AJA launches Io Xpand chassis to bring Thunderbolt 5 to PCIe cards
AJA Video Systems has introduced the Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis designed for KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. The unit allows video professionals to utilize high-performance PCIe capture and playback cards with Thunderbolt 5 laptops and mini-PCs. It supports up to 6000 MB/s of bi-directional PCIe bandwidth and is designed for portable, remote, and live production environments.
Key Takeaways
- Supports up to 6000 MB/s bi-directional PCIe bandwidth for high-resolution video I/O.
- Compatible with Thunderbolt 5, 4, 3, and USB4 protocols for cross-generational hardware support.
- Specifically designed for full-height, half-length x4 Gen 4 PCIe cards, including double-width models.
- Bundles available featuring KONA 5 cards to provide portable 12G-SDI I/O and machine control.
- Enclosure includes internal temperature-controlled fan and a second port for Thunderbolt daisy-chaining.
Why It Matters
The Io Xpand represents a critical hardware milestone as the industry transitions to Thunderbolt 5 infrastructure. By doubling the available bandwidth over previous standards, AJA enables desktop-grade 12G-SDI performance on compact laptops and mini-PCs, facilitating high-bandwidth 4K and 8K workflows in remote and live production settings. This moves professional I/O away from bulky tower workstations and toward highly portable, modular setups. For the broader ecosystem, it signals that Thunderbolt 5 is moving from consumer accessories into the core of professional media production. Watch for whether competitors like Blackmagic Design release similar 80Gbps-capable chassis to support their own high-end capture cards later this year.
Additional Context
The launch of AJA’s Io Xpand coincides with the broader rollout of the Intel-certified 'Barlow Ridge' Thunderbolt 5 controller. Per Forbes in June 2026, third-party manufacturers including StarTech and Keychron have recently introduced Thunderbolt 5 docking stations that provide up to 80Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth and 120Gbps in 'Bandwidth Boost' mode for display-heavy tasks. This ecosystem expansion is critical for video professionals, as Thunderbolt 5 enables external NVMe storage to reach speeds of up to 6,000 MB/s—double the ceiling of Thunderbolt 4 (per Ivanky, December 2025).
Hardware adoption has accelerated since early 2026, when Apple integrated Thunderbolt 5 into high-end MacBook Pros and Mac minis featuring M4 Pro and M4 Max silicon (per Forbes, February 2026). This shift directly addresses a long-standing bottleneck in external high-res video capture, where the 40Gbps limit of Thunderbolt 4 frequently caused data starvation when multiple high-speed peripherals were connected to the same bus.
Industry analysts note that while initial Thunderbolt 5 uptake was limited to premium devices costing over $2,000 (per Ed Tittel, December 2025), the arrival of production-grade hardware at events like InfoComm 2026 confirms the standard is now the baseline for next-generation mobile production. Unlike its predecessor, Thunderbolt 5 supports PCIe Gen 4, allowing hardware like AJA’s KONA 5 cards to operate at near-internal speeds even when connected via an external cable.
Read full article at content-technology.com
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