AJA announces Io Xpand, a new Thunderbolt 5 PCIe expansion chassis for KONA and Corvid I/O cards, it is designed to unlock the performance of AJA PCIe I/O cards for media professionals leveraging Thunderbolt 5 laptops and mini-PCs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The unit is compact, portable, and built for demanding environments from on-set to live production.

Io Xpand will be offered as a standalone unit, or in three bundles that include the Io Xpand and either a single KONA 1, KONA 4, or KONA 5 card. The KONA 5/Io Xpand bundle provides Thunderbolt 5 laptop and mini-PC users with access to the PCIe card’s high-performance 12G-SDI I/O, additional frame stores, and full I/O stack – including AES/EBU audio and machine control – in a portable, plug-and-play solution.

Io Xpand Key Features Include:
• Thunderbolt 5, 4, 3, and USB4 compatibility
• Windows, macOS, and Linux support
• Support for full height, half length, x4 Gen 4 PCIe cards
• Compatibility with double-width PCIe cards and PCIe cards with daughter cards
• Up to 6000 MB/s of bi-directional PCIe bandwidth to the installed card
• Support for PCIe 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1 cards
• Nearly silent operation via a temperature-controlled fan
• Thunderbolt daisy-chaining support via a second Thunderbolt port
• A portable, lightweight, and rugged aluminum internal enclosure
• A two-year warranty

Io Xpand will be available soon for purchase through AJA’s network of resellers for $499 US MSRP. Bundle packages that include an Io Xpand chassis and either a KONA 1, a KONA 4, or a KONA 5 I/O card are also coming soon, with prices ranging from $1249 US MSRP to $4455 US MSRP, depending on the KONA model. For more information and bundle pricing, please visit: https://www.aja.com/io-xpand