Kona 3X
|
AJA Kona 3
Visualize
uncompressed video, 8-channel AES and embedded 16-channel audio,
up/cross/down HD/SD format conversion, hardware downstream keyer and
HD/SD component analog output, Its all yours on a state-of-the-art 4-lane
PCI Express (KONA 3) or PCI-X card (KONA 3X). Intrigued?
Like other members of the KONA family,
KONA 3 is designed for no-holds-barred design and editing with
support for Apple Final Cut Studio, plus hardware acceleration for the
DVCPROHD and HDV codecs, and Dynamic RT Extreme effects in Final Cut
Pro 5. It’s a knockout
KONA 3 the new standard-bearer for quality,
flexibility and future-safe architecture in a QuickTime I/O card.
KONA 3 is the ultimate uncompressed capture card for seamless
operation with PCI Express (PCIe) Apple G5 Power Macs and Apple Final
Cut Pro. Supporting any uncompressed SD or HD format, including Dual
Link and 2K, KONA 3 captures and plays back uncompressed 10-bit and
8-bit digital video and 24-bit digital audio, providing unparalleled
power and workflow efficiency. KONA 3 also includes a variety of 10-bit
broadcast-quality features, such as hardware-based up-, down- and
crossconversion to and from HD, and adds a live hardware HD/SD keyer
for compositing bugs, live clips and other elements over video.
Dual Link
KONA 3 supports Dual Link
4:4:4 HD-SDI, a new technology on the Macintosh platform. Commonly
known as Sony HDCAM SR or Thompson Viper Format, KONA 3 Dual Link
supports full bandwidth 4:4:4 RGB at 10-bits (12-bit capable) for
1080i, 1080p and 720p formats. KONA 3 can also convert between 4:4:4
and 4:2:2 formats for Single Link HD-SDI output.
2K Workflow
The KONA 3 2K path offers significant cost and labor savings over a
tape-based approach to 2K. In a unique development for customers on the
Macintosh platform, you can go straight from telecine to disk with 2K
media and eliminate the steps of using tape stock and then digitizing
those tapes for the nonlinear editor. The added 2K support in KONA 3 v2
will benefit large, full-service facilities as well as boutique
facilities entering the 2K “film as digital” landscape.
2K
telecine to KONA 3 saves time and steps in the process by directly and
simultaneously creating 2K DPX files and 2K QuickTime™ reference
movies. Material can be played out at 2K via HSDL (High Speed Data
Link), offering further synergy with other 2K products available and
already in use.
Additionally, KONA 3 v2
allows 2K files to be viewed on HD 1080 24P-supported video monitors,
lowering the price barrier for recording to tape and viewing 2K
material. This 1080 HD playout can also be downconverted to SD in real
time, giving the 2K DI pipeline a powerful solution for multiformat
video playout of 2K material.
By generating
2K DPX files during the digitize phase, different parts of the process
(delivery of full-resolution media for shots intended for visual
effects, for example) can be done much earlier. Offline editing can be
done in Final Cut Pro and, because of the flexibility of Final Cut Pro
and QuickTime, even a 2K online is possible.
Broadcast-Quality Conversion
KONA 3 features full 10-bit, broadcast-quality, motion-adaptive SD to
HD upconversion, HD to HD crossconversion, HD to SD downconversion and
automatic HD/SD 12-bit component analog output. That’s the equivalent
of rolling AJA’s stand-alone HD D/A converter, our HD to SD
downconverter and our SD to HD upconverter into one convenient,
cost-efficient KONA 3 board — at half the price! The quality is
identical to AJA’s award-winning stand-alone products, and all
functionality is hardware-based, making it available full time, all the
time, on digitize or playback. KONA 3 will address users’ needs with
support for hardware-based 1080-to-720 or 720-to-1080 crossconversion.
This desirable feature further streamlines dailies and deliverables
creation at true broadcast-picture quality in real time.
Internal HD/SD Live Hardware Keyer
Available for the first time on any QuickTime capture card is a
powerful hardware keyer that can place graphic files with an alpha
channel over video input, a selectable matte or the contents of the
card’s framebuffer (KONA TV/Final Cut Pro). Even more than that, you
can also key video that has an alpha channel over video input or a
matte. For example, you can load a QuickTime clip with an alpha-channel
— a flying logo perhaps — into KONA TV, then place it over live video
coming into the card.
Audio
KONA 3’s extensive audio support makes installation a breeze, working
with 8-channel 24-bit 96kHz AES audio via XLR (balanced) connections,
and 16-channel embedded 24-bit 48kHz embedded SDI/HD-SDI audio. KONA 3
also features high-quality input sample-rate conversion on AES inputs,
which eliminates the need for audio source synchronization.
