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Which Kona do I need?
We edit on a Final Cut system. Right now, we acquire 100% of our video on Betacam SP. We are looking to move into the HD world, first with a Sony HVR-A1U, and somewhere down the road, with XDCAM HD gear.
But how do we bridge the gap? For a year or two, we will probably need to edit projects in both SD and HD. That means we will need a card that can provide analog component in and out, with analog reference monitoring. But we will also need a card that will provide some osrt of HD in/out, along with some sort of HD monitor feed. For the HVR-A1U, we can use Firewire in/out, but will probably need a HD-SDI connection for HD monitoring. Once we go XDCAM, it would certainly be nice for our card to support HD-SDI in/out, along with another HD-SDI connection for HD monitoring.
We presently use an analog-only Kona LS card, and we really want to stay with AJA products. But what do we replace it with? It looks like a Kona LH, or a Kona 3 would do the job for us. The Kona LH is significantly cheaper. What will the Kona 3 provide that the Kona LH won’t?
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8 Replies
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If you’re on a G5 computer, you can’t get the Kona 3. That requires the PCI-X Kona 2.
LH gives you analog inputs for your analog gear now along with Digital inputs. LH gives you HD to SD downconvert.
Kona 3 gives you digital inputs only, you will require one of AJA’s digital converters for Component and/or composite inputs. Kona 3 also adds SD to HD Up-Convert and 720 to 1080i or 1080i to 720 cross convert. Both of these are critical in my applications.
The LH is an excellent product and since you’re analog based right now, probably a great choice to get you started in HD. If you have a PCIe machine, you need to get the LHe.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Well, the Kona 3 will work on PCIe G5’s like the last generation Quads etc. The Kona 3 offers up/cross/down converting of SD/HD signals and sounds to me like you’ll be needing that handy feature until you’ve dumped the SD stuff.
Don Wilson
AmericanaMediaInc.com -
[Don Wilson] “Well, the Kona 3 will work on PCIe G5’s like the last generation Quads etc.”
You are correct, I forgot to qualify that machine, which is actually the only PCIe G5. We run one here with a Kona 3.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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I really like the up/down/cross convert features that the Kona 3 offers. To me, that seems to position us the best for the unknown future.
So please correct me if I’m wrong on any of this:
We need to check and see if one of our current G5 machines has a PCIe slot for the Kona 3 card. Or we need to go ahead an upgrade to one of the Intel Macs right now.
We need to purchase some sort of analog component to SDI converter, like the AJA D10A. Working with a Kona 3, will we need some sort of SDI to analog component converter to lay programs back to our Beta deck?
We need to get a HD/SD switchable monitor like a Panasonic 1700W or 2600W.
(Dang, this is getting expensive!)
Once we have all of this in place, we should have inputs/outputs/SD reference monitor feeds for our Betacam projects, and inputs/outputs/reference monitor feeds for our HD projects. Is this right?
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[Tim Allison] “We need to check and see if one of our current G5 machines has a PCIe slot for the Kona 3 card. Or we need to go ahead an upgrade to one of the Intel Macs right now.”
The ONLY G5 with PCIe is the G5 Quad. All others are PCI-X except I believe the original G5 Dual 2.0 which was just PCI or something like that. PCI-X would require the Kona 2 which also gives you Up Convert, but I’m not sure if it’s sold any longer.
[Tim Allison] “We need to purchase some sort of analog component to SDI converter, like the AJA D10A. Working with a Kona 3, will we need some sort of SDI to analog component converter to lay programs back to our Beta deck?”
For lay back to Beta, no. The Kona 3 will output directly via Component from the card. For you Audio you will either have to come off the RCA outputs of the Breakout Box or get an Analog A/D converter for your analog audio.
OR, simply add the AJA Io LA to your system which adds Composite, Component, S-Video with analog audio I/O to your system. About the same price as most converters but with the added benefit of giving you all your SD analog connectivity.
But the Kona 3 can output SD directly via Component.
[Tim Allison] “We need to get a HD/SD switchable monitor like a Panasonic 1700W or 2600W.”
Yep, those are the best of the LCD’s in that price range since CRT’s are all but dead.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Tim, I jumped to the Intel Mac Pros and had a helluva time in the beginning but am very pleased now. Only issue has been fiber channel cards which I don’t use anymore. Feel free to ask for specifics if necessary. Just finshing a feature with the Kona 3/Mac Pro setup and with knowledge of any potential weirdness can finally say that I have a FCP system that rocks!
Don Wilson
AmericanaMediaInc.com -
Don Wilson???? The Don Wilson of “Samm Pena” fame?
LS
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