GRASS VALLEY, Calif.—AJA Video Systems has unveiled the Ki Pro Ultra 12G, a single-channel 4K/Ultra-HD recorder and player or four-channel HD recorder with 12G-SDI connectivity.

The new product supports single-channel 4K/Ultra-HD up to 50/60p recording and playback, and playback to and from Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHR. Connectivity options include 12G-SDI, HDMI v2.0 and optical fiber input and outputs. It also can be used to record as many as four channels of HD up to 1080 50/60p with independent ProRes profiles per channel.

“Demand for 12G-SDI solutions is soaring as production professionals strive to create more streamlined workflows with enough bandwidth to carry higher fidelity HDR, high frame rate and 4K/UltraHD signals over a single cable,” said Nick Rashby, president, AJA Video Systems. 

“Building upon the same framework of the production-proven Ki Pro Ultra Plus, we’ve developed the next-generation Ki Pro Ultra 12G to offer recording and playback of the highest quality video signals with 12G-SDI connectivity to streamline recording and playback—whether on set, in live venues or within a broadcast studio.”

Features include:

The AJA Ki Pro Ultra 12G is now available and has a manufacturer’s suggested price of $3,995.

More information is available on the AJA website.

Chiba, Japan, Inter BEE Booth #7312 (November 13, 2019) – AJA Video Systems has introduced new upgrades for its Ki Pro Family of production-proven file-based recorders. A new v1.5 firmware update for Ki Pro GO adds timecode recording and playback, expanded primary and backup recording to all USB ports and new clip naming and segment recording. Ki Pro Ultra Plus v5.0 introduces a new Infinite Recording feature that allows the unit to act as an always running backup recorder. Both firmware updates will be available soon to customers as free downloads.

Ki Pro GO is AJA’s new portable, multi-channel H.264 recorder and player, featuring up to 4-channels of simultaneous HD and SD capture to affordable, off-the-shelf USB media. With the v1.5 firmware update, Ki Pro GO now records and plays video with timecode. The timecode can originate from an incoming SDI video’s RP188 data, be recorded as the time of date or be specified to start at a specific hour. For playback, timecode values are automatically embedded as RP188 data on Ki Pro GO’s SDI outputs. The v1.5 update also expands backup and primary recording to all five USB ports, providing users with increased flexibility to choose their desired recording destination. Additionally, the update adds new clip naming and segment recording, automatically creating a unique file name for each clip and identifying each segment of a continuous recording for extended event time needs.

The Ki Pro Ultra Plus is a multi-channel HD Apple ProRes® and single-channel 4K Avid DNxHR and ProRes recorder. The v5.0 firmware update adds numerous performance enhancements and a new Infinite Record mode that automatically captures all footage, providing the ability to run as an always running backup recorder. Infinite Record mode includes automatic formatting and rollover to both AJA Pak Media slots for uninterrupted recording, so there is no downtime when one drive fills up. Ki Pro Ultra Plus offers up to 4-channels of simultaneous HD recording, or 4K/UltraHD/2K/HD recording and playback via SDI and HDMI.

“Following lots of positive feedback from our users, we’ve upgraded Ki Pro GO with even more functionality to streamline H.264 recording and flexibility throughout production,” said Nick Rashby, President, AJA Video Systems. “With our new update to Ki Pro Ultra Plus, we’re delivering even more features that customers have been asking for, like Infinite Recording.”

Pricing and Availability

Ki Pro GO v1.5 and Ki Pro Ultra Plus v5.0 are available soon as free downloads from the on AJA’s website. For more information on the full Ki Pro Family, visit our website.

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions and professional cameras, bringing high-quality, cost-effective products to the professional broadcast, video and post production markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website.

GRASS VALLEY, Calif.—Harvard alumni who still want to cheer on their beloved Crimson teams can do so across the country through a number of different streaming services, including ESPN+, regional outfit NESN and the Ivy League’s international streaming platform. To handle these multiple avenues of streaming, Harvard’s Athletics Department’s multimedia and production teams utilizes AJA technology to produce and broadcast home games in H.264.

In an effort to boost its production capabilities, the Harvard production team added new cameras, graphics, audio equipment and other gear, including AJA’s HELO, U-TAP and Ki Pro Ultra systems.

One example of Harvard putting its AJA gear to use is for coverage of its tennis and squash teams. Six AJA HELO recording, streaming and encoding devices are included in a rack that receives audio and video signals. SDI outputs are fed to each of the six HELOs, one per court, and streaming to ESPN+ in H.264 via RTMP, as well as recorded for archiving.

Two HELO systems are also deployed in the control rooms for basketball and hockey/football for streaming needs outside traditional live production, including being connected to DirecTV receivers to capture H.264 footage from away games. In total, the production team says it has 14 HELO units for all of its productions.

AJA’s Ki Pro Ultra 4K/UHD/2K/HD recorder/player is another system put to use in the hockey control room to meet requests for uncompressed ProRes and/or DNx footage. In addition, the U-TAP SDI USB 3.0-powered SDI capture devices from AJA double the number of feeds that the Harvard production team can capture when live streaming with Wirecast on MacBook Pros.

Harvard uses this technology to help it produce 300 broadcast-quality streams a yer, per Imry Halevi, assistant director of athletics, multimedia and production for Harvard.

GRASS VALLEY, CALIF.—AJA Video Systems has released v2.0 firmware for its Ki Pro Ultra system. The newly updated software now comes with Avid DNxHD support to the portable file-based 4K/UHD/2K/HD video recorder and playback device, allowing for users to record and playback Avid DNxHD .mov files.

Ki Pro Ultra v2.0 now supports DNxHD codecs HQX, SQ and LB. It also is able to support video frame rates of 1080p 23.98, 24, 25 and 29.97; 1080i 25 and 29.97; 1080PsF 23.98, 24, 25 and 29.97; and 720p 50 and 59.94.

In addition, AJA has announced that Ki Pro Ultra, Ki Pro Rack and Ki Pro Quad now include Ki Protect to help ensure data integrity if a media drive is accidently removed or is shut off during recording.

Ki Pro Ultra v2.0 is now available as a free software download.