LHe output HD via Component

[Shane Ross]

[Winston A. Cely] “So is it possible to view HD 1080i29.97 via Component on the LHe?”

Yes, it is. The Component output is either SD or HD…depending on the signal you send out.

Look in the AJA CONTROL PANEL…everything HD going out?

Shane

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Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Aja Sales department]

Winston,
You may want to make sure that your card is placed in the correct slot within the Mac Pro. The symptoms you describe sound like the card is not running at the appropriate PCIe speed, and thus why SD, which is lower bandwidth, seems to perform fine when compared to HD material which requires higher bandwidth.

You can consult the following URL which provides a visual guide to configuring various versions of the Mac Pro with the AJA KONA cards:
https://www.aja.com/support/kona/kona-system-configuration.php

For example, the KONA LHe, which you have, is only recommended for use in Slot 2 of the more recent Mac Pros, so if it is not placed in this slot, it may be underperforming as you have described.

If you need further assistance with this or any other matter, please don’t hesitate to contact AJA technical support by phone or email:
https://www.aja.com/support/contact-support.php

—
AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com

[Winston A. cely]

So my LHe was in slot 4 for some reason. (I don’t remember why I had it in that slot). Anyway, I changed it to slot 2, but I’m still getting the same issue. I’ll email you at AJA, and enclosed small screen captures of my settings.

Winston A. Cely
Editor/Owner | Della St. Media, LLC

Mac Pro 3GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8 GB RAM | Final Cut Studio 3 | Aja Kona LHe

“If you can talk brilliantly enough about a subject, you can create the consoling illusion it has been mastered.” – Stanley Kubrick

[Winston A. cely]

Actually, here are the images:

Winston A. Cely
Editor/Owner | Della St. Media, LLC

Mac Pro 3GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8 GB RAM | Final Cut Studio 3 | Aja Kona LHe

“If you can talk brilliantly enough about a subject, you can create the consoling illusion it has been mastered.” – Stanley Kubrick

[Aja Sales department]

Winston,
Your machine uses the Expansion Slot Utility application, so you would actually not want to place the KONA LHe in slot 2, but slot 3. Sorry for the point of confusion on which version Mac Pro you were using (the later Mac Pros use slot 2, earlier Mac Pros, slot 3.) As noted, earlier Mac Pros used the Expansion Slot Utility to configure the speed of the slots, therefore your machine appears to be a pre-2008 model. The KONA cards optimum placement is slot 3 on pre-2008 Mac Pros and the Expansion Slot Utility application should be set to the second choice from the list which results in, slot 1 = x16, slot 2 = x1, slot 3 = x4 and slot 4 = x4.

Again, please feel free to contact AJA technical support for assistance configuring the machine.

—
AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com

[Winston A. cely]

Thanks! I’ll switch it and get back asap to let you know.

Winston A. Cely
Editor/Owner | Della St. Media, LLC

Mac Pro 3GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8 GB RAM | Final Cut Studio 3 | Aja Kona LHe

“If you can talk brilliantly enough about a subject, you can create the consoling illusion it has been mastered.” – Stanley Kubrick

[Winston A. cely]

OK, so I changed the LHe to the 3rd slot, and I’m still getting bad playback. I also noticed, that there’s no configuration to get maximum speed with the LHe in the third slot. I’ve attached a photo to show you what I mean.

Winston A. Cely
Editor/Owner | Della St. Media, LLC

Mac Pro 3GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8 GB RAM | Final Cut Studio 3 | Aja Kona LHe

“If you can talk brilliantly enough about a subject, you can create the consoling illusion it has been mastered.” – Stanley Kubrick

[Aja Sales department]

Winston,
You should contact AJA tech support if you are still having issues. Note that the Expansion Slot Utility identifies the KONA cards as x8 lane cards, but they are in fact x4 lane PCIe cards and work at x4 lane speed.

Again, please contact AJA tech support for further assistance with your issue.

—
AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com

[Winston A. cely]

Ah, I see. I think that explains why I must have had the card in the 4th slot before hand. Thanks!

I did contact AJA via email per their website. I look forward to hearing from them. Thanks!

Winston A. Cely
Editor/Owner | Della St. Media, LLC

Mac Pro 3GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
8 GB RAM | Final Cut Studio 3 | Aja Kona LHe

“If you can talk brilliantly enough about a subject, you can create the consoling illusion it has been mastered.” – Stanley Kubrick

[Bob Zelin]

Winston –
there is nothing wrong with using slot 4. You have a early MAC Pro, that allowed you to assign the number of lanes per slot. The bottom line is that you are getting “choppy playback” because you disk drives are probably connected to a x1 slot. NOTHING can be connected to a x1 slot (except a little PCIe firewire card).
This means no AJA product, and no disk drive host controller product.

In your system profiler configuration, I clearly see that SLOT 3 has your “other mass storage controller” – THIS IS YOUR PROBLEM.

If you want to do nothing (not move cards around), simply go into the Expansion Slot Utility again, change it to the last setting (two x4, and two x8), reboot, and everything will start working. The AJA Kona card works just dandy in a x4 slot, but NOTHING works in a x1 slot.

Bob Zelin