AJA Kona or Blackmagic?

[Shane Ross]

Both work and work well. Experienced pros use both, and praise both. The decision is really yours.

The advantage of the Kona LH is analogue ins…but lack of 12-bit that the Kona 2 and decklink 4:4:4 have. But really, both are great cards.

[Walter Biscardi]

[MataAtlantica] “Anyone know of a good place to start researching, comparing or does anyone have a personal experience/preference for one over the other? if so, why?”

Start by doing a search on this forum for AJA, Kona, BlackMagic, etc… This topic has been discussed probably hundreds of times on this forum.

Then search through the Kona and Blackmagic forums to see what users are saying and what issues they are experiencing.

Personally, I run the Kona 2 with the Io LA. I tested the Decklink HD Pro, but went with the Kona 2 and recently added a second K2 suite. The Kona 2 works and tech support is outstanding.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com

“The Rough Cut,” an original short film premiering December 7th in full High Definition in Atlanta.
rsvp@biscardicreative.com to reserve seats.
https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Mark Gringo]

thanks for the tips guys. i am grazing through the various forums as we speak. it is a lot information to take in, but it is coming together slowly, but surely.

what i really need is a “Build a Final Cut Pro HD workstation from scratch for Dummies” book. i checked amazon already… it doesn’t exist 🙂

[Walter Biscardi]

[MataAtlantica] “what i really need is a “Build a Final Cut Pro HD workstation from scratch for Dummies” book. i checked amazon already… it doesn’t exist :)”

The biggest thing you have to take into account is whether you need the system to just work for one year or multiple years. And how important is multiple formats? If you know exactly what you will need to edit and master, that definitely helps in putting together a system.

Don’t forget to allow sufficient funds for storage. When you get to uncompressed systems, storage is often more important than the video card.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com

“The Rough Cut,” an original short film premiering December 7th in full High Definition in Atlanta.
rsvp@biscardicreative.com to reserve seats.
https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Shane Ross]

[MataAtlantica] “what i really need is a “Build a Final Cut Pro HD workstation from scratch for Dummies” book. i checked amazon already… it doesn’t exist :)”

The issue is that really you should know a thing or two about post production and your needs before you go and buy a professional system. Or that you should call places that specialize in building turnkey systems based on your needs, like Promax.

Don’t start messing with something unless you know about it. I know NOTHING about car repair, and wouldn’t even consider trying to assemble one from scratch.

[Mark Gringo]

sage advice, thanks guys. the deal is this: i am working for a production house in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and I don’t know anyone who is doing uncompressed HD. Maybe in Sao Paulo, but I haven’t seen it here.

So we are tying to jump out in front, but at the same time not lose the farm doing it. I have been asked do research a good HD capture card, but like Walter said storge is an issue too and from what i have read our Lacie Firewire 800 big disk (500gigs) is not gonna cut it wih uncompressed HD.

I think the Kona 2 would work for us. we need something that will do HD as well as SD and analog. Now I am off to find out what kind of storage we need and if the Kona 2 is enough by itself or if we need somekind of break out box to go with it. Not to mentiion how we are going to monitor our HD images.

as always, thanks creative cow for the support! Full steam ahead!!

[Walter Biscardi]

[MataAtlantica] “Lacie Firewire 800 big disk (500gigs) is not gonna cut it wih uncompressed HD.”

Not even close. 8bit Uncompressed SD is as far as you want to go with that.

Medea FCR2X is what I recommend to everyone for uncompressed HD. Dual Channel Fibre Channel. Absolutely rock solid. I run the 2TB model and may add another 5TB soon.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com

“The Rough Cut,” an original short film premiering December 7th in full High Definition in Atlanta.
rsvp@biscardicreative.com to reserve seats.
https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Mark Gringo]

Thanks Walter! 8 bit SD for Firewire 800. That’s good to know. I’ll take a look at the medea system you mentioned.

[Samuel Frazier]

I think the Kona 2 would work for us. we need something that will do HD as well as SD and analog.

Sounds to me more like the Kona LH. Might check if that one works better for you as the Kona 2 is HD only I believe.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[mus man] “Sounds to me more like the Kona LH. Might check if that one works better for you as the Kona 2 is HD only I believe.”

This is wrong, THe Kona 2 will do SD, the problem is it has only DIGITAL inputs, but it has analog output. The Kona LH has analog & digital ins and outs, and handles SD & HD in both analog and digital ins and outs. The Kona 2 will do hardware upconversion while the kona LH will not. The Kona 2 will do 4:4:4 dual link, while the LH will not.

Hope this helps

Jeremy

———–
G5 Dual 2Ghz <> 4GB RAM <> FCP 5.02 <> Kona 2
ATTO 42XS <> Huge Systems 4105 Fibre