AJA Io 4K Plus Thunderbolt 3 I/O Device

As predicted, IBC this year as always was a hotbed of activity this year. Not surprising of course, but AJA unveiled a few new products at this year's IBC. AJA has a new line of mini converters dubbed the "FiDO" line that converts "12G to fiber and vice versa". Also AJA is implementing price cuts for other converters in their product line previously. All of these are great, but their main announcement is about the AJA Io 4K Plus video interface. This makes for AJA's first Thunderbolt 3 device which with the way the industry is trending may not seem as important as it actually is. Thunderbolt 3 seems to be the way of the future with many of these devices so AJA's release of the Io 4K Plus couldn't be better. Having Thunderbolt 3 connectivity aside, this device is a powerhouse on it's own. This article from StudioDaily by Bryant Frazer outlines the Io 4K Plus' versatile features and how it can improve your workflow.

Designed for use with software including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer, the box has 12G/6G/3G/1.5G SDI connectivity and HDMI 2.0 input and output. It supports 8-, 10- and 12-bit 4:2:2 and 4:44 over 12G-SDI or HDMI, AJA said, along with 16-channel embedded SDI audio and eight-channel embedded HDMI audio.

The 4K Plus also supports real-time scaling of 4K and UHD sources to HD for monitoring and output, along with dual Thunderbolt 3 ports for USB-C daisy-chaining with workstations and other devices.

AJA said the Io 4K Plus will ship in October for an MSRP of $2,495. If your workflow includes the need to punch in 16-bit audio, you may want to look for the Avid-branded version of the box, which is called the DNxIV. It’s due to ship at the same time and will be available through Avid’s reseller network for $2,999, AJA said.

Worth noting: The 4K Plus will also be HDR-ready. AJA said its upcoming Desktop Software v14 release, comin in October, will support HLG and HDR10 in accordance with HDMI 2.0 specs. New firmware for the Ki Pro Ultra Plus with HLG and HDR10 support is also due next month, AJA said. (It will also enable recording and playback of ProRes 4444 XQ at up to 60p at 2K resolution.) And the newer HDR10+ open standard championed by Samsung, with its dynamic metadata, is being supported in the beta version of the developer SDK for AJA’s 4K I/O products, the company said....[continue reading]