Other World Computing announced today it has test certified the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini, a high-performance bus-powered RAID storage solution, for video capture and playback (via eSATA and FireWire 800) without dropping frames in the most popular compressed high definition video file formats including HDV, DVC Pro, and ProRes 422HQ. Available with two 2.5″ 7200RPM hard drives or OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSDs configured either in a RAID-1 “mirrored” or RAID-0 “stripe” mode, the test certified Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini models offers video and creative professionals Plug and Play storage capacity up to 2TB and data transfer speeds up to 300MB/s with Mac and PC computers.
Big Capacity In Easy To Transport Design
Measuring the approximate size of a portable CD player – 5.6″ (D) x 6.1″ (W) x 1.1″ (H) – the bus powered (no AC adapter needed) Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini’s unique flat side-by-side two drive design enables it to fit into any gear carrying bag for maximum “in the field” data protection of content transferred from video cameras. Packing a pair of 2.5″ SATA hard drives with up to 2.0TB of capacity or two award-winning OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSDs with up to 1TB (960GB after over-provisioning) of total capacity, the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini delivers big storage performance in an under two pound, fanless solution.
Convenient Yet Flexible Hardware RAID Settings
The Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini comes conveniently factory set for Plug and Play use in one of two RAID levels: RAID-1 for writing the same information in real-time for “live activity” data redundancy; or RAID-0 for “striping” data across both drives for the highest speed backup. Users who desire a change to either RAID level setting, including the SPAN option, can do so easily via switch selectors.
Compatible With New And Legacy Macs And PCs
With a “Quad Interface” of two FireWire 800 ports, one FireWire 400, one USB 2.0, and one eSATA port and high quality connecting cables included, the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini doesn’t require any complicated set-up and is ready for Plug and Play use with legacy Macs, the latest 2013 Mac models, and PCs. It provides data transfer speeds up to 300MB/s and can be moved between different systems utilizing its supported interfaces with complete interoperability for maximum data backup performance and flexibility.
Six Test Certified Models Available:
- 1.0TB (500GB+500GB 7200RPM) OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini preconfigured as RAID-0 or RAID-1 and FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interfaces. $219.9
- 1.5TB (750GB+750GB 7200RPM) OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini preconfigured as RAID-0 or RAID-1 and FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interfaces. $229.99
- 2.0TB (1.0TB+1.0TB 7200RPM) OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini preconfigured as RAID-0 or RAID-1 and FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interfaces. $279.99
- OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini with two 240GB, 480GB, or 960GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSDs priced starting at $337.99
In additional to the HD video test certified models, the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini is also available in 5400RPM hard drive models that are suitable for audio, photography, video playback, and other data storage needs. All Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini solutions come ready for Plug and Play ease of use with interface connecting cables, a $100 retail value disk utility software bundle, and an industry leading three-year complete solution warranty which includes free lifetime US-based 24/7 technical support and a 48-hour repair turnaround time with up to one year of complimentary Level 1 data recovery service.
“We’re very pleased to offer these proven solutions that meet the specific needs of video professionals,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing. “Compact, yet built to handle rugged use, the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini portable drive offers the industry’s best combination of capacity, speed, and convenience.”
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Dear OWC,
In my Opinion.
The life and the work is from long time “portable”, so Me and many people needs lighter and smarter products.
I need for my photo archive.
I’m waiting for the USB 3.0 Version enough fast and cheaper than Thundebolt.
Regards
Roberto Acciarri
We’ve all been waiting for the thunderbolt / usb 3.0 equipped mercury elite dual mini. Kinda frustrated, seen its the same thing they are saying since last year.. :(
This is new technology, and thank you for your patience… Thing is its been 2 years since Thunderbolt has been out, heck you don’t even need to release one, we can even accept if its usb 3.0 only. Of course having a thunderbolt would be nice.
If its taking so long to have a thunderbolt running why not use usb 3.0? I know people have been implementing usb 3.0 with their peripherals a lot longer than thunderbolt, so that would be more mature right?
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Just an idea, how about you guys release a usb 3.0 equipped, and just add a thunderbolt adapter later? Wouldn’t that work?
Many of our External Storage Solutions have been upgraded to USB 3.0, and eventually all of our USB connectivity options will be USB 3.0. Unfortunately, we cannot speak as to timeframes on future products.
Hi,
Any chance you can give us news on this? Having Thunderbolt and/or USB 3.0 for Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini. I believe this would be very popular if you release this :)
We have not been sitting idle and are hard at work on a significant roll out of Thunderbolt equipped products – most of which will also include USB 3.0 support. In the same like, we are also motivated to expand our Thunderbolt product selection in general, but these products in general and from all providers are taking longer to complete and introduce than any of us would have liked. This really is a very new technology and one with much promise and a great future. We are as anxious as you to have these Thunderbolt products available and we hope you can hang in there with us. I do believe our forth coming OWC and NewerTech Thunderbolt equipped solutions will be well worth the wait. Thank you for your patience!
I’ve been ready to buy a version of this product for months, but I’m not doing it until you pack in some interfaces that aren’t obsolete. I realize that Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 are vastly inadequate for powering this device. The solution is to use two cables. I already use RAID0 with drives that are plugged into different ports. I just want to consolidate them into a single enclosure to eliminate clutter.
These drives are great. But there’s no way I’d buy one now without at least USB 3. This drive with 2 thunderbolt ports and a USB 3 please.
We have not been sitting idle and are hard at work on a significant roll out of Thunderbolt equipped products – most of which will also include USB 3.0 support. In the same like, we are also motivated to expand our Thunderbolt product selection in general, but these products in general and from all providers are taking longer to complete and introduce than any of us would have liked. This really is a very new technology and one with much promise and a great future. We are as anxious as you to have these Thunderbolt products available and we hope you can hang in there with us. I do believe our forth coming OWC and NewerTech Thunderbolt equipped solutions will be well worth the wait. Thank you for your patience!
I still back you guys for the win. But without any ideas of what or when your thunderbolt drives will happen, it’d be pretty crazy to buy one of these. Especially knowing that you do have something coming.
I’m eagerly awaiting the upgrades so I can update the enclosure. In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out how to use this drive with my new Retina MacBook Pro. The FireWire adapter only provides 7W of power, not enough to power the twin 7200’s in this thing. And USB won’t power it. I can’t be tied to a wall wart either, so that option is out.
I’ve been thinking of using a USB3-eSata adapter for the speed but that doesn’t help me with the power issue.
Has anyone had luck powering these on the go with the Retina machines?
The optional AC Power Supply is the alternative if the computer is not supplying enough power via FireWire. You are correct in that Apple’s Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 Adapter provides only 7W of power, which is insufficient for most dual-HDD external storage solutions.
Just ordered another $600 worth of stuff from OWC, love you guys. But how can any Mac owner without a Mac Pro (which I have) come close to the RAID 0 speed of this drive without Thunderbolt or USB 3? OWC drives need modern ports to work with modern Macs, especially Thunderbolt, which you’re way behind in offering.
I personally won’t be ordering anything from OWC, until the long overdue thunderbolt enclosures arrive.