comprehensive in the industry allowing our customers to record, store and archive the highest quality HD footage."

The current Maxell iVDR on display at NAB weighs a total of 181 grams (0.4 pounds). With its capability of up to 10,000 insertions and removal cycles, it is built for continued and repeated use.

The preformatted windows FAT32 file system allows the Maxell iVDR Field Archive Media to
easily mount to any professional camcorder. The 160GB drive and adapter will be available Q2 2008, followed by a 250 GB drive in Q3 2008.