Aja IO 4K Plus User Manual

Io 4K Plus

Capture, Display, Convert

Installation and Operation Manual

Version 15.5
Published November 13, 2019

Notices

Trademarks

Copyright

AJA® and Because it matters.® are registered trademarks of AJA Video Systems, Inc.
for use with most AJA products. AJA™ is a trademark of AJA Video Systems, Inc. for
use with recorder, router, software and camera products. Because it matters.™ is a
trademark of AJA Video Systems, Inc. for use with camera products.

CION®, Corvid Ultra®, lo®, Ki Pro®, KONA®, KUMO®, ROI® and T-Tap® are registered
trademarks of AJA Video Systems, Inc.

AJA Control Room™, KiStor™, Science of the Beautiful™, TruScale™, TruZoom™,
V2Analog™ and V2Digital™ are trademarks of AJA Video Systems, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2019 AJA Video Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. All information in
this manual is subject to change without notice. No part of the document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying or recording, without the express written permission of AJA
Video Systems, Inc.

Contacting AJA Support

When calling for support, have all information at hand prior to calling. To contact AJA
for sales or support, use any of the following methods:

Telephone [phone]

FAX [phone]

Web https://www.aja.com

Support Email [e-mail]

Sales Email [e-mail]

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Contents

Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Contacting AJA Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 1 – Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

High Quality Down Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Io 4K Plus Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

AJA Software & Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

System Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

What’s In The Box? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 2 – Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Installation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

System Test Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Connector Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Installing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 3 – Io 4K Plus Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Front Panel Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Monitor Output and Gain Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Audio Level Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Power LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

AJA Control Panel Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

AJA Control Panel Operating Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

AJA Control Panel User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Controlling Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Default Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Function Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Using Io 4K Plus for UltraHD/4K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4K/UltraHD Transport Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Io 4K Plus Audio Monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

AJA Control Panel Function Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Control Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Format Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Input Select Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

SDI Output Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

HDMI Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

HDR Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Video Setup Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Audio Setup Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Audio Mixer Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Audio Mixer Capture Monitor Mode Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Audio Mixer Playback Monitor Mode Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

DS Keyer Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

LUT Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Timecode Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Presets Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Firmware Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Info Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Appendix A – Specications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Audio Connection Pinouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

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Appendix B – Safety and Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Warranty and Liability Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Limited Warranty on Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Limitation of Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Governing Law and Language; Your Rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

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Chapter 1 – Introduction

Overview

AJA Io 4K Plus offers a full set of professional video and audio connectivity with
support for the latest 4K and UltraHD devices and High Frame Rate workflows.
The power of Thunderbolt 3 enables Io 4K Plus to handle a wide range of formats
from SD to HD, UltraHD and full 4K over both SDI and HDMI and support 4K frame
rates up to 60p, plus HDR 10 and HLG support over HDMI for HDR workflows.

Io 4K Plus is the ideal companion for lightning-fast video capture, playback and
editorial. Io 4K Plus connects with a single Thunderbolt cable and provides a
second Thunderbolt connector for flexibility, making it perfect for on set, or in
the edit suite.

Features

• Two Thunderbolt 3 ports (a pass-through daisy-chaining)

• Four bidirectional SDI BNCs configurable for up to four inputs, or four outputs,
or two inputs and two outputs.

• Single Link I/O for 4K/UltraHD, HD and SD across 12G-SDI, 6G-SDI, 3G-SDI, and

1.5G-SDI

• Dual Link I/O for 1.5G-SDI and 3G-SDI (2 x BNC)

• Quad Link I/O for 1.5G-SDI, 3G-SDI (4 x BNC)

• Supports Quadrant or Two Sample Interleave transport

• Automatically downconverts Single Link 4K/UltraHD 12G input to HD on the
Io 4K Plus SDI 4 output

• HDMI 2.0 Input and Output

• HDR (HDR10 or HLG via HDMI, 12 Bit RGB, BT2020)

• Dedicated realtime 4K/UltraHD to HD down-conversion output (SDI Monitor
out BNC)

• Eight-channel Embedded HDMI audio

• Choice of Eight-Channel In, Eight-Channel Out, or Four-Channel In/Out analog
audio (DB25 cable, Line Level)

• Front panel LED VU meters and Headphone output w/level control

• Reference In/LTC In (selectable)

• LTC Output

• RS-422 control via 9-pin

• Rugged Chassis, Small Size

• 12V DC, 4-pin XLR Power (AC adapter included)

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Video Formats

For a list of supported video formats, see "Appendix A Specifications" on page 52.

