AJA IO HD or Kona LHe?
 

I'm getting ready to build an HD (ProRes 422) capable Mac Pro. I'm looking for some advice on an I/O solution.

I'm currently shooting JVCs ProHD at 720P60 and capturing via FW400 to ProRes on my iMac with reasonable results.

If all goes according to plan, I intend to pick up JVCs ProHD deck (with analog component and HDMI output as well as RS422 device control) and a new Mac Pro 8 core.

The preface to my question is: the AJA IO HD "uses up" my Firewire bus, requiring a new Firewire card so I can continue to use external FW drives for storage, both short term and long term. It is advantageous for me to be able to swap in drives specific to major projects I'm working on. The Kona LHe leaves my Firewire bus available to me but doesn't have HDMI output for a non-broadcast monitor solution, leaving me with analog component or HD-SDI (I don't currently own an HD-SDI compliant monitor - one step at a time).

My question is: Given that this is intended as a 3 - 4 year solution and I'm not sure that I'll need HD-SDI as a capture capability or output capability in that timeframe, what would YOU do?

My next major step forward will likely be Sony's PDW700 XDCam 422 camera in about 2 years (or it's replacement). I'm thinking most of my ingest in the future will likely be file based but I'll need legacy support for all the analog Betacam, BetaSX, and JVC ProHD stuff I have (and will continue to acquire) in my archive.

The way I see it, the solution I'm after is a "problem solver" analog I/O with video output to consumer (now) and industrial/professional displays (later as budget allows).

Any input would be appreciated. Time frame on the new Mac is approximately 2 months, possibly sooner if EVERYONE pays their bills on time.

Let your priorities and budget make the decision. Which one costs more?

I'm using the Kona LHe and component output to both consumer HD display and broadcast CRT monitor (switchable). The HD-SDI allows us to print to HDCAM for masters.

How reliable has the Kona been for you? I've heard some bad reviews regarding system stability with the Kona solution.

No problems whatsoever.

***NOOB ALERT***

Hi,
I just purchased an octo core mac pro for FCP as well, and I don't understand what the benefit is to having an I/O thingambob. I just capture via firewire and the quality is great and I don't need to do anything else... what is the necessity of a piece of hardware like the AJA or Kona products?

I would start with the manufacturer sites. The usefulness of an I/O device, or any other piece of hardware, depends on your production needs and your workflow.

I use it for realtime format conversions, to preview my HDV timeline (you can't get realtime HDV preview via FW) and to master to HDCAM. There are plenty of other uses as well.

I'll be using it to capture archived tape formats (as noted above), preview to TV or production monitor (NOT computer monitor) and to try and deal with some of the idiosyncrasies I'm having working with JVCs ProHD. My workflow doesn't currently allow for offline/online. I'm all online, all the time right now capturing entire tapes at 1 GB per minute. I would REALLY like to change that. As well, the ability to get my material reliably back out of the box to any output format I choose is important.

Thanks Benjamin. I assume you followed AJAs advice and mounted the AJA card in slot 2?

One thing you might want to consider is getting away from Firewire hard drives and start using a hot-swap SATA box. This means you will need a SATA card, but it frees up the firewire bus. And all the advantages are with SATA: speed, reliability and with a hot swap system, cheaper long term storage.

Mike

Check out the Matrox MXO $995 if all you want is HD monitoring.

If you want HD I/O the new MXO2 $1595 is the ticket. Not shipping yet.

Check out our MXO FAQ for more info http://www.videoguys.com/mxo2_faq.html

Gary

The AJA IO is a great piece of equipment BUT your maximum data rate will always limited by the Firewire 800 connection. ProRes422 HQ will run just fine over Firewire 800 but if in the future you want to do uncompressed HD the IO won't cut it. That's where the Kona card is the better solution, allowing your system to grow as your need for speed grows.

Thanks for the input Gary but the MXO series doesn't seem to offer RS422 device control, which would be imperative for legacy Betacam capture. Can you confirm this please.

The MXO2 does.
 

The new device, MXO2, does.

Justin, I don't see a RS-422 nine pin port on the MXO2. Am I missing something?

RS-422 Port
 

It's there Shaun. Check the Videoguys overview: Videoguys Matrox MXO2 Frequently Asked Questions