Western Digital offers professional content creators a new level of speed, with three new professional-grade ultra-fast G-Technology solutions for those who need to work with large 4K and 8K RAW video.

The power of Thunderbolt 3 present in Western Digital’s three new SSD solutions was revealed at NAB 2018, giving professional content creators who need to access, edit and share massive 4k and 8k RAW video from multi camera shoots in real time, a fast and reliable solution. With these three new professional-grade ultra-fast solutions in its powerful G-Technology G-DRIVE and G-SPEED Shuttle product families, Western Digital is meeting the escalating fast-transfer and high-capacity demands of professionals.

Working with large 4K and 8K RAW video means massive file sizes and is undoubtedly one of the largest pain points for content editors. With new cameras capable of capturing over 400 MB/s of RAW data, there is an opportunity for content professionals to create incredibly high-resolution footage and ever-more immersive viewer experiences. It is not uncommon for a production crew to be on-location for two or three months recording three to four terabytes per day of footage from multiple cameras. With this expansion of data capture, comes a potential bottleneck in maintaining a real-time workflow on location. Until now, according to Western Digital, as the company adds new products to its award-winning G-Technology G-DRIVE and G-SPEED families which enable creative professionals to access and work with data quickly and enable real-time 4K and 8K workflows.

“Saving time means getting more done, which means booking more jobs over the course of a year,” said Scott Vouri, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Western Digital. “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 up to 2800MB/s, the the new G-Technology Pro SSDs offer an ultra-fast, super-reliable solution for any creative project team.”

The first of the products announced is the G-DRIVE Mobile Pro SSD. With storage running at 2800MB/s, the G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD ( available with up to 1TB of capacity) lets you edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate, quickly render projects and experience them at full resolution, and transfer as much as a terabyte of media in seven minutes or less (for capacities 1TB or larger) wherever you are.

A durable, shock-resistant design uses specially engineered components to endure traveling, while a single Thunderbolt 3 port lets you instantly edit footage on the go with incredible speed without the need for wall power. An aluminum core prevents overheating and maintains a consistent high performance, and with a trusted 5-year limited warranty, you get a durable, fast solution. The G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD solution with Thunderbolt 3 is available in the U.S. Summer of 2018 in capacities of 500GB ($659.95) and 1TB ($1,049.95) USD.

The second solution presented at NAB 2018 is the G-DRIVE Pro SSD. Equipped with scorching fast transfer rates of up to 2800MB/s, the G-DRIVE Pro SSD solution (up to 7.68TB of capacity) with Thunderbolt 3 technology enables a filmmaker to edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate, quickly render projects and experience them at full resolution, and transfer as much as a terabyte of content in seven minutes or less (for capacities 1TB or larger).

Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports are ready to daisy-chain up to five additional devices, while a stackable, rugged aluminum enclosure offers a durable way to help keep your workplace tidy. Combined with Enterprise-class solid state drives, an endurance rating of one drive write per day (DW/D) endurance rating, and a trusted 5-year limited warranty, the G-DRIVE Pro SSD delivers reliable, high-performance desktop storage you can rely on. The G-DRIVE Pro SSD solution with Thunderbolt 3 is available in the U.S. May of 2018 in capacities of 960GB ($1,399.95), 1.92TB ($2,099.95), 3.84TB ($4,099.95) and 7.68TB ($7,599.95) USD.

The third product on the list is the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD. With up to 16TB of SSD capacity, the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD with Thunderbolt 3 is optimized to support multi-stream HD, 4K, 8K, VR and VFX workflows. Equipped with transfer rates up to 2800MB/s, hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, 50, and eight removable SSDs pre-loaded and configured in RAID 5, it is built for ultra-demanding production workflows. The G-SPEED Shuttle SSD is available in the U.S. this month in capacities of 8TB ($5,099.95) and 16TB ($7,599.95).

Looking to see how these drives are used in the real world? Check out how “Deadliest Catch” utilizes G-Technology drives to store and transport hundreds of hours of footage from their basecamp in Alaska to their editing rooms in Burbank