High Quality Down Conversion

The Io 4K Plus built-in down-conversion 3G monitor spigot, uses large multi-point
digital interpolators, anti-alias filtering and interpolation. Because these functions
are in hardware, they are available full time, all the time—with no CPU load.

Io 4K Plus Audio

Io 4K Plus provides up to 16 channels of SDI embedded audio, and up to eight
channels of embedded HDMI audio. Eight channels of analog audio I/O is
supported via a DB25 industry standard Tascam style audio breakout cable. The
eight analog audio channels can be configured as either Ch 1-8 input, Ch 1-8
output, Ch1-4 input with Ch 5-8 output or, Ch 1-4 output with Ch 5-8 input.

AJA Software & Utilities

Io 4K Plus operates with AJA's Desktop software package, developed for powerful
integrated video/audio capture, editing, and production with a variety of 3rd­party software. AJA software is distributed as a unified package which includes all
the software, firmware, plugins, and utility programs for the Io 4K Plus, as well as
AJA’s Io, KONA, and T-TAP products.

Two retail packages are available, one for Mac and one for Windows.

Mac and Windows Packages

These packages include:

Drivers

AJA device drivers for tightly integrated hardware/software operation.

AJA Control Panel

The Control Panel provides:

• Source selection and control of your AJA hardware.

• A block diagram to show visually what routing and processing is being
performed.

AJA Control Room

Control Room is a cross-platform software application for ingest, playback and
output with AJA products.

AJA System Test

System Test provides accurate and detailed evaluations of drive and PCIe
performance statistics, allowing you to measure the capabilities of your system
for recording and playing back various resolutions and codecs.

3rd-Party Plugins

Plugins for popular 3rd-party Professional Video Applications from Adobe, Avid,
Apple, Telestream, and others.

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System Requirements

Your system should meet minimum hardware and software requirements to
achieve a satisfactory level of performance. Updates to system requirements are
subject to change.

NOTE: See Software Vendor system requirements for GPU and additional hardware

recommendations.

Recommended system specifications:

• Mac OS 10.12 Sierra or later

• Win 10 or later with all updates

• 2.5 GHz quad core i7 minimum, for HD

• 3.5 GHz eight core minimum, faster processors and more cores recommended,
for UltraHD/4K workflows, especially with high frame rate*

• 16GB RAM minimum, 32GB or more recommended, especially for UltraHD/4K
or High Frame Rate applications

• A reasonably fast and powerful graphics card, with plenty of on-board
memory. Examples (may be specific to application version and/or host CPU)
include:

• Nvidia K5200

• Nvidia K4200

• Nvidia M6000

• Nvidia M5000

• Nvidia M4000

• AMD W7100

• AMD W8100

• Media storage with adequate bandwidth to sustain the capture and playback
of the material you expect to be working with.

NOTE: For large scale installations with shared storage, or for very high performance

requirements, consultation with an experienced a system integrator is
recommended. A consultant will be able to assist with many important variables.

What’s In The Box?

As you unpack the shipping box, carefully examine the contents. Ensure you
received everything and that nothing was damaged during shipment.

If you find any damage, immediately notify the shipping service and supply them
with a complete description of the damage, and contact your dealer or distributor
for details on how to have your Io 4K Plus repaired or replaced.

Save packing materials and the shipping box for future use should you need to
transport your system or return it for service.

Inside the box you’ll find the following components:

• Io 4K Plus

• 12V power adapter and power cord

In This Manual

Chapter 1 - Introduces the product briefly, listing features and system
requirements.

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Chapter 2 - Provides complete instructions for installing and configuring the
product.

Chapter 3 - Discusses operational aspects and how to work with 3rd-party
software.

