Choosing the right media for your camera or 4K recorder/monitor these days has become as important as picking the right camera for the job. As an audio/video professional second-guessing or skimping on media can be catastrophic to your production as the last thing you want to ruin a hard days work due to a bad drive. Of course, creative confidence comes also from trusting your experience, your artistic instincts, and your tools. On a professional job reliability is key. And with the ever increasing demands for higher resolutions such as 4K and raw recording, choosing a reliable solid state drive is paramount. That’s why Austria based innovative technology outfit AngelBird Technologies have come up with a couple of new drives that have just been approved for 4K ProRes and raw work on the Atomos Shogun, and 4K ProRes on the Ninja Assassin.
The Angelbird AVpro mkII SSD was built from the ground up, designed and precision-manufactured in Austria to the most demanding specs of modern video productions. The AngelBird AVpro mkII SSD is purpose-built to deliver blazing-fast read/write performance (up to 430MB/s sustained write) and rock-solid stability. The drive is certified by Atomos and Black Magic Design for all of their SSD-compatible products, including the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K and HyperDeck Shuttle 2 SSD recorder.
In addition the AngelBird SSDs are highly recommended by Atomos, and tested with most market-leading video and audio SSD-compatible products, the Angelbird AVpro mkII is perfect for media professionals who require SSD speed and worry-free reliability.
AngelBird AVPro mkII SSD Specs
| Capacity | 250, 500 GB |
|---|---|
| Formatting | exFAT |
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s, 3Gb/s and 1.5Gb/s supported. SATA 3.1 Compliant |
| Over provisioning | ~9% |
| Flash | Grade A Micron® Synchronous MLC, 3000 P/E cycles |
| Form factor | 2.5 inch, 9mm |
| Features | Temperature Sensor, Overload protection, AES, TCG Opal, TRIM, ECC, EMS protection, Built-in cache, SMART |
Performance Specifications
| Read speed1 | up to 520MB/s |
|---|---|
| Write speed1 | up to 430MB/s |
| IOPS2 | Up to 76000 |
| Access Time | ~ 0.1ms |
Reliability Specifications
| MTBF | > 2,000,000 hours |
|---|---|
| Data Reliability | Built-in EDC/ECC function |
| Data Retention | 10 years at 25°C |
| Certifications | RoHS, FCC and CE compliant, REACH |
Environmental Specifications
| Shock resistance (operating) | 2000G |
|---|---|
| Vibration resistance (operating) | 20G |
| Operating Temperature | 0°C ~ +70°C |
| Storage Temperature | -55°C ~ 85°C |
| Operating Humidity | 5% to 95% non-condensing |
Electrical Specifications
| DC input voltage | 5V ± 5% |
|---|---|
| Power usage (idle) | 0.37W |
| Power usage (max) | 4.5W |
Physical Dimensions
| Width | 69.9 mm ± 0.2mm |
|---|---|
| Height | 9.2 mm ± 0.2mm |
| Lenght | 100.2 mm ± 0.2mm |
| Weight | ~ 70g |
Warranty – 3 years limited
The other SSD from AngelBird that will be of interest to those of you who prefer to shoot in 4K/2K or Full DH Raw is the AVraw mkII (available in 316GB and 632GB capacities) is purpose-built to enable blazing-fast, high-resolution Raw video (525MB/s read and 440MB/s write) and audio recording and editing. And it’s ready when you are — every time.
Like all Angelbird solid-state drives, the AVraw mkII uses only the best components, beginning with the case, which is milled from a single block of highest-quality aluminum. The Novachip SSD controller and SATA 6GB/s interface ensure incredible performance with RAW data. ESD and overload protection, a highly accurate temperature sensor, and the stylish-but-tough aluminum case ensure your data is safe.
The AVRaw MkII SSD is also certified by Black Magic Design for all of their SSD-compatible products, highly recommended by Atomos, and tested with most market-leading video and audio SSD-compatible products, the Angelbird AVraw mkII is perfect for media professionals who require SSD speed and worry-free reliability.
AVRaw SSD MKII Specs
| Capacity | 316GB, 632GB |
|---|---|
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s, 3Gb/s and 1.5Gb/s supported. SATA 3.0 compliant |
| Over provisioning | ~ 8% |
| Flash | Grade A Micron® or Intel®, Synchronous MLC, 3000 P/E cycles |
| Form factor | 2.5 inch, 9mm |
| Features | Overload protection, TRIM, ECC, EMS protection, SMART |
Performance Specifications
| Read speed1 | up to 525MB/s |
|---|---|
| Write speed1 | up to 440MB/s |
| IOPS2 | Up to 70000 |
| Access Time | ~ 0.2ms |
Acoustic Specifications
| Noise (idle) | 0.0db |
|---|---|
| Noise (load) | 0.0db |
| Vibration | 0 Hz |
Reliability Specifications
| MTBF | > 2,000,000 hours |
|---|---|
| Data Reliability | Built-in EDC/ECC function |
| Data Retention | 10 years at 25°C |
| Certifications | RoHS, FCC and CE compliant |
Environmental Specifications
| Shock (operating) | 2000G |
|---|---|
| Vibration (operating) | 20G |
| Operating Temp. | 0°C ~ +70°C |
| Storage Temp. | -40°C ~ 85°C |
| Operating Humidity | 5% to 95% non-condensing |
Electrical Specifications
| DC input voltage | 5V ± 5% |
|---|---|
| Power usage (idle) | 0.625W |
| Power usage (max)3 | 3.9W |
Physical Dimensions
| Width | 69.9mm ± 0.2mm |
|---|---|
| Height | 9.5mm ± 0.2mm |
| Lenght | 100.2mm ± 0.2mm |
| Weight | ~ 90g |
Warranty – 3 Years Limited Warranty
Although the AVraw MKII SSDs are generally more expensive than other compatible drives for the Atomos Shogun/Assassin, the added piece of mind for reliability may be something to consider if it fits your budget. The AVPro MkII are more on par with the SSDs from the likes of Sandisk and Transcend. For a full list of approved SSDs for the Atomos Shogun/Assassin click here. See the links below from B&H for pricing and to place your order.
B&H Links:
Atomos Shogun 4K Recorder Full Version – $1,995
Atomos Shogun BareBones 4K recorder – $1,695
Atomos Ninja Assasssin HDMI 4K recorder – $1,295
Blackmagic Production Camera 4K – $2,995
Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle 2 – $327.75
AngelBird 250GB AVpro mkII 2.5″ Solid State Drive – $179
AngelBird 500GB AVpro mkII 2.5″ Solid State Drive – $329
AngelBird 316GB AVraw mkII 2.5″ Solid State Drive – $479
AngelBird 632GB AVraw mkII 2.5″ Solid State Drive – $849
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate partner and participant in B&H and Adorama Affiliate programmes, we earn a small comission from each purchase made through the affiliate links listed above at no additional cost to you.
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There is absolutely no need for fast SSD in external recorders. For example a 800 Mb/sec of 4K pro res 10 bit 4:4:4 (a huge data rate) translates into 100 MB/sec. Any modern HDD can write at that speed, not to mention SSD’s which write at several times that speed.
The only thing important choosing a SSD may be it’s size and heat resistance and especially price.