Instruction manual

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KONA 3G Installation and Operation Guide — Understanding Typical
KONA 3G users will also find the powerful AJA Control Panel automatically installed with their
KONA package. The AJA Control Panel provides easy I/O configuration monitoring, audio/video
source selection, conversion and control of KONA 3G within the overall MacOS or Windows 7
environment.
Available Utilities from AJA include: AJA Utilities: AJA TV, VTR Xchange, AJA System Test, AJA
DataCalc, AJA QTtoDPXtranslator, and AJA DPXtoQTtranslator.
Understanding Typical Workflows
KONA 3G allows more post production workflow flexibility than ever before . A variety of
formats, frame rates, and codecs for capture and editorial manipulation are available. KONA 3G
hardware has a full array of connectors for interfacing with VTRs, DDRs and other devices—with
all outputs active simultaneously. Capture can range from compressed DV to uncompressed
dual-link, 3G HD or 2K. Media can be stored on disk as:
• offline quality at low bit-rates
• on-line quality at moderate bit-rates
• or with the highest quality 8- or 10-bit uncompressed quality.
As quality and codecs improve, the lines between offline and online are blurring. For example,
with the development of the DVCPRO HD codec, native HD editing in the codec became
possible, providing very high-quality (true HD) editing at very low data rates—in some cases
lower than 6 MB/sec. The benefits are clear when compared to 100MB/sec and higher for
uncompressed HD formats.
Following are summaries of the most common codecs used in various workflows, providing
data rates and relative quality levels. Some workflows require a RAID array and some will work
using the host Apple computer's internal system drive (as noted where supported).
PhotoJPEG Data rate: approximately 1-3 MB/second (megabyte per second) standard definition or high
definition—supported by internal system drive
Quality: Very Good
The PhotoJPEG codec offers excellent compressed media for near on-line quality at low data
rates. PhotoJPEG can use full-raster 4:2:2 sampling. KONA 3G allows PhotoJPEG monitoring and
output in both SD and HD and can capture from almost any HD or SD input, directly to
PhotoJPEG media.
DV (DV25) Data rate: 3+ MB/second standard definition only—supported by internal system drive
Quality: Good
DV is commonly input to an Apple computer via FireWire. KONA 3G can capture directly to DV
compressed media from an uncompressed SDI source. For devices without FireWire (IEEE1394 or
i.Link) connections, this allows the user to capture to this low data rate/good-quality codec.
While DV does offer good quality, it has lower chroma resolution compared to DV50, JPEG, or
uncompressed. The KONA 3G can convert DV projects to Uncompressed, in real time, for
monitoring and output even if the footage is not captured using the KONA 3G.
DV50 Data rate: 6+ MB/second standard definition only—supported by internal system drive
Quality: Very Good
Panasonic DV50 standard definition codec. DV50 is a 4:2:2 compressed format and has higher
chroma resolution than DV25. As with DV25, KONA 3G can convert DV50 projects to
uncompressed, in real time, for monitoring and output. KONA 3G can capture from its SDI input,
directly to DV50 compression.