Appendix A - Presents a list of technical specifications for the product.

Appendix B - Provides important Safety and Compliance information.

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Chapter 2 – Installation

Installation Overview

1. If not previously installed on your Thunderbolt equipped computer, ensure
that appropriate third party application software is installed as detailed in
its user documentation.

2. Download and install the latest Io 4K Plus software from:

https://www.aja.com/en/support/downloads

3. Connect your Io 4K Plus to your computer using an appropriate Thunderbolt
cable.

4. Connect the video and audio inputs and outputs.

5. Power up the unit (AC supply or battery). The Io 4K Plus will startup
automatically.

6. AJA recommends that you now run AJA Control Panel, as this allows you to
verify that the installation has completed successfully.

NOTE: AJA Control Panel will prompt you to update firmware (if the new software

package contained a firmware update for your AJA device).

System Test Application

AJA System Test is a utility for measuring system performance. The application
includes:

• System Disk Test

• AJA Device Test

• Disk + Device Test

• System Report

The application tests Read and Write, Capture and Playback speeds tests in both
Megabytes per second and Frames per second. The disk speed tests differ from
standard disk I/O performance applications in that they specifically test the
system under conditions typically encountered with video capture, playback, and
editing.

Theoretically the best test is to fill your storage disk to 80% and then test capture
at the highest data rate you will use.

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Cable Connections

Figure 1. Io 4K Plus Connectors

12G/6G/3G/HD/SD-SDI BNCs (4)

Reference or

LTC Input

Bidirectional

Monitor Out BNC

HD/SD-SDI

HDMI

Output

HDMI
Input

Thunderbolt 3

Ports (2)

LTC Output

Connector Descriptions

Thunderbolt 3

The Io 4K Plus provides the third-generation Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports to
support increased bandwidth between host computer and I/O device. Two ports
are provided for daisy-chained network configurations.

Bi-directional SDI I/O

Four bidirectional BNC connectors can be configured in a variety of ways via the
AJA Control Panel, including:

• Two HD/SD inputs (SDI 1 and SDI 2) and two outputs (SDI 3 and SDI 4)

• Two 4K/UltraHD single-link 6/12G inputs (SDI 1 and SDI 2) and two 4K/UltraHD
single-link 6/12G outputs (SDI 3 and SDI 4)

• One 4K/UltraHD two-link 3G input (SDI 1 and SDI 2) and one and one two-link
3G output (SDI 3 and SDI4)

• One 4K/UltraHD four-link 1.5/3G input (SDI 1, SDI 2, SDI 3, and SDI4) input,
Quadrant or 2SI.

• One 4K/UltraHD four-link 1.5/3G output (SDI 1, SDI 2, SDI 3, and SDI4) output,
Quadrant or 2SI.

Balanced Audio In/Out

DB-25F (8-Ch)

DB-9F RS-422

Machine Control

4-Pin XLR

DC Power Input

Dedicated SDI HD/SD Output

One BNC connector is provided for full-time, real-time output of HD/SD video. 4K
video is down-converted to 2K HD and UltraHD is down-converted to HD.

HDMI Input and Output

Two HDMI connectors provide input and output of HDMI video and multi­channel embedded audio.

• HDMI 2.0 input and output, supporting UltraHD and 4K resolutions at up to
60p (4:2:2), 10-bit and 8-bit

• Supports two or eight channel HDMI audio input and output

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HDMI output also supports:

• HDR 10 Support - HDR Infoframe metadata, compatible with HDMI 2.0a/CTA-

861.3

• HLG Support - compatible with HDMI 2.0b/CTA-861-G

NOTE: HDCP is not supported on either input or output. 4K HDMI output does not have

HDCP, and input sources having HDCP are not supported.

The HDMI input is designed to support long cable runs—up to 100 ft. when using
22 or 24AWG HDMI cable, or up to 50 ft. using 28 or 30AWG HDMI cable. The
HDMI output supports standard HDMI cables only.

RS-422 Machine Control

A female DB-9 connector provides connection for VTRs, camcorders, disk media
servers, and other devices using RS-422 SMPTE (Sony) protocol.

