The Australian maker of professional video production hardware and software has unveiled a range of new products ahead of the upcoming NABshow, including network storage solutions ranging from cheap and simple like the Cloud Pod shown here to highly professional and correspondingly expensive. NAS is not only for video creators/studios, but also for photographers and everyone who works in a team. It can also be used in temporary workstations with existing cabling. With Cloud Pod, you get network storage service without having to pay for subscriptions or licenses. There is also no risky ability to track data usage by an external service.
Blackmagic has announced the Cloud Pod. It turns any USB-C drive, like the one pictured with a Samsung T7 SSD attached, into high-speed network storage with 10G Ethernet, Dropbox sync, and HDMI monitoring.
Inexpensive portable network storage
Blackmagic Design is known for all kinds of hardware for video creators and film/television/streaming studios. Now an Australian company has released the Blackmagic Cloud Pod, with which any USB-C drive can be used as network storage. Users can set up their own NAS using existing USB-C flash drives. Its features include high-speed 10G Ethernet and Dropbox sync, allowing users to cache files locally and share them with anyone on the network. The Blackmagic Cloud Pod even has an HDMI monitoring output that shows you the status of your NAS in real time.
The Blackmagic Cloud Pod is available now from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for $395. Technical details are listed in the table at the end of the article.
The Compact Cloud Capsule is portable, so you can also take it with you to temporary workspaces.
Blackmagic Cloud Pod Features:
- Compact design for connecting two external USB-C drives
- Hardware acceleration for high performance
- Sync with Dropbox
- Includes HDMI monitoring output with live memory status
- Includes high-speed 10G Ethernet port
- No subscriptions, licenses, or data usage tracking
- Utility included for Mac and Windows
Blackmagic Cloud Pod is changing the way you work. It is suitable for film and TV projects as it makes files written to USB-C drives available to multiple editors and colorists over a network. Even huge 12K digital movie files can be used in Blackmagic RAW, depending on the brand of USB-C drive you’re using. USB-C drives are great because they’re affordable, fast, and available at any office supply store.
Because Blackmagic Cloud Pod has no internal storage, it has a very small and sleek design. In addition, it is very quiet and portable. With dual USB-C ports, the Cloud Pod supports two separate USB drives on the network at the same time. The 10G Ethernet connection also makes it extremely powerful. A live graphical representation of storage activity can be viewed on a TV or monitor via the HDMI monitoring output.
A separate ultra-fast 10G Ethernet connection brings the Blackmagic Cloud Pod to insane speed. Internal processing is designed for maximum speed over the 10G Ethernet port. This is how you get the best performance from the fastest USB-C drives. Low file access latency ensures fast response to USB-C drives. Even when cutting large 12K RAW digital movie files. Even multi-camera editing with huge digital movie files runs incredibly smoothly with memory.
Rear panel with connectors (top) and side view of the compact Cloud Pod. It measures 126.5mm wide, 161.2mm deep and 26mm high and thick. Its weight is 480 grams.
You can now set up a local cache for Dropbox files. This greatly speeds up the work, since the files are available immediately and without downloading them from the Internet. Moving cached files from Dropbox to the Blackmagic Cloud Store also saves space on your computer and makes them available to everyone on your local network. You can even sync multiple Blackmagic Cloud Pods or cloud storage via Dropbox. This allows colleagues in different geographical locations to work together without delay, and everyone has a local copy of the files.
The HDMI output for monitoring is perhaps the most exciting feature. Just plug in your TV or monitor to view the status of your Blackmagic Cloud Store in real time. The memory map displays the main memory and read and write access of connected users in real time. Four more graphs show data transfer over the four main 10G Ethernet links. The main storage indicator shows the capacity of the connected USB-C drive and its current usage. In addition, you can read the status of each Dropbox connection.
The Blackmagic Cloud Pod supports a high-speed 10G Ethernet connection, usually found only in expensive workstations. 10G Ethernet delivers speeds ten times faster than conventional Ethernet. Most computers can also be upgraded to 10G Ethernet, even if dozens of users access files at the same time through an Ethernet switch. In addition, low latency Ethernet ensures instant file access. This performance is equivalent to more expensive enterprise SANs, but in a cost-effective do-it-yourself design.
