Multichannel Hardware and Software Bundles

At Softron, se have gathered what we think are the highest quality hardware components in order to ensure the best experience possible with the certified bundles. The bundles are split in two categories, Software and Hardware. The S|Software bundles are put together for those who have their own hardware, and for those who want the best hardware - there is the M|Hardware bundles.

M|Hardware bundles

Hardware and software packaged together with you in mind.

  • the M|4i and M|8i include the 4 or 8 MovieRecorder licenses on a dongle, and the Deltacast card. Ideal if you want to use the video card in a Mac Pro.
  • the M|4e and M|8e adds the thunderbolt expansion chassis - perfect for the Mac Studio, MacBook, or the Mac mini.
Made for portability

The M|4e and M|8e, M|4eare built to be on location. The Sonnet Echo Express SEL has one of the smallest form factors for Thunderbolt expansion chassis. Perfectly fit in a backpack, with your laptop on the go.

The ultimate hardware

If every second counts, and if compromise isn't in your vocabulary, then the ultimate hardware is what you need. The hardware bundles come with a high-end, low latency Deltacast card capable of up to 4 channels of UHD60p, or 8 channels of HD60p when inside a Mac Pro. The M|4e and M|8e models models come with the Thunderbolt 3 expansion chassis, which supports, in 8bit, up to 2 channels of UHD60p, or 4 channels of UHD30p, or 7 channels of HD60p, or 8 channels of HD50p... Make sure to check the tech specs section here to see what is supported.

S|Software Bundles

Softron applications work with more hardware solutions from Blackmagic Designs, AJA, or IP based solutions like NDI. For that we have various combinations like the S|40E with 4 licenses of MovieRecorder Express for 4 inputs, up to the S|80R with 8 licenses of MovieRecorder AND 8 licences of M|Replay. The best combination if you need to do both kind of workflows. These bundles are provided with one single serial number holding all the licenses.

Buy

Number of licenses
S|40E 4 0 0
S|40 0 4 0
S|80 0 8 0
S|8R 0 0 8
S|80R 0 8 8
M|4i 0 4 0
M|4e 0 4 0
M|8i 0 8 0
M|8e 0 8 0


Below you will find the features and tech specs for the M|Xi and M|Xe hardware bundles. These are only for the hardware itself (Sonnet chassis and Deltacast card). To check the features and tech specsof the software themsleves, make sure to check the software pages.

Features & Hardware Specs M|4i or M|8i M|4e or M|8e
Includes Deltacast card DELTA-12G-elp-h 4c
Includes Sonnet Echo Express SEL expansion chassis (Thunderbolt 3)
Independent connectors Support either in or out, using different formats
SDI Connectors 9 x Micro BNC (HD-BNC)
4 x 12G connectors + 4 x 3G connectors + 1 x Ref/LTC input
Timecode LTC input
Sync input Analog blackburst, tri-level sync (genlock)
Max Resolution Up to 8K60 using quad link (1 Channel max) Up to 8K30p using quad link (1 Channel max)
Pixel Formats 8bit or 10bit 8bit or 10bit
WideGammut Support for Rec 601, Rec 708 and Rec 2020
HDR Support for PQ, HLG
Mix formats and frame rates on INPUT
Mix formats on OUTPUT
Mix frame rates on OUTPUT
Dimensions Sonnet Echo Express SEL (WxDxH): 4 x 8.25 x 2.8 in. (10.3 x 21 x 7.28 cm) Deltacast Card (Depth): 66 in. (167.65 cm)

Below you will find the maximum number of channels that the M|Xi and M|Xe hardware bundles can support.

