Aja Sales department
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Unfortunately, batteries “cliff off” at varying levels. Some go from adequate to inadequate quite fast as you experienced. There is not a way to increase the low voltage duration as the device needs 12 volt power to operate properly. Longer takes require more time to close, while shorter takes require far less and will appear to close instantaneously. If you have a file that was aborted prematurely due to power loss, you should consider looking at Aeroquartet’s Movie Repair. AJA recommends it often and the track record for recovery is quite good. Batteries with meters or level indications can also be helpful on set when used alongside Ki Pro and Ki Pro Mini products.
If you have additional questions or need further assistance, don’t hesitate to contact AJA Technical Support.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
As noted in the previous thread:
The issue appears to be a conflict only when systems are updated to OS X 10.6.8. AJA will look into this matter more on Monday. Until then, it might be best to not update a KONA 3 system to OS X 10.6.8; other OS versions appear to work correctly with the KONA 3. Please contact AJA via email and attach a copy of your System Profile to the email. We are sorry for this inconvenience. In the majority of cases, an OS update will not impact the operation of an AJA product, but in this case it appears that the update does.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
The issue appears to be a conflict only when systems are updated to OS X 10.6.8. AJA will look into this matter more on Monday. Until then, it might be best to not update a KONA 3 system to OS X 10.6.8; other OS versions appear to work correctly with the KONA 3. Please contact AJA via email and attach a copy of your System Profile to the email. We are sorry for this inconvenience. In the majority of cases, an OS update will not impact the operation of an AJA product, but in this case it appears that the update does.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
Please note: the goal of this post is to answer the specific questions and comments posed in the previous posts in this thread. Because of this, it quotes portions of these previous posts to be as efficient as possible and attempts to answes the questions in one post.
Steve Lovelace wrote: “However, the SDI output only sends it as 1080i/30. So since the Ki-Pro records exactly what it sees, you can’t make 1080p/30 files unless you record internally on the AF100. This makes the Ki-Pro pointless if you need 1080p/30 files when shooting from the AF100 – or any other camera that only sends 1080i on its outputs. But it’s really a moot point anyway, since apparently the Ki-Pro currently cannot record 1080/30p in the first place.”
Reply: If the camera is outputting 1080i 29.97, that is what the Ki Pro Mini will record. The Ki Pro Mini does support up to 1080p 29.97 (which is sometimes shorthanded as “1080p/30”) however the Panasonic AG-AF100 may not output that format via HD-SDI at this time, in which case, the Ki Pro Mini would not be able to record it if it is not output by the camera; as you noted, the Ki Pro Mini records the format and frame rate it receives. See the additional comment later in this post regarding the unique difference in the output for the Panasonic AG-AF100 with regards to 720p formats.
Steve Lovelace wrote: “Panasonic says the camera will record 6 hours (at high “PH” quality) when using 2 32GB SD cards. On the Ki-Pro, on 2 32GB CF cards, it appears you get just over 1 hour at ProRes LT (100Mbps). That’s nearly 6:1 difference, plus having to use high-speed CF cards which can often cost 3-4 times as much as comparable SD cards. So on a card pair that’s 4 times more money, with 1/6th the capacity, the cost-per-minute of ProRes LT on a Ki-Pro is 24X greater than AVCCAM at its highest setting. But is the relative quality between AVCCAM PH and ProRes LT that great a difference? I’ve seen Sony EX-3 footage that looked great, and at the low bit-rate that it has, it seemed to hold up far better than ProRes Proxy, which is pretty badly compressed.”
