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

[Gary Adcock]

[walter biscardi] “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. “

Same here walter

I have 8 kona cards running in my place and I have never heard of something like this.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

[Gary Adcock]

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

I would dispute this,
IF the quality is the same why do the OEM people overwhelmingly choose Kona, and with names like Avid, Autodesk and others using Kona cards in their highest end solutions I doubt that the Quality is truly the same.

and I do not believe that BMD has more products out there, considering how many do not ship.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

[Erik Hansen]

Well… Discreet uses Aja.

Also, Inlet uses Aja hardware.

– Erik

[Misha Aranyshev]

Why OEM people use Bluefish then? Or DVS at 10x the price of Kona?

[Shane Ross]

Yes…there are a lot of people that use AJA cards…a lot of the big boys. Does this mean that it is BETTER? Not necessarily. A product’s reputation and support team that backs that product up goes a LONG way. For a while there, tech support for Decklink products was ABYSMAL. Very bad…it was located in Australia, and odd hours, small staff…you were lucky to get them and to get a good answer from them. Tech support is a big thing…and because of this many people went to the company with gold star tech support, AJA.

But Black-Magic has improved tech support…1000% better now. So their reputation is getting better. Their products have always been good. And they still are good. Seriously, I doubt you’d notice one iota of quality difference between the two cards…since the use the Apple codecs. There are plenty of large post houses and major productions that use these cards. If they sucked…no one would use them.

I have a Kona LH card…but I have owned Black-Magic products in the past and I know many people who swear by them. I liked the one I had (and I still have it), but when I got the LH it was because I needed an output my Decklink didn’t offer (it was the inexpensive HD card with SDI in and out only), and when I was shopping for a new card was when Black-Magic was in the middle of their tech support woes.

But hey, we all have BRAND loyalty, and that is not a bad thing. If something works for you, then you stick with it. I am just saying that you really cannot go wrong if you buy a capture card from either of these companies.

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Walter Biscardi]

[mishka] “Walter, your perspective is very different from mine. You own your gear. I freelance and use clients’.”

Exactly, I own the gear and I’m talking to someone who’s about to own their own gear. If I’m spending my own money, I’m buying AJA. If someone I know is spending their own money, I’m telling them to buy AJA. As a freelancer, you would just use whatever system you’re given to use.

[mishka] “You used FinalTouch and now Color. I’m strictly FCP.”

Not really sure what that has to do with AJA / Blackmagic.

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 biscardi] “Not really sure what that has to do with AJA / Blackmagic.”

Final Touch worked with Kona better than it worked with Decklink, when it worked at all. You know that.

[Walter Biscardi]

[mishka] “[walter biscardi] “Not really sure what that has to do with AJA / Blackmagic.”

Final Touch worked with Kona better than it worked with Decklink, when it worked at all. You know that.”

Oh, well that’s still the case. Actually Final Touch might have worked a touch better than Color. Still waiting for a few more fixes but knock on wood we’ve been easing it into production and it’s working quite well. LOVING the new Primary In Curves.

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

[Gary Adcock]

[mishka] “Why OEM people use Bluefish then? Or DVS at 10x the price of Kona? “

There are a lot of OEM hardware companies. Less and Less are using the bluefish line ( Avid dropped them for AJA cards for DS/Nitris 444)

DVS has been in OEM production for years, and OEM pricing is different than retail.

The real reason companies are using AJA products is the long history of the Engineering side of AJA. Remember that BMD started as a software company ( writing drivers for companies like AJA) while AJA has only ever produced professional quality video products.

and Mishka you may see a lot of BMD products in your freelancing, however chances are if you go into a big production facility or network in the US you will see mostly AJA hardware and not much else.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

[Glaremedia]

‘if you go into a big production facility or network in the US you will see mostly AJA hardware and not much else.’

That maybe because AJA is an American company !

Plenty of top end post companies and broadcasters in Europe use Blackmagic with great results.

Having an AJA card wont make clients pay a higher day rate.