What's new from AJA?

Known for creating robust, reliable solutions and conversion devices for the broadcast video, audio, film and ProAV industries, AJA regularly update their product portfolio to provide the professional media market with the most up to date tools.

From the launch of a ColorBox openGear card and Diskover ME updates to the brand new KONA IP25 card that delivers the power, quality and reliability you need to support your transitions from SDI to SMPTE ST 2110 workflows, there’s lots of new kit to discover from AJA.

OG-ColorBox from AJA is a high performance colour management openGear card specifically designed to meet the colour conversion and colour correction needs of broadcast, live events, and on-set applications. Supporting HDR, SDR, and Wide colour Gamut (WCG) signals, it utilises 12G-SDI for single wire 4K/UltraHD up to 4:2:2 10-bit 60p or 4:4:4 12-bit 30p, with a unique colour processing pipeline, and down-conversion. The OG-ColorBox’s ultra-low latency, less than ½ of a video line, makes it ideal for colour managed workflows for live productions.

Built around a 33-point 3D LUT processor with tetrahedral interpolation, the AJA colour Pipeline provides additional 4x 1D LUTs and 2x 3x3 matrices that are each individually configurable or can be converted to Proc Amps or RGB colour Correctors. All of the colour processing options can be easily managed via the web user interface, which can be accessed directly from a wired Ethernet connection.

OG-ColorBox also includes processing pipelines from NBCU LUTs and ACES. Additionally, OG-ColorBox offers licensable upgrade options for advanced colour managed workflows, including the Colorfront Engine, BBC HLG LUTs, and ORION-CONVERT. ORION-CONVERT’s unique real time floating point math approach to colour transformations produces higher precision results to get “access to the colours between the colours.” This enables pixel perfect colour transforms and round-tripping where maintaining colour fidelity is paramount.

The ACES Pipeline includes support for ACES Metadata File (AMF). Internal AMF processing is built on the OpenColorIO (OCIO) from the Academy Software Foundation and supports configurable input and output transforms. The OG-ColorBox is an officially ACES logoed device ensuring end-to-end ACES compliance.

OG-ColorBox can overlay information onto the image, including helpful user definable text fields, user loaded images such as graphic elements and frame lines, and more.

OG-ColorBox also offers a sophisticated 4K test pattern generator and frame store, bringing useful tools to your workflow, including capturing up to a 4K image as a 16-bit .tiff file for the highest quality reference stills. These captures can be saved locally on OG-ColorBox or onto third party connected computers, which can simultaneously be running applications like Pomfort’s Livegrade Pro/Studio, Assimilate Live Looks, and QTAKE Video Assist software.

AJA Diskover Media Edition is a powerful, easy to deploy data management software solution designed to let you take control of storage across your entire organisation, regardless of where it is physically located.

Use high speed, cutting edge searches, cost analysis, tagging, and other sophisticated tools to empower all levels of your organisation to make informed data decisions, enhancing your file based production line and its monetisation - all from an easy to use, web-browser based interface. Efficiently curate your existing assets, empower your workforce and never lose a file again with AJA Diskover Media Edition.

New features and plug-ins are always being added to the best-in-class data management platform. In the latest update, new to AJA Diskover Media Edition is easy access to the configuration panel and new plug-ins for Pixit and Spectra.

AJA Diskover Media Edition offers you the tools to: 

• Know instantly where all your data is, whether on local, remote, or cloud based storage, and share the results in one click via an easy to use, browser-based user interface.
• Monetise and maximise the efficiency of your data-driven workflows with extensibility through several media and entertainment industry specific plug-ins.
• Turn your storage from a cost to a profit centre with hyper-accurate data storage cost calculation and analytic tools.
• Automate time-consuming workflows that bring productions to a halt every day.
• Diskover’s web UI with read-only access to the physical storage permits local and remote workers access to powerful, enterprise class applications.
• Curate your valuable assets securely and methodically with high powered analytical tools including, customisable tags for granular data management.

AJA's KONA IP25 delivers the power, quality, reliability and ease of use of the KONA family to support your transitions from SDI to SMPTE ST 2110 workflows. The KONA IP25 is an 8-lane PCIe Gen 4.0, SMPTE ST 2110 IP I/O card supporting bidirectional uncompressed video. KONA IP25 has two SFP cages that support 10 and 25 Gigabit Ethernet (10/25 GigE) SFPs and also includes a 1 GigE RJ-45 connector.

The KONA IP25 is your complete solution for SMPTE ST 2110 processing with onboard PTP and NMOS control. To your computer, the KONA IP25 appears as any other KONA card which carries the control load, so it’s not placed on the host PC. ST 2110 Configuration and Control is supported by both In-Band (media network via SFPs) and Out-of-Band (control network via RJ-45).

