ExpressCard is the replacement standard for PCMCIA, boasting some good specs. It is based on the new pci-express standard on the new high end desktops out there. Basically it equals direct access to the processor and 4x the speed of current pcmcia cardbus slots.

So here's my question.

Could we possibly see an ExpressCard based render card, like the canopus or matrox RT cards? Obviously it would have to be an outboard unit connected via pc slot - but at least you could have it set up in a docking station arrangment.

Thoughts?

Now, this is from an apple/mac perspective (are we allowed to speak?), but I don't see that the direction things will go. I could forsee there being all sorts of capture/codec cards (SDI, 601, SD, even HD) and even super fast/high memory video cards. But I just don't see how a 'render card' would work. At least in mac land, all the apps are becoming very dependant on hardware (CPU) for rendering and video cards for real time effects. The problem (and the reason they didn't become more popular) with the proprietary real-time cards is that you must output through the card. So, it really isn't true WYSIWYG. Plus, anything you got realtime with the card, you had to render to output to anything other than 601 component video (DV, SDI, HD, etc). Plus, to gain any of the realtime card's benifits, you had to conform to their video standard (render anything that isn't DV NTSC). So, to use the realtime card, you have to work in NTSC DV, but you have to output to 601 component (an analog format). That's stupid! Maybe that's changed. That would be a huge step. But I doubt it. The CPU does the rendering and the video card does the realtime. Unless you're talking about some card that acts as a render farm node (that I haven't even heard talk of), or a codec card (like Kona, Igniter, etc), or a super sweet video card, I just don't see how it would work.

But that's sweet that they're comming out with such a fast standard. Just today I was researching how to do a dual channel firewire 800-based striped aray (RAID 0)--one of the channels being off of a PCMCIA firewire800 card in my laptop. So this stuff is relevant to me right now.

all the best

This is totally relevant to mac because the standard for pcmcia runs across both platforms - i would imagine despite the fact that the protocol is based on a pc piece of tech that it will translate somehow to macs. They have to, apple would never let pcs have a standard above them. Regarding the original question, i should explain what it is i really want to do, preferably by next summer. I'm looking into the alienware desktop replacement style laptops, with an extra internal 7200 rpm drive. This would allow serious editing on the road. Fully loaded these things run around 4700 at the moment. By next summer the specs should be much higher and include expresscard.

When i take the laptop home i dont want to switch to a desktop. So i'd like to have my external drives, audio stuff(like my tascam us-428 usb i/o) and such and second monitor set up in a docking station style setup, so that essentially i'd have a full editing rig run off of my laptop. I could send out to a monitor via a dv stream, but i would like to have a real time effects card to run it through at home. So thats how this plays into it. At the moment there are no devices of the sort available for the cardbus format. OH, and i'm setting up my 1.8Ghz desktop as a render farm with this setup as well. So i guess i wouldnt be looking so much for a render card as for a realtime effects card. I mispoke

And for the record....I have a reason to not be on a mac. Video is only one of the things i do, along with audio, flash development, visual studio and other stuff...so i need a pc. And i cant afford to be dual platform. So i dont want to hear the "get a G5" response, that aint the point of this thread