For the most part, most indie filmmakers and post houses do their shared networking over "copper" ethernet. The cables are cheaper than fiber optics, the technology is built into the operating system, and it's an affordable way to share media with teams.
For the longest time that was all built around 1GB ethernet, but in the last few years, we've seen 10GB start to roll out to devices like the iMac Pro and the coming Mac Pro. But those both start around $5000.
For the rest of us, there's Sonnet, which came first, and now comes CalDigit to offer a Thunderbolt 3 to 10GB ethernet adapter to get our laptops up on a very fast shared network solution.
For only $149, you can now use the CalDigit Connect to hook up your Thunderbolt 3 Mac or PC to a 10GB network over Cat6e or Cat7 cable. It's bus-powered, so you don't need a power supply, and has a robust aluminum body with heat fins on all sides to keep cool, as well as large vents for even further cooling.
With platforms like Editshare and LumaForge working hard to make shared network storage more affordable and filmmaker-friendly, it's good to have more competition in the last step of the chain: connecting your system to the network. After all, a Macbook Pro hasn't had a built-in ethernet port in around a decade and is unlikely to have one again, so you are going to need to adapt it somehow.
Tech Specs
- Thunderbolt 3 (40Gb/s)
- 10GbE (Up to 10Gb/s)
- Connect to a wired network up to 100M
- CAT 3, 5, 5e, 6, 6a & 7 Compatible
- Ideal for 4K Video Workflows
- NBASE-T Compatible
- AVB over Ethernet (Audio Video Bridging)
- Wake-On-Lan
The CalDigit Connect is available now for $149.
