IBC 2012: AJA introduces USB3-enabled KiStor drives
September 7, 2012

IBC 2012: AJA introduces USB3-enabled KiStor drives

AMSTERDAM — AJA Video Systems has made several enhancements to its Ki Pro family of tapeless video recording devices, which are available in both portable and rack-mountable form factors. At the IBC show, AJA is introducing a new line of USB3-enabled KiStor drives for Ki Pro and Ki Pro Rack, along with a KiStor Dock with Thunderbolt and USB3 connectivity. The Ki Pro family enables fast and efficient workflows that interface traditional analog and digital acquisition formats into simple edit-ready files. 

The new KiStor drives use a built-in USB3 connection in place of the previous FireWire connection, allowing for faster throughput to the host computer and dramatically reducing transfer times. The new drives will be available in three capacities: 250GB, 500GB and 750GB. The 750GB drive will allow a maximum recording time of nearly eight hours of 1080p/24 ProRes 422 HQ material with four channels of audio or almost 13 hours of Avid DNxHD145 quality. The KiStor Dock is an accessory for KiStor drives, making it simple to mount KiStor drives on Mac or Windows desktops or laptops and transfer files between them at high speed. The Dock uses a SATA connection internally for the KiStor drive modules, allowing compatibility with all KiStor Drives ever made and provides both Thunderbolt and USB3 connectivity to your computer.

Version 4.1 firmware for Ki Pro Mini and Ki Pro Rack is also being announced at IBC. The new firmware will add timelapse recordings for interval record, interval frames and interval time, and also new camera data menu parameter additions for Arri Alexa cameras, Panasonic AG-AF100 series cameras and the Sony PMW-F3 camera, enabling start and stop via ancillary SDI data. 

The KiStor Dock will be available soon for $495. New KiStor drives will also be available soon with prices starting at $495 for the-KiStor USB3 750, $385 for the KiStor USB3 500, and $265 for the KiStor USB3 250.