Specifications
Flagship Card
KONA 5 — 8-lane PCIe 3.0 video I/O card
12G-SDI
SMPTE-2082, 12-bit or 10-bit on KONA 5
6G-SDI
SMPTE-2081, 10-bit
3G-SDI
SMPTE 425 with RGB 4:4:4 12-bit and YCbCr 4:2:2 10-bit
1.5G-SDI
SMPTE 292M single link HD-SDI YCbCr 4:2:2 10-bit, plus dual link modes
SD-SDI
270 Mbps SMPTE 259M-C, YCbCr 4:2:2 10-bit or 8-bit
HDMI
HDMI v2.0, 30/36 bits per pixel RGB or YUV, 6 Gbps per colour component
HDMI Raster Support
4K, UltraHD, 2K, HD and SD with HFR support up to 60p at 4:2:2 10-bit
HDR — SDI
VPID signalling for SDR/HDR transfer characteristics, colourimetry and luminance
HDR — HDMI
HDR10 Infoframe metadata compatible with HDMI 2.0a/CTA-861.3 and HLG per HDMI 2.0b/CTA-861-G
SDI I/O Modes
SDI connections are bidirectional — 2K/HD capture and monitoring simultaneous; 4K/UltraHD over 12G-SDI capture and monitoring simultaneous; 3G-SDI 4K uses all four connections for input or output
Connectors
HD BNC on KONA 5 SDI ports
Power
28 W typical, 35 W maximum, fed from a 6-pin ATX connector rather than the PCIe slot
Environment
Safe operating temperature 0 to 40 C, storage -40 to 60 C, humidity 10-90 percent non-condensing, altitude under 3,000 m
Software
AJA Desktop Software v18 unified driver, firmware and application package for Windows and macOS
Bundled Tools
AJA Control Panel, AJA System Test and AJA Control Room for setup, storage qualification and capture
Family — KONA X
Next generation low latency video I/O card
Family — KONA IP25
SMPTE ST 2110 I/O with 25GbE transmit and receive
Family — KONA HDMI
Multi-channel 4K/HD/SD HDMI capture card
Family — KONA 4 and KONA 1
4K/HD/SD 3G-SDI PCIe I/O card and HD/SD 3G-SDI PCIe I/O card
Family — Corvid
Corvid 44 12G compact 12G-SDI card plus Corvid 88, Corvid 24 and Corvid HEVC developer cards
Overview
AJA's KONA family provides the PCIe video I/O layer that capture, playout and monitoring applications build on. The KONA 5 is the current 8-lane PCIe 3.0 flagship: every SDI connection is bidirectional, so the same physical port can capture or play out, and the card carries 12G-SDI at SMPTE-2082 in 12-bit or 10-bit along with 6G-SDI, 3G-SDI, 1.5G-SDI and 270 Mbps SD-SDI for legacy sources.
HDMI is handled by an HDMI v2.0 interface carrying 30 or 36 bits per pixel in RGB or YUV at 6 Gbps per component, supporting 4K, UltraHD, 2K, HD and SD with high frame rate operation up to 60p at 4:2:2 10-bit. HDR is signalled on both paths — VPID metadata for SDI transfer characteristics, colourimetry and luminance, and HDR10 Infoframe metadata plus HLG over HDMI.
Operationally the KONA 5 is a 28 W typical card that takes power from a 6-pin ATX connector instead of the PCIe slot, and it is specified for 0 to 40 C with non-condensing humidity and an altitude ceiling of 3,000 m. AJA ships a unified Desktop Software v18 package containing the driver, firmware and the Control Panel, System Test and Control Room applications on Windows and macOS. Where a build needs different connectivity, the same family covers it: KONA X for low-latency I/O, KONA IP25 for SMPTE ST 2110 over 25GbE, KONA HDMI for multi-channel HDMI capture, KONA 4 and KONA 1 for 3G-SDI, and the Corvid line for compact and OEM 12G-SDI designs.
Key Benefits
Bidirectional SDI: each port can capture or play out, with simultaneous capture and monitoring in 2K/HD and 4K over 12G-SDI. Full raster ladder: SD-SDI through 12G-SDI plus HDMI 2.0. HDR ready: VPID signalling on SDI and HDR10 plus HLG on HDMI. Clean power design: 6-pin ATX feed rather than drawing from the PCIe slot.
Applications
Machine-vision and AI video capture pipelines, broadcast capture and playout, post-production and colour grading, live event production, medical and scientific imaging, and multi-channel monitoring walls.
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