AJA “Cobble Together” or Black Magic All in One?

[Chris Poisson]

I would add that my first video card was a BM DeckLink SP, which aside from paying full boat before they did a major price break, never gave me a lick of concern. It is still humming away on my old G4, it is a rock-solid little SD station.

I have worked on a Multibridge Extreme at another post house for several weeks on different jobs and must say it is rock-solid too. Tell you what, If I could plug one of these babies into my MacBook Pro, I’d buy one in a heartbeat.

I do like the BM control panels very well and the ease with which it will play to your broadcast monitor as part of your desktop, which while an option on my Kona LH, has never worked properly.

Not to knock my Kona, but the fact that their support people are close by and accessible has been fortunate, as I have had no less than 5 system failures with it in a bit less than two years. It has been less than ideal, although their people have helped me through the failures on two occasions and even replaced the whole card once for free. Just two weeks ago, I was working on some spots late one day and shut everything down, only to be denied the next day when I went to make dubs. It periodically just decides to shut down and not pass a full signal on to the monitor or deck. Solution is usually to disconnect everything and re-connect, which is one big pain in the ass, especially when a client is harping me for the dubs.

I am still a big fan of Kona though, I have always gotten through, but it’s sort of like owning a ’60’s vintage English sports car with their attendant electrical woes, you never know when the damn thing won’t start, but you love it nonetheless. I am probably pretty alone with this problem, although my BM card in the same system with the same cables and same decks NEVER did this.

Have a wonderful day.

[Walter Biscardi]

[Chris Poisson] “Not to knock my Kona, but the fact that their support people are close by and accessible has been fortunate, as I have had no less than 5 system failures with it in a bit less than two years. It has been less than ideal, although their people have helped me through the failures on two occasions and even replaced the whole card once for free.”

Wow, I’ve never heard of anyone with so many failures of a Kona card. My three year old Kona 2 is still humming right along in an old G5 Dual 2.0.

Are there any sort of electrical issues in your building? I’m assuming you have an APS and Power Conditioner running to your systems?

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Misha Aranyshev]

AJA’s better quality is a myth. First, there are more BMD products out there. More products – more users. More users – more complains. Second, AJA’s products for Windows and for Mac carry different names but BMD’s carry the same names, so when the guy’s having problems with Xena it doesn’t make Kona look bad, but if it is DeckLink it is DeckLink.

[Walter Biscardi]

[mishka] “AJA’s better quality is a myth. First, there are more BMD products out there.”

That’s interesting. Hadn’t heard that one before. Where’d you get the numbers?

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Walter Biscardi]

[mishka] “AJA’s better quality is a myth. First, there are more BMD products out there.”

Actually, you know you’re probably right because I wasn’t thinking about how cheap the BMD products are. So pretty much anyone and everybody can buy one which I guess is a good thing.

I just look at how many live broadcasts and how many high end post facilities are running AJA and I figure it’s for a reason. Like I said, in my case I was able to test both product lines and made the decision to go with AJA, which is also what all the folks I work with are using. I also know how many folks have contacted me regarding making the switch from BMD to AJA after getting less than stellar performance. So that’s what I report on these forums, both my own experience and that of a lot of other users.

Either way, get the products in your shop and run your own tests. You own mileage may vary.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Andy Mees]

We too are an all BMD outfit. Our Multibridge Extreme’s are rock solid now but we did have a multitude of minor issues at the outset that required replacement of some dodgy hardware.
Make sure you have a solid support contract in place with the supplier / systems integrator then you’ll not go wrong.
Best
Andy

[Walter Biscardi]

[Andy Mees] “Make sure you have a solid support contract in place with the supplier / systems integrator then you’ll not go wrong.”

That’s good advice no matter what you buy.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Chris Poisson]

Hi Walter,

No, I don’t have an APS or conditioner, but I do have a dedicated 20 amp line to the system. Like I said, the BM on the same line and same system never did this, and all my other equipment just hums right along, so I don’t think it’s power related.

Have a wonderful day.

[Walter Biscardi]

[Chris Poisson] “No, I don’t have an APS or conditioner, but I do have a dedicated 20 amp line to the system. Like I said, the BM on the same line and same system never did this, and all my other equipment just hums right along, so I don’t think it’s power related.”

Wow, you’re running all your gear with no conditioners? Definitely something I would recommend. We have two Furman Power Conditioners for all our A/V Equipment and four APS units for our Computers and hard drives.

We have power issues around here fairly often, particularly in the winter time so I always recommend everyone run their gear with conditioners. Especially since they start around $90. Ours were $100 and $120. The APS units are only $100 at Costco.

Thankfully you’ve never had any issues.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Misha Aranyshev]

Walter, your perspective is very different from mine. You own your gear. I freelance and use clients’. You used FinalTouch and now Color. I’m strictly FCP. I run into like ten Decklinks for every Kona or iO. They all work fine.

As for big guys using this or that brand I believe Kona or Decklink could handle all Baselight, Nucoda or MATRIX systems’ I/O needs but they use BlueFish and DVS.