AJA Training Ki Pro Part 1 of 3 on Vimeo

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1. Ki Pro Intro from AJA

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The AJA Ki Pro is a tapeless video recording device that records high-quality Apple ProRes 422 edit ready QuickTime files onto computer-friendly media.

Because it features SD/HD-SDI, HDMI, and analog inputs, you can interface with virtually any type of camera you might own or rent. Further, you enjoy monitoring flexibility through Ki Pro's numerous simultaneous outputs, connecting to both professional and consumer monitors.

In Part 1 of the Ki Pro training series, Jon Thorn, Ki Pro Product Manager explains your connectivity options and how to attach the Ki Pro to a camera. Jon will also guide you through the main User facing UI buttons so that you can familiarize yourself with the key controls.

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bunkofurko 3 months ago

Jon, we watched all three parts of this introductory video. Thank you so much for making it!

I assume there is no V-mount or Anton Bauer mount on the underside of the Ki Pro to attach a battery to? We were thinking of using the unit in a belt pouch to be worn by the operator, instead of adding extra weight and girth to the underside of a camera.

I understand there is wireless controllability of this unit via an AP address, but the three videos did not get into this at all. And how about a small, inexpensive wired controller, would there be such a thing?

Are you guys really expecting that everyone who buys a Ki Pro will be running things on an Apple computer, the Mac OS, and editing video using Final Cut? That is certainly not the case around here, as we do not particularly like overpriced, proprietary hardware and apps, and what I have been hearing of the latest version of the Mac OS, it is a regular bugzilla, anyhow.

Anyhow.... I understnad that on the PC side, Sony's Vegas 9 NLE program can only hadnle thse Apple Pro Res files natively. Maybe other NLE can do as well, like Grass Valley's Edius. Whatever the case is, I would certainly revise this video somewhat to mention other possibilities for working with the Ki Pro, other than having to acquite an entire Apple + Mc OS + Final Cut package. Not everyone wants to go that route, you know.

I recall something being mentioned in the menu set-up between switching from NTSC US and NTSC Japan. How about PAL? Does the Ki Pro handle Pal recordings as well, like 25p, 50i, and 50p? Or not? Important consideration in these days of global interoperability, surely.

Lastly, what size are the spinning and solid state hard drive cartidges that you sell for the Ki Pro, and what are their list prices? Also, I noticed that the hard drive has a micro FW800 OUT jack, but this is not really used in the PC and Linux world much, though. There was also a brief mention about an external SATA connector on the drive, and how it connects this waty to the unit itself when loaded. Can the hard drive also be connected to a PC via an eSATA cable, or only via a FireWire cable? This would be rather important for us operating in the non-Apple world.

Thanks again, Jon! Great effort, most useful indeed!
AJA Marketing 3 months ago

It is our pleasure to present these videos to you!

I took your questions to Jon Thorn, the Product Manager for Key Pro and he kindly has provided the following answers.

Q: I assume there is no V-mount or Anton Bauer mount on the underside of the Ki Pro to attach a battery to?

A: Ki Pro does not have a V-mount or Anton Bauer battery mount attached to it. Instead, Ki Pro uses an industry standard 4-pin XLR style connector which allows you to use Ki Pro with a wide variety of batteries directly or via adapters.

Q: And how about a small, inexpensive wired controller, would there be such a thing?

A: In a free future firmware update, Ki Pro's LANC connectivity will be enabled; LANC will allow you to use inexpensive, wired controllers to arm the recording of both the camera and Ki Pro.

Q: Are you guys really expecting that everyone who buys a Ki Pro will be running things on an Apple computer, the Mac OS, and editing video using Final Cut?

A: No. We appreciate that there are a variety of non-linear editing programs to choose from, but we wanted to create a product that worked seamlessly with the most popular non-linear editing software on the market, Final Cut Pro. Since Apple provides QuickTime decoders for Windows, it is possible to open the Apple ProRes 422 files on that platform as well.

Q: Does the Ki Pro handle Pal recordings as well, like 25p, 50i, and 50p?

A: Yes, Ki Pro works with PAL and HD formats at 50Hz like 720p 50 and 1080i 25.

Q: Lastly, what size are the spinning and solid state hard drive cartidges that you sell for the Ki Pro, and what are their list prices?