Reply: The Panasonic on-board recording, set to the maximum quality of “PH” as noted, will produce 8-bit 4:2:0 24Mbps (maximum bit rate) files. By contrast, the AJA Ki Pro Mini can be configured to record 10-bit 4:2:2 at up to a maximum bit rate of 220Mbps when using Apple ProRes 422 (HQ); lower bit rates apply for other Apple ProRes 422 codec flavors and AJA tends to recommend standard Apple ProRes 422 (approximately 145Mbps maximum) for the majority of acquisition and Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) for the more demanding post production needs. AJA considers Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy), as the name implies, unsuitable for production recordings. Lower bit rates employed by the camera allow the use of SD cards in the camera, higher bit rates require the use of faster CF cards in the Ki Pro Mini; it simply isn’t feasible to use SD cards for the higher data rate requirements as employed by the Ki Pro Mini. Even CF cards need to be of specific speed in order to be able to support up to 220Mbps; compared to other 10-bit 4:2:2 capable recording media, the CF cards employed by the Ki Pro Mini could be seen as reasonable… or expensive if the comparison was to slower, consumer-oriented CF cards. Since AJA does not produce the media, the associated costs are beyond our scope. The cards selected by AJA meet the performance requirements needed for recording 1080i 29.97 with 8-channel audio for the capacity of the CF card, less 10%. You can find the list of qualified CF cards here:
https://www.aja.com/pdf/KiProMini_qualifiedCF_cards.pdfFor post production purposes, where color correction and other processes might be of value, the 10-bit 4:2:2 files (even if the camera’s output is limited to 8-bit) may serve the post production processes better than an 8-bit 4:2:0 source. This is not meant in any way to diminish the quality that is possible when using the on-board recording media and compression employed by the camera; this might be suitable quality for your post production and deliverable needs… or it may not. If it is not, the use of an attached video recorder, like the Ki Pro Mini, can be beneficial when the acquired material is moved to post production. As an added benefit, the Ki Pro Mini Apple ProRes 422 QuickTime Movie files can be used in a variety of non-linear editing systems, not just Final Cut Pro.
Steve Lovelace wrote: “Another big issue – that AJA says could be fixed in future firmware updates – is that slot 1 and slot 2 do not roll over into one another during recording, the way the AF100 and most other dual-slot recording setups do. It makes me wonder why bother having 2 slots in the first place, when it takes nearly as much time to switch to the 2nd slot as it does to just put a new card. Either way, you need to stop your recording – not cool if you’re in the middle of a great scene or important interview response.”
Reply: To be clear, AJA did not promise dual CF card slot continuous recording on the Ki Pro Mini product. As noted, AJA would like to provide this capability in the future. Having two card slots, does allow the user to gracefully unmount the first card inserted in slot 1 via the SLOT button and then with another depression of the SLOT button, mount the media in slot 2; AJA felt that this could be of benefit to users who might want to have media “on-hand” in the device as opposed to physically swapping out media. Prior to the most recent file-based cameras, recordings had to be stopped on cameras if the remaining media was low, so the operation is not dissimilar to that. Having stated that, AJA appreciates the merits of being able to have recordings continue should media in one slot reach capacity; again, this is something that may appear in future firmware but is not a promised feature of the device.
Uli Plank wrote: “I doubt that the Ki Pro Mini will be able to bridge two cards, since it doesn’t seem to have a cache in it’s hardware. It can’t even close a file if the HDMI cable slips out or the camera runs out of juice.”
Reply: Again, AJA would like to enable recording between the two CF card slots, but it is not a promised feature of the device; this does not mean that is is not possible due to it’s hardware design however. The implementation of un-promised features requires extensive testing to assure that it operates to customer satisfaction when released.
The Ki Pro Mini is designed to stop recording on a loss of video; if an HDMI cable is removed while recording, the Ki Pro Mini should stop recording. Loss of power is more difficult, but the Ki Pro Mini is designed to stop recording and close the file if the battery does not “cliff off” too quickly; this means that some batteries provide sufficient time to produce a low voltage warning for the Ki Pro Mini and initiate the stop recording and file close sequences, but not all battery behavior is the same, so this can vary between batteries used. If you are not experiencing what is described in this reply with your Ki Pro Mini, please contact AJA Technical Support so they can review your configuration.
Tim Vaughn wrote: “I recently tested out the mini and wasn’t impressed overall. Everything from the cost standpoint (nearly $4k once batteries, external mounting options and CFcards were obtained) to what you listed above.”
Reply: We are sorry if you were not pleased with the device and appreciate your feedback. Like many devices, including cameras, the Ki Pro Mini can require additional expenses, such as the purchase of media and power sources. By allowing the user to select their accessories, it means that the Ki Pro Mini can be configured as the user sees fit; some users will want to use Anton Bauer batteries, others will want to use IDX, some users will want to mount the Ki Pro Mini via the Mounting Plate and 15mm rods, others will want to mount it via an articulating arm, etc. AJA is not the only company that provides a basic kit and allows the user to customize as they see fit; Panasonic, for example, may not have include a lens with the AG-AF100 for this reason.