Reference Video and LTC Input

Two BNC connectors provide reference Input and LTC output. The Reference
Video input can also be used for LTC input. The selection of Reference (sync) or
LTC is set using the AJA Control Panel ("Input Select Screen" on page 27).

Supplying a reference signal to the Reference input allows you to synchronize
Io 4K Plus outputs to your house analog reference video signal (or black burst).
When connecting a reference video source, the locking signal should be the
same as the input format. It is possible in some circumstances to use an alternate
format video signal as long as the basic frame rate is compatible.

Balanced Analog Audio Input and Output

A 25-pin connector provides 8-channel balanced analog audio, 24-bit 48kHz
sample rate D/A and A/D, for use with an industry standard 8x XLR on DB-25
breakout cable (cable not included). The eight analog audio channels can be
configured four different ways:

• Ch 1-8 Output

• Ch 1-4 Input and Ch 5-8 Output (default)

• Ch 1-4 Output and Ch 5-8 Input

• Ch 1-8 Input

12V Power Connector

A standard 4-pin XLR type connector is provided for either battery or line source
power using the supplied AC power adapter.

Installing Software

NOTE: If your computer has previously had another video capture or multimedia device

installed, ensure you uninstall any related software before installing Io 4K Plus.
This will prevent any hardware or software conflicts.

Before installing the software package, ensure that your capture/editing
application is installed as detailed in its user documentation. Before using
Io 4K Plus with Avid Media Composer or other NLE application, it is best practice
to have installed and run the software at least once on your workstation. Next,
install the AJA software package.

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If at a later date you add any Io 4K Plus supported applications that require
drivers, you must run the AJA install program again to install them.

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Chapter 3 – Io 4K Plus Operation

Monitor

Gain Control

Front Panel Operation

The Io 4K Plus front panel has the following controls and indicators:

Monitor Output and Gain Control

A 1/8 inch TRS connector is available for monitoring two channels of audio,
selectable in channel pairs using the Control Panel application. Typically used
with a pair of headphones.

The Monitor Gain knob on the left adjusts the monitor output level. Pushing in
the knob extends it (for adjustment) or recesses it (to prevent accidental changes).

Monitor Output

Connector 1/8 in. TRS

Audio Level

Meters (8)

Power

LED

Audio Level Meters

The Audio Level Meters in the center of the front panel indicate:

• During Capture - The first 8 channels of the audio source selected (SDI, HDMI,
Analog).

• During Playback - The sum of whatever sources are being played out via
the AJA hardware; i.e. NLE timeline and mix of host system audio output (if
applicable).

The meter's LEDs are colored to indicate the amount below 0dBfs when averaged
over a one millisecond time interval:

dBfs LED Color and Location

-2 db Red LED 1 (top)

-12 db Yellow LED 2

-20 db Yellow LED 1

-30 db Green LED 4

-40 db Green LED 3

-50 db Green LED 2

-60 db Green LED 1 (bottom)

NOTE: These audio level meters are for guidance only. Third-party audio metering

should be employed when doing critical audio editing and mixing.

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Power LED

The power LED lights up yellow when power is provided via the power supply.
Once a Thunderbolt 3 connection is made, and the host is in an active state, the
light turns green.

AJA Control Panel Overview

The AJA Control Panel is a software application that provides a simple visual
showing how the Io 4K Plus hardware is currently configured and allows you to
make changes. You can change signal input and output parameters and define
the video processing that will be performed.

The AJA software installer automatically installs the Control Panel application on
your computer. You’ll find the AJA Control Panel application in your Applications
folder.

AJA Control Panel Operating Modes

AJA Control Panel has two fundamental operating modes.

Playback Mode - Used for playing back video files from the computer, usually

with a non-linear editing application (NLE) or AJA Control Room, through
the Io 4K Plus to that card’s video/audio outputs for viewing and/or external
recording.

