Price move on Prospect HD (and Xena bundles)
 

Under the category of "shameless commercial news" I wanted to let everyone know that we made a big price move today on Prospect HD, both in a standalone configuration and also in bundles with the AJA Xena cards.

As an example, if you're an Aspect HD customer, for $1790 (the MSRP of a Xena-LHe card) you can get both the LHe card AND an upgrade to Prospect HD-Edit from Aspect HD. Previously our upgrade price to PHD-Edit from AHD, with no Xena card included, was $1500. We've made price moves on all PHD configurations which are visible on the Prospect HD product page: http://www.cineform.com/products/ProspectHD.htm.

On the same page we also posted an example of how a 10-bit post workflow will benefit visual fidelity even with 8-bit source data (HDV, DVCPRO HD, HDCam, etc). You might find this visual interesting.

Upgrade from Prospect Edit-Only to Prospect Ingest/Edit
 

Hi David,

Will you be offering new pricing for existing Prospect Edit-Only customers if they want to upgrade to Prospect Ingest/Edit with a Xena Card?

-Geoff Murillo

Yes Geoff we will. We'll offer the same pricing algorithm for upgrades from PHD-E to PHD-I that we use for upgrades from Aspect HD. For instance, if you want PHD-I with the Xena-LHe we'll subtract the current retail price of PHD-E ($1499) from the PHD-I promo price for that sku ($3789) leaving $2290 as the upgrade price to get PHD-I bundled with the Xena-LHe.

We didn't set that up as a standard sku, so if you'd like this sku PM me separately so we can put it together for you.

Any special pricing for people with ConnectHD? I was looking at a new machine with Prospect and the Xena, but it's over my budget at the moment.

Joe,

Yes you can upgrade Connect HD to Prospect HD, although isn't of the $499 off you get $199 off (the cost of the original software.) So PHD + Xena LHe would be $1790+300 for your upgrade (it was $3500+.)

David(s), a question and a suggestion:

Question: Does the new version of Prospect have the same PPro 2.0 MPEG export limitations as AspectHD, or can one export to DVD and other MPEG without also having PPro 1.5 installed on the system?

Suggestion: As we are on the cusp of a new generation of CPUs and motherboards, I think your Prospect Hardware Requirements could use a facelift.

(Just for example, I normally build my own Intel-based boxes, and debated with myself about the i955 vs AMD. But I went ahead and built an Athlon X2 4800+ system that I had believed would be suitable for a later upgrade from AspectHD to Prospect Ingest. Despite studying your web site, I still didn't clearly understand that an Athlon X2 +4800 was OK for Aspect and perhaps Prospect Edit, but -- per our conversations at NAB -- probably would NOT do the job for Prospect Ingest...despite being generally benchmarked "faster" than the recommended Opterons for other types of applications. Had I known in late March, early April that a current high-end Intel system actually performs better enough to support Ingest nicely, I'd have built that and might have bitten on your new price structure now. However, with new, much faster chips around the corner, I'll be waiting a while before reconsidering that investment. An update of performance with the new processors might speed that decision!)

The only issue with MPEG licensing for HDV exports, no issues for DVD or other MPEG exports with any of our products.

As for processor updates we still need memory speed with all the new Intel Proc do have. We don't have a X2 4800+ at the office so I can't tell you if that will work. We have tested Prospect HD Ingest the older AMD dual 252, 275, 280s and new Intel 955, 965, Conroe, Dempsey and Woodcrest all work great. We will update the website to reflect this.

So let's say i am just interested for the 10 bit advantage.
Can i upgrade from Aspect HD to Prospect HD-Edit (800$) , and still use/capture my HDV in 8bit from my FX1 and edit in 10 bit, then eventually save to tape back in 8 bit ?

Yes. You can even capture to 10-bit using HDLink from your FX1. And yes you can save back to tape at 8-bit (although I made arguments before that tape backup is slower, less reliable and more expensive than disk these days -- see http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=69552.) Prospect HD will enhance your workflow.

Will Cineform also support Decklink cards? I have an opportunity to buy Decklink HD for a small price and I was wondering if it would work with Cineform.

We'd like to, but...the architecture of the Decklink cards is different than the AJA cards so we haven't been able to add support for Decklink cards yet.

Which Xena card to buy?
 

Hi David,

Over the weekend, I made the decision to get a new computer and I've purchased a HP xw9300 dual AMD 275, dual-core workstation.

Which AJA Xena card is the best for me to buy with the Prospect Ingest/Edit bundle? - The Xena LHe or the Xena HS?

Does one offer benefits over the other?

Would one be better over the other for the HP xw9300?

Thanks,

Geoff Murillo

Congrats Geoff - that'll be a great system. Re which Xena card, the:

-HS card is HD-SDI only. PCI-X interface only
-LH card is HD-SDI and component HD. Available as -LHe (PCIe) or -LH (PCI-X)

If you need component HD then get the -LH(e) card, oitherwise get the -HS card.

The xw9300's we're familiar with all have PCI-X slots, although I notice on the HP site that they now list PCIe also.

Hope this helps....

AJA Card Plus Video Card - Does it have to be an nVidia?
 

Hi David,

I've been doing some research, getting ready for my new computer to arrive. If I upgrade and get a Xena Card, do I have to have an nVidia Quadro FX PCIe Graphics Card to work in conjunction with the Xena's output as the AJA site claims? I currently own a Matrox Parhelia APVe (with my current computer) - And I love the card and it's performance and I'd love to be able to take it out of my current computer and use it in my new one when it arrives.

Would my system not work if I install the Matrox card with a Xena card in the other slot?

-Geoff

I not aware of any NVidia requirements. Where did you read that?