Steve Lovelace wrote: “In a nutshell, here’s what I get when I set camera up to various formats [only listing the higher quality settings here] and what the Ki-Pro sees via SDI from the camera:
Cam: 720p/24 Ki-Pro: 720p/59.94
Cam: 720p/60 Ki-Pro: 720p/59.94
Cam: 1080p/24 Ki-Pro: 1080i/29.97
Cam: 1080p/30 Ki-Pro: 1080i/29.97
Cam: 1080i/60 Ki-Pro: 1080i/29.97So it looks like there two choices: 720p at 59.54fps, or 1080i at 29.97fps. The Ki-Pro supposedly supports more formats, but perhaps only on playback from pre-recorded files.”
Reply: If you refer to the Ki Pro Mini Release Notes document, you will note that the formats supported for the AG-AF100 differ from other cameras. You can find this document at:
https://www.aja.com/pdf/ReleaseNotes_KiProMini_v2.5.pdfIn future firmware, AJA hopes to add support for extracting frame rates within larger frame rates from the AG-AF100 (as is already supported on other cameras from Panasonic, etc.) At this time, the Ki Pro Mini should support the following formats from the Panasonic AG-AF100:
720p 50
720p 59.94
1080PsF 23.98 (requires specific menu selections on the camera for SDI out)
1080i 25
1080i 29.97AJA appreciates your feedback on it’s products. You should feel free to contact the company directly with feedback; AJA cannot hope – though it makes a valiant effort to do so – to monitor all of the forums on the internet where information may be posted regarding our products.
If you have additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact AJA Technical Support via phone or email. They are happy to provide assistance Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm PST.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
As noted in the earlier post, please forward your System Profile to AJA Technical Support for review via email. You can reach them via phone or email on Monday beginning at 9am PST.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
If you have not contacted AJA Technical Support yet, please considering doing so. It is helpful in such scenarios to email them your System Profile as well.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
It is possible that the Ki Pro Storage Module was removed too soon or without using the SLOT button. Typically, if you see the file and it’s capacity it can be recovered by third party software such as this:
https://aeroquartet.com/movierepair/repair.htmlYou should contact AJA Technical Support via phone or email if you need additional assistance.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
The AJA KONA X Beta drivers provide the following benefits when working with Final Cut Pro X:
– the ability to ingest and output to tape using AJA VTR Xchange since Final Cut Pro X does not include Log and Capture or Edit to Tape
– the ability to connect to video inputs and outputs commonly used on professional video devices: SDI, HDMI and component analog
– only one device is needed for the audio/video preview quality monitoring provided by the KONA X Beta driver (by comparison a DVI or Mini Display Port to HDMI adapter only provides video preview; to route audio, a separate audio connection would need to be made from the computer output whereas the KONA will route audio via SDI embedded, HDMI embedded or analog audio output simultaneously)
– AJA KONA products can still be used for full quality monitoring via the AJA TV and AJA VTR Xchange applicationsIf you already own a KONA 3G, KONA LHi or KONA 3, the KONA X Beta drivers provide a starting point for interacting with Final Cut Pro X. As Apple’s Final Cut Pro X continues to evolve, expect AJA to provide additional interactions with the software.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
The document provided by AJA tries to make it clear that this beta drive only provides a video monitoring solution at preview quality.
https://www.aja.com/pdf/FCP_X_and_AJA.pdfIf you are comparing the video output quality of the KONA X Beta driver when used with Final Cut Pro X to the video output quality produced by the typical KONA drivers when used with a previous version of Final Cut Pro, it will not look comparable; this is part of why AJA has denoted this release as a public beta driver. At this time, the KONA X Beta driver is what can be provided for video output preview monitoring when using Final Cut Pro X. If you use the AJA TV application or AJA VTR Xchange applications to review QuickTime Movies, you will note the same high quality video output you have been accustomed to when monitoring with the AJA video output. The way you interact with third party tools, like the AJA KONA cards, is different from the previous versions of Final Cut Pro when using Final Cut Pro X, and this preview video quality is what can be provided at this time.
As Apple’s Final Cut Pro X continues to evolve, you can expect AJA to provide new interactions with the software and continuing, improved support.
If you have additional question, please feel free to contact AJA Technical Support via phone or email between 9am and 5pm PST.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com -
We cannot comment on what may be enabled by Apple in the future. We can say that as Apple’s Final Cut Pro X evolves, you can reasonably expect AJA to provide new interactions with the software.
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AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com