the best capture card for HD footage?

[Gary Adcock]

[FinalOne] “Except for an older analog or SDI uncompressed HD camera/deck you probably won’t need a capture card. HDV which is usually what is meant by HD or DVCPRO HD are both capable without a capture card.”

that means everyone that works with HDCam content, since no HDCam deck I know of has a FW connection for HD acquisition. It also means that anyone that needs compositing at other than 8 bit color depth would not be able to deliver. Isn’t this a really near-sided point of view? There are any number of needs for a card based workflow.

I believe all Leaders in this forum all use Kona Cards for their main stations, even when other solutions are available in their edit suites. There is reason that, avid, discreet and others rely on AJA hardware to make their NLE systems better.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

[Walter Biscardi]

[gary adcock] ”
I believe all Leaders in this forum all use Kona Cards for their main stations, even when other solutions are available in their edit suites. There is reason that, avid, discreet and others rely on AJA hardware to make their NLE systems better.”

I think every single NLE except Quantel uses AJA now and it’s possible they use it as well. Obviously there’s a reason why these companies have all gone to AJA for their capture boards. They’re reliable and a proven broadcast quality product.

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

[Domani_studios]

To all posters,
Thanks for the input on this topic. Just another example of how the COW is the definitive source for all things creative. Your advice will be followed very closely.

Cheers,
Francisco

[Dan Riley]

The thing that’s worrisome about all you guys saying AJA ONLY is
you are promoting a one-card-situation. You are actually going to get a
less functional product at more cost down the road, because competition
has been limited by Apple’s approach of favoring one over the other.
They killed Aurora by doing this and others as well.
Just remember, progress in product development does not happen without
competition.

When talking down Black Magic, I very seldom see stated
an example of what it is that makes AJA better. The Black Magic HD box allows
not only digital IO but also analog where you need extra boxes and converters
to do that with KONA 3. Plus the cost is much higher for AJA once you do all that.
If people are going to purchase AJA KONA 3 over the Black Magic products,
let’s hear some solid reasons why you promote spending more.
The explanation “everybody uses it” sounds like why people use WIndows.

dr

[Jeremy Garchow]

I don’t want to ‘talk down’ Blackmagic products as it’s not very professional and people need to make their own decisions based on their needs, which is why i choose to say how well AJA products work. I have used both and for me, my Kona2 and Kona3X has been invisible, which is good. If the card becomes visible, there’s something wrong. As far as conversions go, yes, perhaps you might need to buy a converter or two for the Kona 3, it really depends on your workflow and what sources you need to capture. Choose wisely and make informed decisions.

Also, I do not choose my gear solely on cost. Just because it’s cheaper doesn’t mean I want it. I look at all aspects of a video product before making a decision, such as drivers, support, software updates, quality of life, warranty backing, etc.

I have no idea what you mean by Apple killing Aurora, I don’t even want to get into it here as this will not help the original poster.

Jeremy

[Walter Biscardi]

[Danrnw] “They killed Aurora by doing this and others as well.”

Apple had nothing to do with that, it was more about another company that undercut everyone else’s pricing and they couldn’t compete with that. A LOT of the forum leaders on here, including myself, supported Aurora and were waiting for their HD Pro card to come out. They had the best codecs in the business but could not sell for the same low prices as another company.

Cheap HD cards are nice, but look at Avid, Media 100, Autodesk and even Adobe and look at which cards they are using to run their NLEs. Look at high profile events like the Super Bowl, World Series, Nascar and look at which card is being used to cut at those events.

For my own use here, AJA’s product support alone is enough to have three of their products in my shop. If anything happens, I can pick up the phone and if I need it, a new product is here in 24 hours. One thing most people don’t realize is that someone at AJA inspects every single product before it is shipped. Every single product that leaves the company is personally tested before it leaves the doors. That’s why they stand behind everything they sell.

Yes, there’s a place for cheap cards out there. I prefer the quality and stability of the AJA products.

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

[Shane Ross]

I always mention Black-Magic when people ask for card recommendations. I never leave them out, because I believe that they are a perfectly fine card. I have used their card and loved it. I also used Aurora and REALLY like that one…but then they never came out with their HD card. I ended up going with AJA because of the HD cross convert capabilities that the Decklink cards at the time didn’t have (do they have the capability yet?).

The ONLY issue I had with Black-Magic was tech support, and that they seemed to need a little more hand holding and tweaking to get things working properly. But both have since improved.

I mention AJA first because I have one and like it…I mention black-magic because they are a perfectly fine option and I have experience with the product.

All the leaders just happen to own AJA products, so that is what we have more experience with, so that is the first recommendation out of our mouth. And since AJA works closely with Apple, they seem to have a good working relationship and since we use FCP, why not use the card made by the people with that very close relationship? So we do. That is NOT to say that Decklink makes bad cards. QUITE the contrary. I have 3 friends who use them and swear by them…all broadcast professionals and graphics guys.

Buy what you want…you don’t need to listen to us. Just because our heads are at the top doesn’t mean we are the only people to listen to…

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[David Roth weiss]

Dan,

I was in your camp, doubting just as you are, then I switched from BM to Kona. Now I’m a believer too… My LH is a great tool.

Warmer, audio, better support, faster driver updates are just a few of the reason that I prefer Kona.

David

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Post-production Supervisor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY

[Walter Biscardi]

[David Roth Weiss] “I was in your camp, doubting just as you are, then I switched from BM to Kona. Now I’m a believer too… My LH is a great tool.”

yes, I do recall we had a few, ahem, “discussions” about the two at one time……..

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

[David Roth weiss]

[walter biscardi] “yes, I do recall we had a few, ahem, “discussions” about the two at one time……..”

Ah, but doesn’t it feel good when you find someone in the world who can actually be persuaded to change an opinion? I am one old dog who’s always willing to learn new tricks. Show me a way to do something cheaper, faster, better, or smarter and I’m on it like white on rice.

I’m quite pleased to be a Kona user and a Kona advocate, and damned glad you and Gary took the time to educate me about the Kona products.

David

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Post-production Supervisor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY