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tired subject vs vs etc…thoughts?
well we’ve been going back and forth about which to buy (kona/bmd) for a new high end full featured finishing suite. the cost of the card is of no consequence. a grand, 2 grand 3 or 4. who cares? the rest of the gear dwarfs that.
we’ve been decklink evangelists for years, but reasons to switch now are:1. autodesk and avid use kona
why is this important?
we have had client after client look down on us because we don’t have SMOKE or FLAME. and this is mostly for basic conform onlines!
they are convinced that an FCP based system is a toy. but 10bit is 10bit right? well, you tell an LA producer or director that.
we are actually talking to autodesk reps right now about putting a system in just to have THE NAME.
well common sense is winning out and a top of the line mac based system with the best hardware/software/monitoring available is making a hell of alot more sense to us (both workflow and $)so with kona we can at least say we have the same video I/O hardware as the big name systems…
other reasons? none
I love the BMD line, but too many people in town see the FCP/BMD systems as budget/low end (= affordable). true? I don’t know.ps. we lost some big dvd authoring jobs because we use the 10bit capture/software mpeg encode workflow and not the SONIC hardware encode solutions. (DVD producers are subject to the same namebrand snobbery)
well we just talked to sonic and they have DISCONTINUED their hardware encode cards and now recommend 10bit capture (3rd party card)/software encode with THEIR software!
I wish those (3 years ago) clients could hear that now. -
6 Replies
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LONG thread on BMD vs. AJA in the FCP forum. We really don’t need to start yet another thread about it.
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/8/956871
Read that thread, look through this and BlackMagic forums. Do the research and make up your mind.
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
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or buy a kona, get it over with, get work done.
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gee thanks guys
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Paul – this room has been cantankerous lately, sorry.
get the Kona. No questions asked.
We were a big BM supporter for YEARS. But recently their gear just was too buggy, the driver updates would fix one thing and break another, the documentation on their gear was poor, and it just felt like they keep inventing new gear to replace old gear instead of trying to support old gear with software updates.
AJA went from a little company with some coverters to the most reliable HD/SD card ever. They keep putting out driver updates that amaze me, the system is ROCK SOLID, and all the different conversions and nonsense the Kona3 can do are a huge timesaver.
We also have a brand new Flame/Smoke in house. It’s taken time to convince clients that our Kona based system with Combustion/Shake/After Effects/Final Cut can run with the big system – but it totally can. In fact it can outrun the Flame on HD renders more often than not. We offer a cheaper rate in the room, and at the end of the day when their HDCAM-SR final output looks spectacular, they see no need to spend $1200/hour in the Flame bay. You just gotta sell them on it by showing them finished product, under budget, and on time.
Oh, and autodesk has hobbled the Kona3 somewhat – it can’t do down/cross/upconversions on the fly. Our Flame guy is bent out of shape that mine can and he can’t. I just smile smugly and help him make Digibetas.
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unbeleivable! an actual response!
and an amazingly helpful one to boot – couldn’t be more tailored to my needs.
well we’re going to the smoke demo today, and I think I’ll order the kona 3 when we get back in the office.
thanks CharlieX.
can you perform edits with mind control alone? -
[Paul Provost] “gee thanks guys”
You can search my posts in this forum and the FCP forum. Just put Kona as the Subject and me as the Author. This topic has been covered probably dozens of times just in this year alone.
Bottom line, AJA is a broadcast centric company and really the only product line you should be using if you are a serious production company. If you have deadlines and clients breathing over your shoulder, you want the quality of AJA products and tech support if anything should go wrong.
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
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