AJA Video Systems Pak Dock

One of the most sturdy SSD docks that's built like a tank.

It feels wonderful to do business with a company that stands behind their products—ones that deliver as advertised and as promised, even moreso to ensure an easier transition in getting the job done from A to B. We can't help but talk about this Pak Dock from a great company AJA Video Systems. It just keeps getting better and better.

The contents of the package comes with the Pak Media Dock and the AC adapter (12VDC). As far as we know, it does not come with USB nor does it come with Thunderbolt™ cables (at least ours didn't). Much like the Pak Media itself, the Dock feels smooth yet solid enough to stay put on a desk or tabletop without sliding off wrecklessly. It is built like a tank, able to withstand some dings here and there; Not to mention, this product was made here in the USA. When plugging the Pak Media into the Dock, you can hear the friction of both metal surfaces grinding against each other, knowing that the products you're using don't mess around ("tough enough," we would describe it). Reason being is that there are times when the offloading media operator/editor is pressed on Time and needs to transfer the media off the card and to the computer, thus even when being too aggressive or careless, this product can handle it just fine. AJA really thought ahead with this one.

As for compatibility, this Dock connects either with USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt™. The time our production company SHOWSOTROS Productions was founded became the time when FireWire secured as the top dog in fastest file transfers. Times have changed dramatically, with the huge improvement of USB and Apple®'s small but powerful Thunderbolt™ connection. Because our network made the decision to switch back to the Windows platform, due to cost-friendly solutions, we use the humble but just-as-fast USB 3.0. Since most of AJA's products cater to the users of Macintosh, some third-party plug-ins and software is required to read and modify media that's formatted in HFS+. Personally, we recommend Catacombae if you're editing on a Windows platform. While there may be other options, we also tested Paragon's software, but unfortunately, has caused problems. Here's an online thread discussing the wonky software which has caused corrupted drives for others:


(Click image to read the full thread.)

This, too, has caused a near-rupture of our drive, namely, our Pak Media. With that being said, others may be a better option; Don't consider and install HFS+ software from Paragon.

Besides that, this Dock is the perfect compliment to your Pak Media. The connections and the offloading of the clips are painless, and the build material of this Dock clearly can withstand even the impatient editor whose rush job assignment can be done and be met on deadline.

We cannot say enough good things about AJA's products. It does the job and fulfills needs, especially ours and hopefully yours too.

Complain less, go for AJA!

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming (software development) and video production, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, playing old video/DOS games, digital video archiving, and listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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