OT - Which is better for HD? - Kona 3 or Aja IO HD?

I'm looking to upgrade to better acquire footage (HD) my clients are giving me - I currently use the AJA IO box and am very happy with it, but it's a tussle getting HD through the SDI inputs into my system. Does anybody have a recommendation about either the Kona 3 or the AJA IO HD? Portability is not an issue...

Thanks.

2 x 2.66 GHz Dual Core Intel Xeon
13 GB RAM
FCS 2
Latest OS X and Quicktime

What are you exact needs? We need to know exactly what you are doing, what you need to capture as, output to...stuff like that...to help guide you.

I will also like to toss in the Matrox MXO2 as an option, and the AJA Kona LHi. Both do everything the Kona 3 does, but are $1000 less...minus work with 2K and Red and both only have 8 channels of SDI audio instead of 12.


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Some more info - my client is bringing me green screen footage, shot with a Red camera. I want to be able to see this on my preview monitor as well as edit it natively.

Red 2K? AJA Kona 3.


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Thanks Shane, that saved me a lot of hassle!

From what i have read Kona 3 is everything you could ever want in a capture card. If i am not mistaken it handles 4k as well.

""" 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 """"

It's not that simple.

If all you want is to be able to see Red 2K material on your picture monitor, then yes, the Kona 3 board will do a real-time downconversion to 1080p24 for you. But if you want to see a one-to-one picture while you edit, you're going to need to go out over HSDL to a 2K D-cinema projector.

Also, with a relatively low-end edit system like yours, I don't think you'll get real-time performance at 2K resolution with REDCODE media files. I think you really need an eight-proc system for that.

For offlining, skip the 2K thing entirely and just go with 1080p24 ProRes files generated out of RedRushes. You'll spend all your time editing, instead of spending a little of your time editing and the rest fighting your system's suddenly appallingly sluggish performance.

And Corbett, as usual, is mistaken. Not only can the Kona 3 not do 4K, Final Cut itself can't do 4K. Final Cut tops out at 4000x4000.

NOt quite. No analog inputs. The Matrox MXO2 and Kona LHi are everything I want in a capture card..minus the needed number of embedded audio darn it. THey only do 8, I need 12. Kona 3 does that, but then doesn't have component in. Gotta buy an adapter for that.


www.shanerosseditor.com

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

i know final cut cant, but i did think that the card could.

""" 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 """"