To Get in the Right Color Space, Why Not a Mini Converter?

Working with formats like Sony's S-Log and Canon's C-Log can be challenging for those on set or in the studio who want to preview footage during editing—especially with a client in the room. The more dynamic range you want out of the images, the flatter the footage. Applying LUTs on set or during an early edit before the final grade will give you a more natural preview than the desaturated footage recorded in the camera and also confirm that you're in the color space you need to be. 

But if you apply LUTs in your NLE with a software plug-in, you typically have to stop what you're doing and create an adjustment layer and sometimes render. AJA's latest mini converter, LUT-box, is an innovative way to instantly apply LUTs and send your footage out to either an SDI or HDMI monitor—or both simultaneously—while you continue to work. 

The $695 mini converter features AJA's familiar MiniConfig software, which lets you load in your 3D LUTs, up to 17x17x17 points, via the internal USB on a Mac or Windows-based PC. With two 3G-SDI inputs and 12-bit image processing, 16-channel embedded SDI and 8-channel HDMI audio, it seems like an obvious way to keep monitoring at the ready no matter where a production takes you.

"We've had requests for something like this for some time," said AJA product marketing manager Tony Cacciarelli. "What's great about it is you can still be working with your footage and not add any overhead to your system. 3D LUT translations take a lot of compute power, which is why many software-only based LUTs are usually limited to 1D."

The converter supports standard LUT formats, including .LUT, .TXT, .3DL and .CUBE. Similar to other AJA mini converters, the LUT-box includes RCA analog audio output. "This lets you easily break out two analog channels, say for two audio speakers, to add to the preview experience," said Cacciarelli.

The LUT-box is expected to be available in May. It will ship with its own power supply, USB cable and a five-year warranty.