As 4K production picks up for professionals from something that’s done on specific jobs to every piece of content being shot in the resolution, so does the wear and tear that goes on the equipment, namely capture cards. While there already exists 4K SSD cards like the Kingston HyperX Savage, they’re not necessarily designed for the long haul like the G-series from Sony which they claim will last 10 years under heavy use.

Here is Steve Dent from Engadget:

 Aspiring 4K filmmakers who want the best quality can buy pro-level RAW video cameras on the cheap, or use a DSLR with an external 4K recorder like the Atomos Ninja 2. However, the SSDs on such devices often record and dump out high bit-rate 4K video multiple times a week, so they need to be much faster and more durable than the one on your laptop. That’s where Sony comes in with its latest G Series Professional SSDs, which can write up to 2,400 terabytes without failing and use tech that prevents disastrous frame dropping.

Sony says the SV-GS96 960GB model’s 2,400 terabyte rating will let you fully write the drive five days a week for ten years without failing, while the 480GB model (SV-GS48) gives you about half that durability. Both drives can read at up to 550 MB/s and write at 500 MB/s, but Sony adds that the drives “feature built-in technology preventing sudden speed decreases, while ensuring stable recording of high bit-rate 4K video without frame dropping.”

The drives also have built-in data protection tech that protects them from power failures and connectors that can handle 3,000 removal and insertions, “six times more tolerance than standard SATA connectors,” it says. 

Like most Sony products, these guys don’t come cheap. For example, their 960GB SSD drive costs $539 where the mentioned Kingston HyperX Savage is priced at $350 but if you’re a professional, that’s a small price to pay for something that’s better.

From Sony:

 The drives are also designed for ultra-fast, stable data writing. While other SSDs have a tendency for data write speeds to suddenly drop after repeated re-write cycles, Sony G Series SSDs feature built-in technology preventing sudden speed decreases, while ensuring stable recording of high bitrate 4K video without frame dropping. For example, used with an ATOMOS Shogun Inferno, G series SSD is able to record video at 4K 60p (ProRes 422 HQ) mode stably.

When paired with the necessary connection cables, the new G Series drives can be effortlessly removed from a recorder and connected to a computer for file downloading, making editing easier and faster with read speeds up to 550MB/s.

G Series SSDs also offer data protection technology that keeps content secure and intact, even if a sudden power failure occurs.  To add to the drive’s stability, it features a durable connector which withstands extreme repeated insertion and removal up to 3000 times – or 6 times more tolerance than standard SATA connectors – even in harsh conditions. 

Both units are set to launch in May and run $539 for SV-GS96 and $287 for SV-GS48. Now let’s watch a video!