Description
The KONA X PCIe video I/O card is a fanless, ultralow-latency interface designed to add professional 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 connectivity to production and post workflows. It provides bidirectional SDI I/O and HDMI input/output that support DCI 4K and high color-depth formats. The card is compatible with modern workstations and supports major NLE and VFX applications.
KONA X supports two bidirectional 12G-SDI ports and dedicated HDMI 2.0 input and output, enabling capture and playback of high-resolution sources. It handles RGB 4:4:4 12-bit 4K workflows and YCbCr 4:2:2 10-bit formats including high frame rate operation. HDR capabilities include PQ, HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision as well as VPID signaling and HDR metadata capture.
Audio and timing performance are industry-grade with up to 16 channels of embedded audio on SDI and up to 8 channels on HDMI. The card supports 4K closed-caption extraction and SMPTE-291 ANC caption handling for compliant workflows. Streaming DMA enables direct buffer transfers for sub-frame latency in compatible applications.
Connectivity and compatibility extend across macOS, Windows and Linux platforms including native Apple silicon support and Apple Mac Pro compatibility. AJA provides drivers, Control Room software, system test utilities and an SDK for OEM and application integration. The card is VESA HDMI I/O agnostic to timing, enabling capture and playback of many HDMI formats.
KONA X is suited to AR, virtual production, eSports, live sports and high-end postproduction where low latency and accurate color are critical. It enables live compositing, hardware downstream keying and real-time pass-through of HDR metadata for consistent delivery. On-set workflows benefit from live composite previews and fewer reshoots when integrating virtual elements.
The fanless design reduces noise and improves reliability in studio and mobile racks while the optional KONA Xpand board adds reference, LTC, RS-422, AES audio and analog I/O. An in-firmware microcontroller supports OEM supervisory code and early-boot functionality. Installation is straightforward in PCIe-equipped workstations and the card integrates with AJA software for configuration and testing.