Aja Mini KiPro
 

News - AJA Video Systems

I think this is a game changer. For $2,000 you can record 4:2:2 Pro Res. HDMI and HD-SDI.
Sweet.

Yep. I agree.

Fair price, commodity media, excellent codec, SDI/HDMI connectivity.

The next 12 months is going to be VERY fun for consumers and very stressful for numerous vendors.

I'm excited about this as well. I'm in a position to upgrade my whole kit so waiting about a year looks exciting. I have a funny feeling a few of these will be in my kit.

FYI, for those interested, here's a promo video.

looks interesting. i have some questions maybe someone can clarify. first im unsure if this is a legitament question or not, but what would be the mbps in a unit like this(comparing to the nanoflash).

second, i am unsure as to what gets recorded via the hdsdi out. does the unit have to support the frame rate and resolution in order to record? for example, if i have variable frame rates and say shoot 2 fps at 1080p, will it still be able to be recorded on the unit through hdsdi? thanks for the help.

Daniel C. - Ki Pro Mini is designed to support the same flavors of ProRes that the original Ki Pro product supports: Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) up to 220Mbps as well as the lower data rate versions of Apple ProRes 422, Apple ProRes 422 (LT) and Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy). All recordings are 10-bit 4:2:2 in terms of color specificity.

Ki Pro Mini does have to support the frame rate and resolution output from the camera to be able to record it. Unlike the full size Ki Pro, the Ki Pro Mini does not feature up/down/crossconversions so if you feed it 1080i 25 or 1080i 29.97 or 720p 50 or 720p 59.94, that is what it would record. Some 720p framerates within larger frame rates (like 720p 23.98 within 720p 59.94) are supported, but not just any frame rate within a larger one will be accepted by the device.

Hope this information is helpful. I have to get back to the IBC tradeshow now.

Jon Thorn
Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.
California

yes thank jon, very helpful. and excuse my ignorance, but when you say up to 220mbps, this means that within the apple prores codec, the mbps or quality can be altered of different values?(much like the nanoflash). thanks again!

It was mentioned in the video that this unit could be used with HVX200, is this a slip or is there some way to achieve this?

(edit) Ah, watched watched the video again and realized that he was referring to the kipro, not the mini.

Daniel C. - Apple ProRes, in it's various forms, is an I-frame, variable bit rate codec. This means that the ceiling for Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) is at 220Mbps. "Regular" Apple ProRes 422 is at a maximum of 145Mbps (which personally I think is the sweet spot as it's a relatively low data rate, but extremely good quality).

For more detailed information on Apple ProRes compression, you should read Apple's whitepaper on the topic as it's very informative:
http://images.apple.com/finalcutstud..._July_2009.pdf

Larry K. - Yes, Val's experience spoken about in the video - in that particular context - is with the original Ki Pro product which features component analog allowing you to connect to the Panasonic AG-HVX200.

Regards,
Jon Thorn
Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Pls pardon for my Ignorance! is it possible to use apple prores on window based premiere pro cs4. I am really impressed with the mini kipro but afraid of the workflow on window based system.

Jon -

Is this essentially a competitor to the Nano Flash? If so, how does AJA compare the two.

Do a search for recent threads on DVInfo about the 2. Yes they are competitors - AJA have had the Ki Pro for some time now and it's quite large just like the Flash XDR, while the new Ki Pro Mini is small around the same size (ish) as the Nanoflash. The AJA is cheaper, the Nano arguably a bit more versatile? Quality wise I'd guess there'd not be much in it, both would be well above any broadcast standard you could currently need.
Steve

I'm excited by it, and really glad to see it does CF.

Between my Sony Z7U & Canon 7D I already have some CF cards, and the new Canon XF cameras use the format too I think these cards will just get cheaper & better.

I also like to see that for $2k & some change (or a bit more for the Nano Flash) I can transform my HDV camera into a more robust format when I have the need for a better codec. Though I haven't had the need yet to purchase something of higher quality, I like to see the competition between AJA & Convergent, as consumers I think we're winning big.

Agreed Zach - bear in mind that with these high data rates only certain speed of CF cards will work, so you may or may not just be able to use the ones you already have. But still, even buying new CF cards is not expensive, certainly a positive point of these units is the use of "consumer" media.
Steve

If you have never owned an Aja product...
 

If you have never owned an Aja product, they are just outstanding. Great products and the best customer service in the business. I have owned the Aja Kona 3 since 2006 and nothing but top notch support from Aja. The KiPro Mini will be a ground breaking recorder and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

Dan Brockett

Prerecording
 

Is the Aja KP Mini able to to some seconds of prerecording?