Record in native ProRes 4:2:2 using new AJA Ki PRO

I’ve been asked a couple of times about the new AJA Ki Pro and although I didn’t managed to see it at NAB a colleague did get his hands on it and we’ve been going through the specs and it is very interesting indeed.

The AJA KiPro is a full 10 bit 4:2:2 recorder at under £4000

If you use FC then this will work a treat

If you are a Mac user then this is a product you need to check out!

This is master quality recording that traditionally on tape means recording on HDCAM SR or HDD5. Ok so those formats have other features and this is not an either or situation rather a compelling argument for tapeless technology advances at cost points that are hard to ignore.

This device sits in a similar category to the Panasonic AG-HPG20 (reviewed on a previous blog entry at www.Tapelessmadeeasy.com)

The Ki Pro is a one piece recording device that has a removable cartridge which is about the size of a large DVCAM tape box. The cartridge can be either Hard drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SDD) with a further option to record on to Express cards (2 slots) It has a familiar set of operational controls (like a conventional record deck-play, FF, RW Pause, Rec…) and a comprehensive I/O panel with component, composite, HD-SDI and HDMI. Analogue balanced XLR inputs and unbalanced Phono inputs.

It records full 10 bit 4:2:2 in Apples ProRes codec and the base unit has a £3200 UK List price. (that’s without drive cartridges) The Drives range from 128GB -256GB SDD and 250GB-500GB HDD so there’s lots of storage and of course you can use Express cards.

Powering the unit is easy with a 4 pin XLR using battery power or a 110/240 supplied AC adaptor

Not really practical for small camcorders

AJA have also created an underslung cradle that bolts on to the camera and sits between the base plate of the tripod and the camera. The unit is not huge but equally if you do a lot of hand held work this will add extra weight and some bulk which will contribute to operator fatigue. But if you don’t need to hand hold too much this is a tremendous product if you are an FCP user.

It’s a sensible move by AJA to create a device that records in the native codec of FCP. No transcoding, file re-wrapping or even any more transfer time.
With this quality at a recording bit rate of 180 mb/s the Ki-Pro will work well with HD minicams.

As soon as I am able to get one from AJA I’ll test it and let you know how we find it.