A: Ki Pro ships with one 250GB spinning drive. Additional 250GB Storage Modules can be purchased for U.S. MSRP $265 - so just over $1 per GB. The forthcoming 500GB spinning Storage Module will be priced at U.S. MSRP $385. Solid State technology is a bit more expensive and in most cases, the spinning mechanisms are suitable. But for high vibration and harsh conditions, SSD units might be better suited. The forthcoming 128GB SSD is priced at U.S. MSRP $695 and the 256GB SSD is priced at $1,395.

Q: Can the hard drive also be connected to a PC via an eSATA cable, or only via a FireWire cable?

A: At this time, the only certified way to connect the Storage Modules to a computer is via FireWire, but we won't rule out that in the future there will be the option to connect them via the SATA interface.

Hope this helps answer you questions. If you have additional questions you can always contact sales@aja.com for more information.
bunkofurko 3 months ago

Thanx a lot, Aja!

Re. Apple Final Cut Pro (Studio), I am not sure what their market share is in the world of NLEs these days, but I would suspect that if one adds up all the NLEs in use today (i.e. Avid, Adobe, Sony, Grass Valley, Leitch, etc, etc), FCP would still have a minority share of the non-linear editing market. Plus, their editor is really attched to the most proprietatary computer system out there, i.e. Apple.

I understand Apple provides QuickTime decoders for Windows for QT file playback, but I was sort of more interested in finding out what NLE program, besides Final Cut, will handle Pro Res and Pro Res HQ files natively on the timeline?

Yeah, the Apple-type FireWire 800 interface is pretty slow way to copy anything from drive to drive, when compared for instance to the 3Gb/sec eSATA interface. Also, in the Windows world, FireWire 800 is not all that popular, it seems. I am not sure if there is another way to connect the Ki Pro to a computer for data transfer while the drive is inside the actual recorder/player unit? Or would you have to physically remove the drive and play out its content from the single FW800 jack?
AJA Marketing 18 days ago

Bunkofurko,

I posted a reply to your follow up questions some time back but did not see them here so to answer some of your questions:

1. The Ki Pro does not record H.264 files, but Apple ProRes 422 and Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) QuickTime files. With the Apple ProRes QuickTime Decoder for Windows installed, you should be able to import the QuickTime files that Ki Pro creates into Adobe After Effects 7 or Sony Vegas 9.

2. Regarding the connectivity question - I quote Jon Thorn the product manager here from the KiPro forum at DVInfo.net

This forum and others on creative cow are a good place to find more of the technical answers you might seek:

dvinfo.net/forum/aja-io-ki-pro/

or

forums.creativecow.net/ajakipro

"The storage module features a FireWire 800 port as well as the SATA connector. The FireWire 800 connector allows the media to be connected to a wide variety of computers easily and this one cable can provide the data connection as well as the power. While we aren't offering any SATA connection for the drive to the computer at the outset, we won't rule out the possibility that a cable or adapter will be offered at a later date to take advantage of the speed inherent to this type of connection."

All the best
Gustavo Serrate 2 months ago

Hi,

I am from Brazil, and I am very interested in Buy the AJA Ki Pro.
I´ve watched all three parts, but I don´t understand one thing yet. The battery of AJA Kit. It cames with a battery ? I´ll need to plug in power? How long can I keep it on with a battery ?
What is the weight of the device ?

And finally, the great qualities of the device, is that I won´t need to buy a Deckplayer, or a camera with HD Card, witch is so expensive. How many hours can I record in high resolution ( 1080 l ) ?

Do you ship to Brazil ? How can I pay ?

Thanks for the video, good work.
AJA Marketing 18 days ago

Gustavo,

I passed your purchasing question onto the appropriate folks some time back.

Regarding the questions that you have here regarding specifics:

1. The KiPro does not come with a battery but does come with an AC/DC 12V transformer. Users have a variety of battery preferences for use onset as any battery that supports the 12V XLR typical connectivity will work.

Battery times therefore vary, but I can tell you that in making these videos I happily got a day's worth out of an Anton Bauer Dionic 90 if that is of help to you.

2. Ki Pro with the 250GB storage module in place weighs 3.55 lbs, the exoskeleton weighs 2.45 lbs, and the rod endplates weigh 0.7 lb..

3.It's really hard to quote firm numbers because data rates change with format and frame rate. These numbers - 2 hours for ProRes HQ and 3 hours for ProRes - are based on maximum frame rate and frame size (1080i 29.97) on the included Storage Module.

For lower resolutions or frame rates the Mbps drops and thus you get more recording time.

Hope this helps.