Connectivity
Looking for unsurpassed cable connectivity? Well, look no further,
because when you plug in KONA 3’s breakout cables, they automatically
configure. For SDI video, the card features two HD/SD inputs and two
outputs for Single or Dual Link, one connection for Genlock input and
three for HD/SD analog video out. Also included is a 9-pin D-connector
for RS-422 machine control. The SDI inputs and outputs use a separate
cable with special mini-BNC connectors on one end and full-sized BNCs
on the other for ease of connection and superior reliability.
The
K3-Box for KONA 3 simplifies interfacing by offering a 19-inch, 1RU
rack-mountable breakout box that attaches to the KONA 3 with just two
cables. This option offers all the same inputs and outputs as the
standard breakout cable, and can be easily rack-mounted or placed on
top of a broadcast monitor or editing desk. Additional functionality
includes simultaneous XLR and BNC AES output, 2-channel RCA analog
audio monitoring, and looping BNC Genlock reference connectors. If
you’re using a digital Betacam deck, HDCAM, DVCPRO HD, D5, D9 or even
an HDCAM SR, you’ll have the proper connections.
KONA Desktop
Most users run multiple applications to create their video projects.
So, in addition to Final Cut Pro support, the KONA Desktop feature
allows broadcast design elements to be viewed with the proper aspect
ratio and color depth on a broadcast monitor via the KONA card. KONA
Desktop supports Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Apple Motion,
Apple Shake, Discreet Combustion and more.
KONA 3 Hardware Acceleration
Final Cut Pro users will love our DVCPROHD, HDV and Apple Dynamic RT
Extreme hardware acceleration, developed in close cooperation with
Apple and available exclusively on high-end KONA cards. KONA 3 hardware
takes a portion of the codec processing load off the CPU, allowing more
RealTime (RT) effects in Final Cut Pro when outputting. KONA 3 also has
hardware support when capturing. This brings amazing RealTime HD
production power to the desktop. With KONA 3, any source can be
captured using the DVCPROHD codec — giving you online HD quality at
remarkably low data rates, allowing the internal PowerMac SATA storage
to be used for HD capture, playback and RT effects. Of course, you’ll
obtain still better performance and more RT when using a fast SCSI or
Fibre array, but this feature allows HD to be used where only SD would
have been considered because of budget or time constraints. KONA 3 even
supports the DVCPROHD and HDV codecs with up- or downconversion —
allowing projects to be downconverted to SD, or even upconverted for
DVCPROHD capture.
How Does KONA Accelerate DVCPROHD, HDV & Apple's Dynamic RT?
Because KONA’s precision hardware does part of the work, the G5 has
more time available to process RT effects. This means more RT-effects
power, and more RT streams. Most broadcast codecs, including DVCPROHD
and HDV, use a two-step process. First, the video is scaled to a lower
horizontal pixel count, and then the video is compressed. This is done
because the slightly scaled video results in a favorable trade-off
between resolution and codec efficiency. KONA 3’s hardware not only
dramatically speeds up the scaling part of the job, but it’s also done
with full 10-bit broadcast quality.
When
using the Final Cut Pro HDV codec, the KONA 3 hardware acceleration
allows instantaneous real-time playback for both monitoring and
recording. Even KONA’s downconverter works in real-time with HDV,
allowing SD monitoring, dubs or mastering. This KONA 3 functionality
makes HDV a fully professional solution.
The
Panasonic DVCPROHD format takes advantage of KONA hardware as well.
KONA’s precision hardware allows capture and playback of HD-SDI video
to and from the DVCPROHD codec at a quality level virtually
indistinguishable from native FireWire, while freeing up valuable RT
processing power.
For Final Cut Pro 5’s
Dynamic RT feature, KONA’s hardware is used to offload the video
scaling as the “playback video quality” dynamically adjusts. This
allows more playback power — and because KONA handles it seamlessly,
the Dynamic RT you see on the Mac monitor is the same as that shown on
your professional broadcast monitor.
All of
this adds up to the most reliable, feature-rich and highest-performance
card available for OS X and Final Cut Pro. KONA 3 represents the next
generation of technology.
Features:- SDI, HD-SDI, Dual Link HD-SDI 4:4:4, and 4:4:4:4, 2K
- DVCProHD hardware acceleration
- HDV hardware acceleration
- Dynamic RT Extreme hardware acceleration
- Broadcast-quality hardware 10-bit up-/cross-/downconversion
- 12-bit HD component and SD component/composite analog output
- 10-bit HD/SD video/key output
- Internal HD/SD live hardware keyer
- 8-channel 24-bit AES and 16-channel embedded audio
- RS-422 machine control
- AJA QuickTime drivers
- Apple Final Cut Studio, Adobe After Effects, Photoshop and more
- Cables standard, K3-Box breakout optional
- 3-year warranty
- Available in PCIe (4 lane) as KONA 3
- Available in PCI-X as KONA 3X
