AJA's Ki Pro Quad now shipping

Ki Pro Quad

AJA has announced that they're shipping this extremely capable 4K recorder and it is, perhaps, a good time to recap its functionality. There are a number of angles to this complex product

There's a lot of detail here so we reproduce AJA's press release in full below. What's interesting about the Quad is that it has a number of capabilities which can be used on their own or in combination.

It can record RAW data at the same time as encoding to 4K ProRes. Incoming signals are downconverted to HD for display on standard HD monitors.

The Ki Pro Quad is able to carry out onboard debayering of incoming Canon C500 video, ready to record into 4K ProRes for immediate editing. It can also record 4K from a Sony F55 bias 4x 3G-SDI for recording to ProRes. Another benefit is 10 bit 4:4:4 support for cameras like the Sony F3.

We see this as a future workhorse for serious video makers. It's going to face some tough competition in the coming months but is to some extent defining the market for monitor-less 4K recorders.

Here's AJA's full press release with all the details

AJA Ki Pro Quad Now Shipping
Breakthrough 4K Camera-to-Post Workflows Available Now

Grass Valley, CA (April 8, 2013) —AJA Video Systems announced immediate availability of its Ki Pro Quad, a new solid-state portable video recorder enabling true 4K camera-to-editorial workflows. Ki Pro Quad enables a breakthrough 4K/Quad HD/2K/HD workflow with the efficiencies of Apple ProRes and the flexibility of RAW data in a compact, solid state recording and playback package that easily mounts directly onto a variety of cameras supporting workflow needs today and into the future.

Ki Pro Quad has many unique features that enable new was of working for creative professionals and delivers:

Breakthrough 4K Workflows—Ki Pro Quad serves as a central gathering point for the main needs of 4K production; bring camera signals in and simultaneously create edit-friendly 4K ProRes files, output to 4K and HD monitors and record RAW data directly to a Thunderbolt-enabled computer/storage system.

4K and Quad HD Support— Help ease the transition to 4K with a recorder that creates efficient file sizes while still retaining pristine quality.  

More than 4K and Quad HD—Support for 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 recording even at HD and 2K resolutions, and real time scaling from 4K/Quad HD to 2K/HD. HDMI output allows connection to HD consumer monitors. HD-SDI output provides professional connectivity to high-end monitors.

Debayering and Scaling—New hardware-based features include real time, high-quality RAW debayering, recording directly to 4K resolution Apple ProRes 444 or ProRes 422 files and real time scaling from 4K to HD.

Streamlined Camera to Post—With the Canon C500: enable live debayering for immediate Apple ProRes 422 and ProRes 444 onboard recording and RAW pass through over Thunderbolt to compatible storage connected to a Mac system. With Sony F55: enable 4K 4x 3G-SDI baseband input and recording to 4K ProRes. With any SDI-capable HD camera: enable HD recording with cameras such as the Canon C300 with the added advantage of 10-bit 4:4:4 support for cameras like the Sony F3.

Affordability—Ki Pro Quad is priced substantially less than other 4K recorders but still has the power and functionality for the demands of 4K productions as well as functionality not found in competitive recorders of ANY price.

Proven Performance—Ki Pro Quad was built on the same performance principles and reliability that have made the rest of the Ki Pro family successful, and creates low-bandwidth ProRes files up to 4K resolutions, that can be easily offloaded to any Thunderbolt-enabled Mac via AJA’s new PAKDock Thunderbolt and USB3 reader. With the same capabilities of Ki Pro Mini for remote control, automation, ease of use and mounting options, the transition to Ki Pro Quad is virtually seamless.