The Ki Pro GO was a product that I had been waiting for a company to make for a long time. Being able to record isolated camera inputs was always a technology that seemed like it should be achievable, but no one seemed to want to work on it. It’s a simple concept, but until recently, there wasn’t a feasible, budget-conscious way to do it. Anyone familiar with the Ki Pro family of recorders knows the excellent pedigree AJA has built with that line, so I was excited about the Ki Pro GO release. That was back in December of 2019; less than a year later, they are releasing firmware that adds some improvements to an already great product.
What is it?
In the unlikely event you have never heard of this product, here’s the quick overview: the Ki Pro GO (List price: $3995) is a four-input HD recorder that can utilize 3G-SDI or HDMI inputs and records to off the shelf USB drives via any of its five USB ports. It also offers four 3G-SDI outputs as well as a monitor out via HDMI or fifth SDI out. It has two balanced XLR inputs as well as an Ethernet connection and two RCA audio monitor outputs. The majority of the front panel of the device is an HD LCD video monitor and VTR style transport controls. The form factor of the unit is great for production because it’s 2RU tall, and two units can be mounted side-by-side in a standard rack.
The form factor of the unit is great for production because it’s 2RU tall, and two units can be mounted side-by-side in a standard rack.
What’s new
The short answer is, it looks better, the image quality that is. In version 2.0, AJA enhanced its image flexibility by expanding to five new H.264 compression levels, as well as upping the highest quality bit rate to max out at 25Mbps. Add to that the color space improvement by offering a 4:2:2 10-Bit choice, and you have a noticeably higher quality image. Another workflow improvement is the inclusion of timecode, audio levels, and system status info burned on both the SDI and HDMI monitor outputs.
Another workflow improvement is the inclusion of timecode, audio levels, and system status info burned on both the SDI and HDMI monitor outputs.
While the Ki Pro GO was already Genlock free, the 2.0 update has added LTC via the XLR input to allow you to input your own timecode source, which is applied to all four record channels to ensure synchronization. Also, connected USB drives can now be formatted from the device itself in exFAT format, which is compatible with both Windows and Mac. If you own multiple Ki Pro GOs, gang recording is now available via the web UI, allowing you to start, stop, and control multiple devices from a single location.
In conclusion
I thought this was an intriguing product when it was released, but production in the church world is changing amidst the pandemic. Many churches are asking, “how does this product help our church now”? In the case of the Ki Pro GO, there is an easy answer in the form of workflow improvements. Churches that are now dedicating more time to producing content for web distribution, and VOD can get a pretty large return on an investment like the Ki Pro GO. Many churches have figured out that the services don’t need to be LIVE, but need to be experienced together. So, some churches are upping their game by fixing their services in post. If your church has multiple cameras that you are editing together, having all the footage sync'd up and recorded on USB drives as H.264 files, which can also be downloaded across your network from the device directly, all as NLE timeline ready files, is a huge time saver. Suppose a church is using mixed-format cameras that utilize different compressions and bit rates to record; unifying those formats adds editing efficiency.
Products that adapt and improve over time, for free, are always good investments for the house of worship.
For much of the production industry, firmware updates are under-the-hood changes that don’t affect the end-user at all. When a company commits to firmware that enhances an already reliable product, one simply has to ask, “What will they do next?” In the church world, where production budgets are tighter than the wardrobe at the VMAs, every dollar spent has to be a substantial investment. Products that adapt and improve over time, for free, are always good investments for the house of worship. Companies that offer products with a history of improvements after the sale should be near the top of your list when you are looking to make a purchase. AJA is making sure their clients know they can count on them, and I, for one, can’t wait to see what they will add with 3.0 firmware.
