4:4:4 HDSR INTO FCP via AJA KONA Issues

[Jeremy Garchow]

What Kona card do you have?

The Kona 3 supports dual link, and the LHi supports 3G (essentially dual link over a single cable).

Jeremy

[Keith Davies]

Hi Jeremy, That I don’t know. I plug to a rackmount box. Face on, as I recall the inputs to the right are AES audio. From the centre of the right side has one input SD, & 2 SD outs, & then I think there are possiblty YUV i/o’s. Would you know where I would find the model number, as I can call someone to ask?
Can you expand on dual link? The title suggests 2 inputs. Thanks for the response. I wil post again when I know what card is intalled.
Keith.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Keith Davies] “Would you know where I would find the model number, as I can call someone to ask? “

Open the AJA control panel, then click on the info tab, you will have to click the tabs to the right. The first line will tell you what card you have installed right next to ‘hardware ID’.

Dual link is two 1.5Gbps HDSDI cables used to handle the sheer amount of data that 4;4;4 1080p requires. The LHi has 3Gbps HDSDI which handles the same amount of data over a single connection.

Yes, dual link is two inputs.

If you have the LHe, you can’t do 4:4:4. If you have the LHi, you will have to get a dual link to 3G converter of your SR deck does not have a 3G HDSDI output. AJA makes one:

https://www.aja.com/products/converters/converters-hd-3gm.php

Jeremy

[Gary Adcock]

Ok
Couple of things, 444 can be both RGB and Y’Cb’Cr, but is always recorded as a dual link signal. The green image tells me you are only looking at a single channel ( channel 1 from the color). Only the Kona 3 card has this capability.

gary adcock
Studio37

Post and Production Workflow Consultant
Production and Post Stereographer
Chicago, IL

https://blogs.creativecow.net/24640

[Keith Davies]

Hello Gary,
Thanks for the advice. It was one of your other posts regarding 4:4:4 deliverables that lead me to join this group. So I am glad to hear from you. I have created a little sequence from what I think I should do , & then asked myself all the questions I am not sure about. I think I am going to grab a Zip car and pop in tomorrow to try it out. I think my future employment is going to hinge on this one.

This is what I will try as I am assuming that I have a Kona3

For 4:4:4 HDSR into FCP Via AJA Kona3.
1. Connect HDSR HD SDI A & B to a 2 to 1 barrel connector.
2. Attach this to SDI input of the Kona3.
3. In FCP select 10bit RGB codec.

I am not sure about the barrel. Should I be loooking for a more sophisticated connector?

What baffles me is if 4:4:4 as a standard requires dual link, how does the Kona3 manage it?

I am assuming that the input data rate & storage needs will double from 4:4:2 data.
This concerns me as I have already encountered drop frames at 4:2:2.
I will find out what raid array I have.

I will let you know how I get on.

[Jeremy Garchow]

I don’t think you have a Kona 3 as you’d have two sdi inputs. Nuce idea, but you can’t just barrel two sdi cables together and make 1.5g into 3G SDI. I’ll say it again, the LHi can handle this, but you need a multiplexor to which Iinked to earlier. Gary said that the Kona 3 is the only card to handle dual link, but the LHi handles the same data, just in a different way.

[Gary Adcock]

[Keith Davies] “1. Connect HDSR HD SDI A & B to a 2 to 1 barrel connector.”

I do not understand

The K3 card has SDI 1 & 2 as input, there is no way to combine 2 SDI signals as you mention.

Are you sure about your hardware- the K3 card should have what appears to be DVI connection and then 4 small gold plate Mini BNC’s ( 2 in and 2 out)

“What baffles me is if 4:4:4 as a standard requires dual link, how does the Kona3 manage it?
“

It is a hardware/ software collaboration where both the A & B channels are recombined at the receiver back into one signal. The issue is there is not enough bandwidth on a single cable to handle all of the data needed.

gary adcock
Studio37

Post and Production Workflow Consultant
Production and Post Stereographer
Chicago, IL

https://blogs.creativecow.net/24640

[Jeremy Garchow]

BTW – my hunch is that you have an LHe in which case you won’t be able to capture 4:4:4 at all

[Keith Davies]

Hello again, Jeremy & Gary.
You are correct, I have here a Kona LHe and it is never going to do 4:4:4 as you told me.
Thanks very much for all your help.
I can’t imagine how long it would have taken me to work this out solo.
We need to buy a Kona 3 & a new raid by the looks of things here.
Keith.

[Joseph Owens]

[Keith Davies] “For 4:4:4 HDSR into FCP Via AJA Kona3.
1. Connect HDSR HD SDI A & B to a 2 to 1 barrel connector.
2. Attach this to SDI input of the Kona3.
3. In FCP select 10bit RGB codec.”

That would be a disaster, but you would likely have only seen garbage at the inputs anyway. I’m just worried about what would have happened “shorting” the outputs of the SR deck. People forget this is electricity that they’re dealing with. “Dual-Link” DVI is NOT the same as “Dual Link” HD-SDI.

a Kona3 card and K3 breakout box combination has 4 HD-SDI BNC connectors: one pair each for Dual-Link A/B In and Out. On the back of a 4:4:4 optioned SR deck there will be SDI Dual Link I/O labelled as A and B, which you connect accordingly with separate BNC cables, preferably of identical length, so there are no clocking issues.
According to the 5500 manual, there are only specific “downconvert” paths for 24PsF 4:4:4, and SD output does not appear to be an option in either NTSC or PAL. Conversion to 4:2:2 requires the HKSR5001 Converter board option.

In the Kona3 control panel, you must select “Dual Link” to correctly re-encode the HD-SDI inputs, and then you have some options regarding transcode and codec within FCP. Make sure that you select the correct base frame rate… 24 PsF in your case.

The facility you work for turns individuals loose on $150,000 machines with no training? Fascinating. I hope their insurance is paid up.

jPo

You mean “Old Ben”? Ben Kenobi?