IMPORTANT NOTES: The numbers below tell you what the hardware of the bundles can do. But these numbers can vary depending on:

  • The computer you use: You need to make sure that your computer will be able to sustain to encode that many channels in the codec you want. Contact us if you have questions about this.
  • How you connect the device: Wether you use the M|4i or M|8i inside a Mac Pro, or if you use the card in a Thunderbolt expansion chassis. You will see that you won't be able to achieve as many channels with the M|Xe bundles as the M|Xi (used inside a Mac Pro). This is because of the Thunderbolt bandwidth limitations.
  • The expansion chassis you use: the Sonnet Echo Express SEL that we provide are PCIe 3.0 expansion chassis. If you use another one, make sure it is PCIe 3 and has the required bandwidth.
  • The version of the bundle you use. If you order an M|4i or an M|4e, they come with 4 MovieRecorder licenses, so you will be limited by that number of channels, unless you purchase more MovieRecorder licenses.

Maximum Number of channels
for the M|4i and M|8i hardware (inside a Mac Pro)
8bit
10bit
HD - Up to 1920x1080 p 60 8 8
4K (UHD) - Up to 3840x2160 p 60 4 4
8K - Up to 7680x4320 p 60 1 1
Maximum Number of channels *
for the M|4e and M|8e hardware
8bit
10bit
HD - Up to 1920x1080 p 30 8 8
HD - Up to 1920x1080 p 50 8 7
HD - Up to 1920x1080 p 60 7 6
4K (UHD) - Up to 3840x2160 p 25 4 4
4K (UHD) - Up to 3840x2160 p 30 4 3
4K (UHD) - Up to 3840x2160 p 50 3 2
4K (UHD) - Up to 3840x2160 p 60 2 1
8K - Up to 7680x4320 p 25 1 1
8K - Up to 7680x4320 p 30 1 0
8K - Up to 7680x4320 p 60 0 0

* Tested on a Mac Studio M1 Ultra, with drivers "6.20" available in February 2023, with the card in a Sonnet Echo Express SEL. Make sure to download the latest drivers from our website as previous drivers had slower performances. Results may differ on other computers, and other expansion chassis. Contact us before purchase if you have any questions.
Supported Deltacast Drivers with M|Family bundles
Bundle Versions First Supported Drivers Last Supported Drivers
Bundles sold between September 2019 and 2022 (Using Deltacast 12G/2C or Deltacast 12G/4C) macOS 10.15 or later: 6.19 macOS 10.15 or later: latest
Bundles sold between 2013 and August 2019 (Using Deltacast HD cards (not 3G)) Up to macOS 10.14: 5.17
macOS 10.15 or later: 6.13
Up to macOS 10.14: 6.11
macOS 10.15 or later: 6.19


WARNING:

  • Make sure to also check the Deltacast driver required for your Softron application. You can find the info on the page of the software you use in the tech spec section
  • Apple Silicon computers require drivers 6.19 or later
  • You should only download the Deltacast drivers from our website. Indeed we validate them with our applications before putting them online.


About these specifications

We know that some of our users can not upgrade their macOS very often. This is why Softron tries to maintain compatibility with older versions of macOS as much as possible, but it is not always possible to achieve. Because Operating Systems are usually significantly improved over previous versions, Softron must use many of the more capable built-in functionalities inherent in Apple's latest OS releases. Failing to do so would mean that Softron software would essentially be blocked from using the new Frameworks provided in the OS. For this reason, Softron's free support is provided only on the current and previous macOS versions. Also, most of our tests will be done on these macOS versions, and only basic tests will be done on the previous OS. We will always try to help, but in some cases, the best solution is to upgrade your macOS to a more recent version.


Softron does not warrant that these recommended configurations will always meet specific user requirements. They are intended as guidelines and are based on extensive testing that Softron has done, they can be changed without notice. Hardware, drivers, software and operating systems change regularly and we advise users and prospective users to evaluate their requirements in their specific environment/workflow using Softron demo licenses that are available for downloading from Softron's web site.

Deltacast Drivers
Version 6.21
Download

Useful Resources


Installation instructions

Once downloaded, unzip the file, and inside the folder double-click on the installer and follow the instructions.
If a Firmware upgrade is required, make sure to check the following article in our help center.