8 Channel High Definition Audio

The Shuttle XPC comes with audio capabilities that are not usually found on personal computers. The high definition 8-channel audio outputs allow connection to 7.1 surround-sound speaker systems. This means that right out of the box you can listen to material without a sound card being installed. Now let's be clear, this is not professional quality audio but the high quality is perfectly good for games, work and/or home entertainment. Certainly, you will need a high quality audio interface for serious audio editing.

Line In

This port is designed for recording analog signals coming from most devices. It records at sampling rates up to 48 KHz and is ideal for transferring audio from cassettes, DJ mixers, etc. for audio restoration applications.

SPDIF Output / Optical Digital Input

SPDIF Output port you can stream 16-bit audio from the hard drive to a digital recorder [DAT, Audio card, other Shuttle XPC System] at up to 48 KHz. The Shuttle XPC System is the first audio computer with a built in digital output as standard equipment.

Digital Input port allows the recording of digital audio directly to the hard drive from an audio interface. You can use this to complete audio transfers to your Shuttle XPC from a digital recorder. This port uses the new cap-less connector so you won't lose your optical covers anymore.

COAX Digital Output

This port allows the streaming of digital audio directly from the hard drive to an audio interface. This is for devices with COAX digital inputs like audio interfaces, DAT machines and hardware digital recorders. For most Shuttle XPC users the digital I/O that will be used will be on the audio interface.

FireWire

This is the main 6-pin FireWire® 400 port. This is ideal for connecting your FireWire interfaces. This port has power so it can power most of the smaller FireWire interfaces that do not need to be plugged into AC power.

USB 2.0 Ports

Capable of a blistering transfer rate of 480MBPS, these ports allow for the connection of high performance storage devices and high definition audio devices. We have tested audio hard drives connected to these USB 2.0 ports and we can report that they are fast enough for large audio production with scores of audio tracks. The next major wave of USB 2.0 products will be high-definition [24/96/192] audio interfaces that connect to the computer solely through USB 2.0. We can't say enough about the tremendous power available to the audio professionals via USB 2.0.

LAN / Gigabit Ethernet

The presence of a Gigabit Ethernet port on the back of the Shuttle XPC means more than fast network connections, this port is fast enough to play large numbers of digital audio files over Ethernet. So beyond being the best way to manage data, Gigabit Ethernet allows digital musicians to access files without first bringing them to the local hard drive.

eSATA

New Shuttle series XPCs are now shipped with eSATA ports, providing a cost effective drive scalability solution for SFF platforms. eSATA is hot plug enabled allows for instant plug and play similar to tradition external USB drives, but the eSATA interface allows for much higher dad transfer speed of 3.0Gb/s, up to 6 times faster performance than USB 2.0 or FireWire 400.

PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard

We were not content to force you to use your USB bandwidth for mouse and keyboard input data. We believe that the best protocol for connecting a keyboard and mouse to an audio computer is via a PS/2 keyboard and mouse.

HDMI

High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) has become the main interface for providing high definition audio and video quality. Shuttle as a leader in small form factor (SFF) computers has included HDMI output with content protection High-bandwidth Digital Content Protect (HDCP) specification on all D’VO Series and on selected models of XPC Glamor Series. With a single HDMI cable delivering all your high definition videos and high quality audios, reducing cable clutter and yet still providing great quality.