AJA Ki Pro Closes the Transcoding Gap

Final Cut Pro editors have long put up with a mind-numbing kink in their workflow. The missing link? Edit-ready files that don’t suck away the hours with endless transcoding. But what if you had a portable DDR and file conversion device, one you could control via the Web from your laptop or even iPhone, that recorded full-raster, 10-bit, 4:2:2 HD and SD? AJA’s new Ki Pro does all that by recording ProRes 422 straight from the camera to a removable hard drive with built-in FireWire 800 or to 34 mm ExpressCard Flash media. Connect to any digital camera on the market via HDMI or SDI, or use it as your own DI-process-in-a-box to bring analog camera footage in via one of a set of input options. You can also go from SD to HD, to 720 from 1080 and back again, all in real time and at full quality. The standalone Ki Pro, with built-in Ethernet, includes a recorder, HDD Storage Module and an AC Adapter. You can trick it out, however, with an optional Exo-Skeleton to lock to your camera and tripod, extra storage modules, and even a rod accessory kit. Available in June. $3,995 (options extra). www.aja.com