Q&A with AJA

Q: Can you tell us about AJA's technology that supports the new Avid products?

A: Avid's release of 6.0 software for Media Composer and Symphony as well as the 10.0 release of NewsCutter introduces a new SDK structure for third party hardware known as Open I/O. Through Open I/O, end users can utilize any of our current IO hardware including KONA 3G, KONA LHi, KONA LHe Plus, Io Express, Io XT and even the legacy KONA 3. This new freedom allows Avid users to move to the most powerful hardware in the business simply and affordably, and allows users migrating to the new Avid software to utilize AJA hardware they may already own.

This truly offers the end user the best of all worlds as with a card like the KONA 3G, they can utilize solutions from Avid, Apple, Adobe and Autodesk all on the same platform with the same AJA hardware.

Q: What are your solutions for Thunderbolt?

A: At IBC2011 in Amsterdam, AJA announced our first ThunderBolt™ product, the Io XT.
This product is the only video I/O device on the market that supports ThunderBolt™ pass through with its two ThunderBolt™ ports.
What this means, is that an end user now has access to a mobile, powerful video solution with full professional support including 3G/Dual-Link/HD/SD-SDI and HDMI, complete with 10-bit Up/Down/Cross-conversion for a full line of professional workflows. Workflows that include 3D stereo support, high progressive frame rate and deep 4:4:4 color needs all in a mobile device that lives up to the true promise of ThunderBolt™ with it's pass through of signals for DisplayPort to monitors, storage data to drives and so much more.

The level of flexibility and power represented by AJA's Io XT is unprecedented. We encourage your readers to visit www.aja.com to learn much more about this exciting product.

Q: What markets does AJA serve, and who are your end-users?

A: AJA serves the professional broadcast, video and digital film markets with a large and growing base of end users in these categories. We also serve new end-users in the emerging markets of high end AV, live event and vertical markets like medical, corporate and educational video.

Q: What other new and exciting products does AJA have in store for this year or early 2012 (if you can share)?

A: We prefer not to pre-announce our products, but of course you can expect to see the continuing expansion of our acquisition line with our highly successful Ki Pro products and as always, intelligent and powerful solutions in the conversion space.

Q: Can you tell us about your history with Avid?

A: AJA actually has a long history with Avid. Beginning over 6 years ago with the inclusion of our KONA 3 cards in the successful lineup of Avid DS finishing products. This was followed by the first foray into true third party input, output and monitoring solutions with Avid Media Composer; namely the release of MC 5.5 and it's support for our Io Express mobile editing product.
The end user enthusiasm for this release was a great signal of the market acceptance to come with the recent 6.0 release of Media Composer and its Open I/O support for the rest of our hardware video solutions, including the exciting new Io XT for ThunderBolt™ workflows.

At IBC 2011 we also jointly announced the coming support for direct to Avid DNxHD file capture on our Ki Pro Mini. This exciting development will allow end users to simplify their workflows even more when working with Avid solutions. It's important to note however, that even now, many Avid users are happily utilizing our Ki Pro products for capture and utilizing Avid's AMA architecture to support the Apple ProRes files in this workflow without needing to transcode.

Q: What trends are you seeing in the marketplace and in workflow practices?

A: It's an exciting time for non-linear editors as they can now standardize on one set of hardware with AJA and whether working with solutions from Apple, Avid, Adobe, Autodesk and more, offer their clients the best tool for any particular job based upon it's particular requirements. This is such a substantial cost and time efficiency that it fundamentally alters the game for both users and vendors. I can't remember a more open time in this area of the business.

On the acquisition front, the revolution that Ki Pro spawned with it's direct from lens capture to edit proficient workflows continues unabated. The rise of so many competing products is testament to this wise choice on AJA's part. The leadership that AJA continues to show in this category will continue to grow with both the extension of workflows in current products through their forward thinking LAN support, expanded codecs and more and future products with exciting solutions for users in a range of workflow needs.

Lastly, we believe the continuing growth in the 4K market will continue and AJA is well positioned to provide the needed solutions here with the growing workflows offered by our KONA 3G cards and more.

Q: At what events or shows will we find AJA at in the coming months?

A: AJA is probably the most active company in the business when it comes to field events and shows. Of course we will be at all the major trade shows like NAB, IBC, InterBEE and more in 2012.
To keep up on all our activities, you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter of course, but for the most up to date planning for your reader's needs in their particular corner of the world, we would encourage them to visit the events web page at www.aja.com You can search by your country and city and even sign up for email notifications.

Q: Where can we learn more about your products online?

A: AJA provides solutions in three key categories: Acquire, Edit and Convert.
We encourage your readers to visit http//:www.aja.com and explore these product categories from the products tab at the top of the home page.

Q: For our social media fans, where can we follow AJA on Facebook and Twitter?

A: AJA is very active in Social Media and readers can follow AJA on Facebook at www.facebook.com and on Twitter at twitter.com or of course by the @AJAVideo handle. These outlets are a great way of keeping up with current news, events and product information in real time for your readers.

Q: And finally, how do we get access to a list of AJA resellers?

A: The simplest way of finding an AJA reseller, since AJA does not sell direct, is to visit www.aja.com

On this page, you can whittle down your search using Country and Zip code as well as focus your search to the product category of your choice: Acquire, Edit, Convert or indeed all three.