AJA Video Systems announced Ki Pro GO2, the next generation of its Ki Pro GO multi-channel HD/SD recorder. Sporting an upgraded feature set, the portable, 2RU device facilitates up to four channels of simultaneous H.265 (HEVC) or H.264 (AVC) recording to cost-efficient USB 3.0 drives or network storage with redundant recording and single-channel playback. Ki Pro GO2 helps production professionals produce higher quality images at lower bit rates, allowing for longer recording times. It also provides flexible connectivity, including four 3G-SDI and four HDMI digital video inputs, so they can connect to a wide range of video sources.

AJA Video Systems recently released ColorBox v2.1, a free software update for its real-time color managed workflow device, and announced that AJA ColorBox and Pomfort’s Livegrade have received the first joint logo product certification status by the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) for their support of ACES-based workflows. Available for download today from the AJA Support Page, ColorBox v2.1 delivers a host of new user-inspired features that streamline 4K/UltraHD HDR work and facilitate emerging workflows from on-set through post.

Among the v2.1 release highlights are a new 4K/UltraHD down-conversion feature for ColorBox’s SDI and HDMI outputs and a 4K/2K crop feature for its HDMI output, which help professionals make better use of existing cost-efficient HD monitoring equipment on-set. The update also introduces a new ACES Pipeline for the device that enables users to load an ACES Metadata File (AMF) into ColorBox to obtain the desired transform for improved collaboration across production stakeholders; support for ARRI Wireless Video Optimize (WVO) LogC4, which helps to eliminate banding introduced by wireless Tx and Rx systems; and more.

AJA President Nick Rashby said, “For ColorBox v2.1 we focused on making 4K on-set color workflows easier for productions to manage using the monitors and equipment they already have. Whether it’s the ability to review 4K accurately with HD monitors, offer simplified AMF processing to more parts of the production team, or incorporate an inverse ARRI WVO to make LogC4 easier to deploy, this new release helps productions easily take advantage of new workflows and with greater cost-efficiency.”
AJA ColorBox v2.1 highlights include:

4K/UltraHD down-conversion for SDI and HDMI outputs lets users easily down-convert SDI and HDMI outputs to a lower resolution (4K to 2K, or UltraHD to HD), if 4K devices are not accessible on set.
4K/2K crop for HDMI output makes it easy to center-crop 4K to UltraHD or 2K to HD and get an unscaled image on the HDMI output that is compatible with a broad range of consumer UltraHD and HD displays.
An added ACES Pipeline with support for AMF processing allows professionals to take advantage of AMF workflows that offer improved color interoperability across the filmmaking chain. AMF files capture data required for an ACES Pipeline like the IDT, LMT, RRT, and ODT into a single XML file that can be easily distributed to team members on-set and through post and final grading. It marks the sixth pipeline to be integrated into AJA ColorBox.
ARRI Wireless Video Optimize LogC4 (WVO) support solves workflow challenges introduced by some wireless Tx and Rx systems when working with ARRI Alexa 35 and LogC4. With the inverse WVO 1D LUT directly incorporated into ColorBox, LogC4 is simpler to deploy with existing equipment, saving time and money.
SDR Preview for Colorfront Live Mode enables users to quickly see what an HDR output would look like converted to SDR, without reconfiguring the HDR monitor. The Colorfront Engine maps the video to the targeted HDR, but with values that exactly represent the SDR image, eliminating the time required to change the output format to SDR and wait for the display to reconfigure.
BBC HLG LUTs v1.7 ensures ColorBox supports the latest BBC HLG transform updates.

New FS-HDR v4.3 is available as a free update, and brings several new customer requested features including Motion Adaptive Deinterlacer control, Channel to Channel HFR Sync control, and BBC HLG LUTs updated to v1.7. View here for more information. 

BRIDGE LIVE has a new v1.16 update offering several exciting new features, including an OS update to Rocky Linux 9, an update to the latest SRT version 1.5.3, the latest NDI v5.6 with multiple discovery support, audio improvements including Dolby E passthrough and AAC-HE support, timecode insertion in SEI, and much more.

