Sony unveils G Series Professional SATA SSD with up to 960GB capacity for content creators

SATA Solid state drives are pretty much all the same nowadays from a speed standpoint. They are as fast as they are going to be, as the SATA interface is saturated and maxed out. With that said, there are ways to improve on these SSDs, such as the type of memory used, the controller, and durability of materials.

Today, Sony unveils the G Series Professional SATA SSD. Designed for video content creators, it comes in two capacities -- 960GB (SV-GS96) and 480GB (SV-GS48). It is meant to be connected directly to certain video cameras, and then connected to a PC. The company claims the drives can last for an impressive 10 years of regular use, and for added durability, the SATA connectors are rated for 3000 insertions and removals. This is apparently six time stronger than the typical SATA connector, which can be rather delicate, actually -- I have cracked a few in my experience.

"Using Sony’s Error Correction Code technology, the 960GB G Series SSD achieves up to 2400 TBW (terabytes written), while the 460GB drive can reach 1200 TBW, resulting in less frequent replacement and increased ROI. 2400 TBW translates to about 10 years of use for the SV-GS96, if data is fully written to the drive an average of five times per week," says Sony.

The company further says, "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."

If you are interested in buying the Sony G Series Professional SATA SSD, you must be prepared to really open your wallet. The 480GB variant will cost $287, while the larger model is $539. This is quite expensive, and quite frankly, I am dubious that it is truly worth the premium. Not to mention, Sony is mum on the type of NAND memory (SLC, MLC, TLC) or controller that is being used. If you are willing to shell out the money, however, you can pick it up in May.