AJA Io Xpand brings KONA and Corvid I/O to Thunderbolt 5 laptops

AJA's new Thunderbolt 5 chassis lets KONA and Corvid PCIe cards run from laptops and mini-PCs. It starts at $499, with KONA bundles to follow.

AJA has unveiled Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5 PCIe expansion chassis for its KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. The enclosure lets users run AJA PCIe cards from Thunderbolt 5 laptops and mini-PCs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is aimed at production environments where space and portability matter, including on-set, remote production, and live switching. 

The chassis pairs with a KONA 1, KONA 4, or KONA 5 card to create a compact workstation with video capture and playback. Most AJA Corvid I/O cards can also be used with the enclosure for smaller-footprint developer solutions. The KONA 5 bundle gives Thunderbolt 5 laptop and mini-PC users 12G-SDI I/O, additional frame stores, and the full I/O stack, including AES/EBU audio and machine control.

The chassis ships with a 0.8 m (2.6 ft) Thunderbolt 5 cable, Thunderbolt cable lock, power cable, and universal power adapter.

Key features

• 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
• Near-silent operation via a temperature-controlled fan
• Thunderbolt daisy-chaining via a second Thunderbolt port
• Rugged aluminum internal enclosure
• Two-year warranty

Pricing and availability 

Io Xpand will be available through AJA's resellers at $499. Bundles pairing the chassis with a KONA 1, KONA 4, or KONA 5 card are also coming soon, priced from $1249 to $4455 depending on the model. Full bundle pricing is at www.aja.com/io-xpand.