Version 17.1 software for AJA KONA, Io, and T-TAP includes a host of exciting new capabilities. With this latest update, our top-of-the-line KONA cards such as KONA X and KONA 5 will be able to pass metadata embedded in an SDI stream such as ST 2018, SCTE triggers, and e Dolby Vision dynamic metadata, making it easy to capture and playback ANC metadata which is viewable in the new metadata viewer in AJA Control Panel. Also, v17.1 adds support for Thunderbolt on Linux for Io 4K Plus, Io X3, and T-TAP Pro.

Among many improvements included in the new FS4 v3.1 is a new motion adaptive deinterlacer control that improves performance with some interlaced video containing fast motion by adjusting the amount of motion adaptation used, and an updated channel to channel HFR sync control that was first introduced in FS4 v2.0 and is now user-configurable. FS4 v3.1 will be available soon.

The latest update for AJA’s robust data management and curation software offers new features and enhancements that streamline user workflows and provide more flexibility. A new arrival date attribute, ShotGrid plug-in, and improved navigation, task panel, and analytics are all part of the latest release.

The latest free firmware update for AJA’s popular H.264 streaming and recording device brings users new improvements such as an SRT Stream ID parameter to Caller mode, an SRT Listener mode, a view of the B-frame setting of each encoder in the status page, and more.

New software enables affordable shot box control of H.264 streamer/recorder , read the full story 

A new Mini-Config v2.26.3 software update for AJA’s Mini-Converter line is now available as a free download from AJA’s website and brings powerful new functionality to a range of AJA Mini-Converters. The release boasts basic HDR metadata pass-through for Hi5-12G, Hi5-4K-Plus, HA5-12G, HA5-4K, 4K2HD, and 12GM; dual-link capabilities for 12GM; and Dolby audio support for Hi5-12G and Hi5-4K-Plus, among other enhancements.

AJA encourages users to download the update today, which simplifies HDR pipelines and offers more consistent results with the addition of HDR metadata pass-through and optional override functionality for Hi5-12G, Hi5-4K-Plus, HA5-12G, HA5-4K, 4K2HD and 12GM, plus new HDMI HDR Infoframe generation for 4K2HD. With the update, Hi5-12G, HA5-12G, HA5-4K, and Hi5-4K Plus also gain support for BT.2020 color space, as well as an enhanced Mini-Config GUI to show HDR input and output status, and an HDR metadata override tab in Mini-Config. With the release, dual-link SDI capabilities are also now available for 12GM, including 2x 1.5G, 2x 3G, 2x 6G for inputs and outputs, and HA5-4K, including 2x 1.5G output. It also adds Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus audio pass-through support for Hi5-12G and Hi5-4K Plus.

For more details, check out the release notes and download the update today here.

AJA today launched Io X3, a Thunderbolt™ 3-connected professional video and audio I/O device offering HDR or SDR 2K/HD/SD capture and output via 3G-SDI and HDMI. The compact, rugged, and portable device streamlines high-quality HDR I/O up to 2K/HD 60p on compatible Thunderbolt™ 3-equipped Mac or PC hosts running professional video and audio applications.

Io X3 provides an incredibly powerful mobile solution for single-, dual-, and multi-channel SDI workflows whether working remotely, on-set, or in a studio. It delivers pristine 2K/HD/SD I/O with HDR directly from Thunderbolt 3 enabled modern laptops and desktop computers. Lightning-fast, flexible, and whisper-quiet, the device is an ideal capture and output solution for nearly any production environment, including high-end color grading, audio mixing, on-set monitoring, or playback, remote editorial and VFX. It includes four independent inputs for workflows with OBS and Wirecast, and simultaneous MultiView monitoring for each source, making it a perfect match for live streaming demands.

Eight switchable analog audio ports via a DB25 port are integrated into the device so that users can easily shift between eight channels in or out, or split connectivity between four inputs and four outputs. A 3.5mm stereo analog audio connection is also included, allowing users to plug headphones in directly. Io X3 devices are compact and rackmountable and fit easily side by side into a rack, allowing users to benefit from up to eight channels of up to 2K/HD/SD I/O in 1RU.

For more details, read our press release.