Which capture card?

So about a year ago we were going to upgrade our current SD edit suite to HD. At that time the capture card we decided on was the AJA Kona 3. Then some projects fell through and we didn't need to go HD at that time.

Now we are back where we were a year ago and looking to go HD. The Kona 3 has been out for a while now. Is it still a viable card, or is it nearing the end of its life?

Just some backgroud info on us... We have not decided on a HD camera yet and are curently renting until we make a final decision. We are currently looking at a Panasonic AJ-HDX900 or a Sony PDWF355L. Rite now we are leaning towards the 355. We want to keep our options open with the the card we get so we can work with a few differnt formats. We will be using HD and SD footage. We do mostly corporate, goverment and news work.

Thanks, This forum is a lifesaver.
Ryan

Those cameras are DVCPRO HD and XDCAM, respectively, and thus require no SDI I/O board. Of course, it's only sensible to have an SDI board in your system anyway, for monitoring and downconversion and dealing with rental gear.

Unless you're doing 4:4:4 or 2K or need a hardware SD-to-HD up-conversion, the Kona 3 is overkill. Don't get me wrong; it's a great piece of kit. But you can spend roughly half the money on a Kona LH and give up only features you aren't planning to use.

hey jeff,
when you say sd to hd up conversion, Is that the same as the up conversion that can be done with compressor? or is there something extra that this card does?

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

>or is there something extra that this card does?

Yep. Real time up/down conversion to tape.



www.strypesinpost.com

The Kona 3 is far from end of life. It is simply the best capture card on the market. Sure, the Decklinks upconvert SD to HD, but they only upconvert to 1080, not 720. I do a lot of DVCPRO HD 720p work, so I need that. And it also cross converts 720p to 1080i, and 1080i to 720p...all in real time when you output. The Decklink cannot do that. Although both AJA and Decklink downconvert to SD in real time.

All depends on your need. If you have no need for upconverting to 720, or cross converting, then the Decklink series is a good choice. It does analog and digital in. Kona 3 is SDI in only...unless you buy an adapter.

And J...yes, the Kona upconvert will look better than Compressor's. With the benefit of it doing it in real time as you capture, as opposed to an overnight render in Compressor.


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I am a fan of the Kona LHe. AJA's technical support and software/control panel are the best around, I think.

But Decklink is a viable alternative to Kona. Their products have become much better in recent times.

I have a Kona LHe with the KL-Box (breakout unit). I didn't have a need for HD upconversion (I use a Red Giant Software called Instant HD Advanced in After Effects for the few jobs I do get). It is a PCIe card does Analog & Digital - everything except for HD upconverting. You can add an Aja upconverter extention if it's something you will do a lot of...but I am on the "Kona 3 is overkill" squad.

You can always go IO/HD with ProRes (liking this codec more & more).

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Kona 3 is overkill? Then why recommend an even MORE expensive solution like the I/O HD? Well, that IS the perfect card for a lot of reasons. Upconvert AND Analog inputs...and then ProREs. But also $1000 more.

I have the Kona LH and the Kona 3. Only reason to get the Kona 3 is if you have a lot of upconverting and cross converting to do. And if you are dealing with RED and 2K and 4:4:4...


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Quote

Kona 3 is overkill?

Yup...is to me (that would be in MY opinion). Overkill in that very few people use 2K / 4:4:4. Price has nothing to do with it being overkill. IO/HD is portable - set up studio anywhere. HDMI ports as well. Very versatile. Here you go Ryan...compare for yourself:

[www.aja.com]

[www.aja.com]

Quote

Only reason to get the Kona 3 is if you have a lot of upconverting to do. And if you are dealing with RED and 2K and 4:4:4...

Right...which is OVERKILL (in my humble opinion) for those that don't need that stuff

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks for everyones comments. Lots to think about. Like I said before, this forum is a life saver.

Ryan

hey i have never used either one but the kona3 down/up convert sounds very sexy. i am not up to needing a portable io yet but i would love to go from my sdv to hd 720p realtime.

and i think if you are making the edit your career over kill is not that awful. in 2 years or so 2k will be at a lower price point and more used. in this way the kona3 sounds like a deal ready for tomorrow.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

The thing to keep in mind about 2K support on the Kona 3 is that it's ever so slightly kludgey. You can move 2048x1556 4:4:4 through a dual-link SDI interface, but that's of limited utility. If you're hooking up to a telecine directly or to a 2K DDR device, the Kona 3 is for you. But if you're dealing with 2K from datacine ? that is, 2K film scanned to DPX ? or with a digital 2K format like Red, the Kona 3's 2K input is not helpful. And it's not useful for monitoring either, because the 2K-over-SDI format isn't real time. It's about 15 frames per second.

Now, where the Kona 3 is practical is the 4:4:4 option. If you get footage on SR in 4:4:4 format, the Kona 3 will let you capture it at full color resolution, which is great for finishing. I don't think that many people are finishing 4:4:4 on Final Cut, but the same Kona 3 board is being used on the Smoke now, and the 4:4:4 option can practically be mandatory there.

The way I look at the Kona 3 is that you're buying a Kona LH, paying extra for the real-time upconversion and 1080 4:4:4, and getting a 2K HSDL option you'll almost certainly never use for free.

Great pointing out of what matters

(direct reading of constructors specs has always mad me more confuse !)

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