v3.1 Firmware Update for Ki Pro

[Jon Thorn]

AJA has released a new firmware update for the original Ki Pro product. This new firmware update can be found at the following location on the AJA website:

Support - AJA Video Systems

New Features
• Camera Data menu parameter additions for ARRI Alexa cameras, Panasonic AG-AF100 series cameras and the Sony PMW-F3 camera. Enables support for start/stop via ancillary SDI data when used with these cameras.
• Timelapse recording feature added via new CONFIG menu parameters for Interval Record, Interval Frames and Interval Time.

Improvements and Fixes
• Addressed an issue where select users of v3.0 firmware experienced stumbling playback of 720p files.
• Fixed an issue where spaces in the clip names impacted the ability to use the Ki Pro DATA-LAN file transfer feature.
• Additional improvements to RS-422 behavior when used with controllers and non-linear editors.

For full details about this firmware update you may review the Release Notes document located on the AJA website here:

http://www.aja.com/pdf/ReleaseNotes_KiPro_v3.1.pdf

Note: AJA recommends a Factory Reset under the CONFIG menu prior to updating firmware.

If you have questions about the installation of this new firmware, feel free to contact AJA Technical Support for assistance via phone or email. AJA Technical Support is provided free of charge and they will be happy to help.

I hope this information is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

[Martin Rose]

Any chance of DNxHD support coming in the future or can I stop holding my breath.

Thanks

Martin

[Kevin Wolff]

Unless I missed it in the user guide, the current Ki Pro Mini firmware does not have Panasoniv AF100 camera data support. Are there plans in the works to add it?

Thanks,
Kevin

[Jon Thorn]

Martin R. - The original Ki Pro product cannot have DNxHD support added to it, sorry. The older design of that product does not allow sufficient space for us to add DNxHD encoding/decoding. The newer designs of the Ki Pro Mini and the Ki Pro Rack provided sufficient space for us to add DNxHD encoding/decoding support. Having said this, the original Ki Pro product's ProRes files can be used with Avid Media Composer as well as a variety of other NLEs and applications on both Mac OS and Windows OS.

Kevin W. - An upcoming firmware update for the Ki Pro Mini and Ki Pro Rack will add support for the cameras that were added to the Camera Data parameter in version 3.1 for the Ki Pro.

Hope this information is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

[Kevin Wolff]

Great! Thanks for the update, Jon.

[Andrew Stone]

Question about the Ki Pro Mini and firmware upgrades...

Has there been any hardware revisions to the Ki Pro Mini since it's introduction that would preclude any of the of the features in the firmware updates from being usable?

Secondly, is the DNxHD upgrade implemented to the point where it is fully usable outside of AVID, assuming you have the DNxHD codecs installed? I am thinking primarily on Windows using Premiere Pro CS 5.5 or 6 and DaVinci Resolve.

[Jon Thorn]

Andrew S. - Any AJA Ki Pro Mini can be used with any firmware version specified for that particular Ki Pro model; Ki Pro, Ki Pro Mini and Ki Pro Rack may have different firmware versions that are specific to the model. As an example, version 3.1 is specific to the original Ki Pro product and the upcoming v4.1 will be specific to Ki Pro Mini and Ki Pro Rack products. We suggest that you perform a Factory Reset via the CONFIG menu before performing a firmware update.

Beginning with version 4.0 firmware, the Ki Pro Mini can produce Avid DNxHD QuickTime files. AJA recommends that these files be used with Avid Media Composer. While these QuickTime files can be read in a variety of other nonlinear edit systems and applications (when the appropriate Avid QuickTime codec package has been installed), AJA cannot verify the behavior or performance of DNxHD QuickTime files in all applications. Information to this effect may be found in the AJA Ki Pro Mini manual, page 25:
http://www.aja.com/pdf/AJA_Ki_Pro_Mini_Manual_4.0.pdf

Many users not specifically working with Avid Media Composer will elect to use the Apple ProRes files that the Ki Pro Mini can create.

Hope this information is helpful,
Jon Thorn
Senior Product Manager
AJA Video Systems, Inc.

[Andrew Stone]

Thanks for the quick reply Jon. This helps insofar as it explains the company position on the use of DNxHD but no so much for the user.

Hopefully there is a Ki Pro Mini user reading this board that has experience of using Ki Pro Mini generated DNxHD files in a Windows environment outside of AVID MC or Symphony. There are more than a few of us owner/operator cameramen/editors that are migrating away from FCP and Macs due to the feint support Apple has shown the pro video community over the past few years in both hardware and software.

I've had great success using DNxHD files generated through QuickTime on Windows in both Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. I wanted to close the loop and find out if the Ki Pro Mini generates DNxHD files that play nice with Premiere Pro CS 6 and DaVinci Resolve.

If I could somehow get access to a couple of test files from a Ki Pro Mini encoded in DNxHD that would allow me to conduct a test.

Thanks in advance.