The great advantage of the Blackmagic Cloud Pod is that you always have full control over your personal storage. No subscription or monthly license fees. Data usage is not tracked. You do not need to register on the website to manage storage settings. Blackmagic Cloud Pod uses a free utility that works on Mac and Windows. Thus, it is possible to manage a private network that is completely independent of the Internet. This is necessary to comply with security standards that require computer networks not to be connected to the Internet.
If you need to change settings, the Blackmagic Cloud Pod Utility is available for Mac and Windows. In principle, it connects like any other hard drive and is easily configured. Thus, users can get started without an IT consultant. Any changes to the Cloud Pod network settings are made in the utility. You can also add new folders there to sync with Dropbox.
“I am thrilled with this product because it makes the entire DaVinci Resolve collaboration process so much easier and incredibly accessible,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “This product is ideal for setting up network storage at home and then constantly syncing it with Dropbox. So you can work remotely at the speed of local storage. The Blackmagic Cloud Pod is always in sync to give you always access to your files locally.”
Prices and Availability
The Blackmagic Cloud Pod is available now from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for $395/€395 before duties and taxes. The price in francs was not reported,
Further information
Blackmagic Cloud Module (merged product page)
Black magic design (products webpage)
Authorized retailers:
Photo Video Zumstein
Casinoplatz 8
CH-3011 Bern
T: 031 310 90 80
Schweizer AG – Professional Video Technology
Rytistrasse 12
CH-8952 Schlieren
T: +41 43 81037-37
Visuals Switzerland
Bergstrasse 23
8953 Dieticone
T: +41 43 255 59 00
event announcement (Swiss Events Corporation)
Allmendstrasse 29
CH-8320 Feraltorf
T: +41 44 99470-00
Distributor DACH region (only for specialized dealers)
New Media AB
D-90419 Nuremberg)
| Blackmagic Cloud Module – Characteristics | |
| connections | |
| 10G Ethernet ports | 1 port 100/1000/10GBase-T |
| USB-C port | 2x USB Type C with USB 3.0 (up to 5Gb/s) for external storage |
| HDMI monitor outputs | 1xHDMI |
| computer interface | Ethernet for file sharing, configuration and software updates USB-C for configuration and software updates |
| file sharing | |
| magazines | small and medium businesses |
| computer connections | Maximum 50 |
| Cloud sync | |
| Compatible services | Drop box |
| storage | |
| storage type | Bring your device |
| External storage | USB drives |
| External storage format | ExFAT (Windows/Mac) or HFS+ (Mac) file systems |
| screens | |
| HDMI monitor output standards | 1080p/50; 1080p/59.94; 1080p/60 |
| Monitor output display | Device name, storage capacity and usage, cloud sync status, user activity, hardware status, storage map, network data rate indicator |
| status indicators | The glowing bar indicates the processes of writing and reading in red |
| device management | |
| External control | USB-C or Ethernet for configuration and software updates |
| software | |
| Included Software | Blackmagic Cloud Configuration Utility Blackmagic Lite Proxy Generator Updating Product Software Using Blackmagic Cloud Setup via USB-C Port |
| compatible operating systems | macOS 11.1 (Big Sur), 12.0 (Monterey) or higher Windows 10 and 11 |
| Power Requirements | |
| source of power | 1 external power supply 12 V DC 60 W |
| power consumption | 1 lockable 12 V DC socket for 5.5 mm round plug |
| power consumption | 25W without external USB drives |
| Environmental conditions | |
| working temperature | 0-40℃ |
| storage temperature | -20-60℃ |
| Relative Humidity | 0-90% non-condensing |
| device | |
| dimensions | 126.5mm (W) x 161.2mm (D) x 26mm (H) |
| Weight | 480g |
| Included | Blackmagic Cloud Module Universal power supply with locking mechanism and international adapters Initial folder with QR code for software download |
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