On the desktop, KONA IP25 transparently supports Apple® Final Cut Pro, Adobe® Premiere® Pro CC, Avid® Media Composer®, AJA Control Room, OBS, and other leading editorial, effects and production tools via AJA's robust and feature-rich Desktop Software.

For creative users, the operational experience of using your favourite creative tool remains unchanged, and with AJA Control Panel additions to set up capture and playout, you are assured to have a seamless expansion into ST 2110.

For Developers, the same AJA SDK used for baseband KONA I/O cards is also used for KONA IP25, offering an easy way to develop applications and create systems for SMPTE ST 2110 workflows. 

Features

• ST 2110-20 Video: Supports up to 2 Rx and 2 Tx simultaneously
• 10-bit 4:2:2 up to 3840x2160p
• 12-bit 4:4:4 up to 2048x1080p (coming soon)
• SDR/HDR support for Transfer Characteristics, Colorimetry, and Luminance via SDP file
• ST 2110-30 Audio: Supports up to 2 Rx and 2 Tx simultaneously
• Up to 16 channels of audio per stream
• ST 2110-40 Ancillary: Supports up to 2 Rx and 2 Tx simultaneously
• ST 2022-7 redundancy
• ST 2059-2 (PTPv2) accessed only via media network SFPs
• LLDP (Link Layer Description Protocol)
• DNS SD (service discovery)
• In-Band / media network (via SFPs): PTPv2/ST2059-2, control via NMOS
• Out-of-band / management network (via 1 GigE RJ-45): control via NMOS
• Single slot 8-lane PCIe 4.0, Full height
• 2x SFP cages supports 10 GigE or 25 GigE SFPs*
• macOS, Windows, and Linux Support
• Three year warranty

*SFPs not Included

KONA IP25 SMPTE ST 2110 Live Graphics Insertion

KONA IP25 keyer overlays foreground over background. Depicted here, an ST 2110 source is used as background, and server playout is used as foreground (such as a weather widget or news banner). Another method is to overlay an ST 2110 foreground over an ST 2110 background.

KONA IP25 SMPTE ST 2110 Playback/Monitoring Workflow

Use your KONA IP25 on macOS, Windows, or Linux to playback any file to ST 2110. Depicted here are the two control networks, In-Band and Out-of-Band, showing the redundant control capability.

Use your KONA IP25 on macOS, Windows, or Linux to playback any file to ST 2110. Depicted here are the two control networks, In-Band and Out-of-Band, showing the redundant control capability.

KONA IP25 SMPTE ST 2110 Ingest Workflow

Connect your KONA IP25 via an SMPTE ST 2110 network to cameras that feature ST 2110 direct playout. Long SDI or fibre cable runs will be a thing of the past with the ability to directly ingest uncompressed UltraHD into your video infrastructure via the KONA IP25.

The OG-C10DA is an openGear 1x9 analogue distribution amplifier with support for NTSC and PAL, offering the ability to distribute multiple copies of the incoming signal or extend composite video content with gain adjustment to compensate for long cable runs.

The OG-C10DA can also be used to distribute tri-level sync in an HD facility when a sync signal is fed externally into the Video Input.

Features

• 1x9 analogue distribution amplifier, (1x loop out option) 
• Supports analogue PAL, NTSC blackburst, or tri-level sync 
• Supports AES3-id (digital unbalanced audio) and LTC
• Selectable input - external BNC, frame input Ref 1 or frame input Ref 2 
• Monitor and control via Ross DashBoard software
• DIP switches for local control (Loop, Ref In, Termination, and Gain)  
• Input Present LED 
• Power: 6.75 watts max per card 
• Hot-swappable 
• Compatible with OG-X-FR, OG-3-FR and DFR-8321 openGear frames 
• Five year warranty

HD Reference Distribution Workflow

Combining the OG-C10DA and the AJA GEN10 Mini-Converter makes a powerful combination to distribute references throughout your facility. This workflow diagram shows how easy it is to keep your facility in sync.

openGear Compatibility

The openGear standard ensures that AJA cards will be compatible with other openGear products from certified openGear partners. With a growing list of products, openGear is the standard for professional rackframe solutions.

Flexible I/O

The modular rear panel allows custom I/O connections per card (included with individual cards).

Failsafe

The optional redundant power supply provides a secondary power source in the event of a primary power failure.

Ethernet Access

A standard Ethernet connection allows the frame to be accessed via the Ross DashBoard software application for overall frame communication. Optional per-card Ethernet access can be installed in the frame for advanced communication with compatible openGear cards.