Capture Mode - Used for capturing video/audio signals that are coming into the

Io 4K Plus from an external source to create video files on the computer using
AJA Control Room or an NLE, or just for display on the Io 4K Plus outputs. This
mode is also used for stand-alone video display or conversion when Control
Panel is being used without an external controlling application.

The current Io 4K Plus operating mode is reported on the Control Panel UI screen,
below the block diagram (see Figure 2 on page 15 ).

AJA Control Panel User Interface

The AJA Control Panel user interface includes a visual block diagram of the unit’s
current configuration. The current status, input and output settings, and many
other details are depicted in the color-coded block diagram. Below this block
diagram are various controls for changing operating parameters, which will vary
depending on which function screen has been selected.

The left side of the AJA Control Panel provides a navigation list of available
function screens. Clicking on a link (or alternatively, a related element in the block
diagram) displays a function screen corresponding to that topic.

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Currently

Framebuer Format (Primary)

Selected
Function

Screen

Figure 2. Io 4K Plus, Block Diagram set for UltraHD Format

Controlling
Application

Inputs

Parameter

Controls

Some controlling applications can switch the card's mode from Playback to
Capture, and vice-versa. When Control Panel is not being controlled by an
external application, you can change the operating mode in the Control Panel
Control Screen using the Default Output settings.

• Selecting Passthrough (Cap) sets the card to Capture Mode

• Selecting either Test Pattern (PB) or Hold Last App sets the card to Playback
Mode

See "Default Output" on page 24 for more information

Outputs

Operating

Mode

Block Diagram Area

The top block diagram area of the Control Panel screen is a visual representation
of the processing, if any, that’s currently occurring, including inputs/outputs,
reference source, and system status. Lines between inputs, the framebuffer, and
outputs, show a video path. Where there are no lines, there is no connection; this
can be because an input or output isn’t selected in the Input Select menu. The
lines will also show whether the outputs are video or video + key.

You can click any of the function screen selection links in the left column to view
its current settings or click on an icon to call up its related settings screen. You can
also right-click or Control-click to see context-sensitive information and choices
(Figure 3).

Figure 3. Context Sensitive Menu

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Color Meanings

All items in the AJA Control Panel block diagram are color-coded to show what is
happening in real time. This applies to both icons and text. These colors indicate:

Blue - Video is same format as the Device Format (framebuffer)

Yell ow - Reference video (black burst or other reference source)

Red - The selected operation cannot be performed

Input/Output Icons

The input and output icons are triangles that together with their color show all
the input and outputs and their status (selected, not selected, input present or
not, format, etc.). A complete video path is shown when inputs and outputs are
connected with lines going to/from the framebuffer.

Figure 4. Input/Output Icons

Framebuffer

The framebuffer is the “engine” where your third-party applications interface with
the AJA device. The framebuffer has a format (called the “Device Format”) and
color space that it follows, as defined in the linked menu screens or via external
application software.

Device Format

The Device Format is the media format written to disk and used in your project.
This is the format that the framebuffer will use and is shown in the Control Panel
using the color blue. It is the format that the third-party application software will
either receive from the AJA hardware, or is sending to the hardware. All icons in
blue are the same as the Device Format used by the framebuffer. Also any text
descriptions in the block diagram that appear in blue indicate that something is
in the Device Format. For example:

• If the input and output icons are blue, you know that the same format is used
throughout the video path. No format conversion is being performed.

• If the input or output icon colors differ (blue input and green output icons for
example), you know that a format conversion is being performed.

Controlling Application

It is important to understand that the computer can contain many applications
that can use the AJA device (as you switch from window to window) and it may
not always be obvious which currently controls it.

Figure 5. Control Panel In Use Message (in red)

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In the top right corner, the Control Panel displays the name of the application
controlling the unit. In some cases, applications may not always properly “let go”
of the I/O interface as another takes over—you’ll be able to tell by looking at the
Control Panel.

Controlling Application Format Selection

If a running controlling application uses Io 4K Plus for capture or output, it
controls the Device Format via its own menus and settings. For example, when
the Third-party editing application is active (it’s the front-most application) and
has Io 4K Plus as its “A/V Device”, the Io 4K Plus’s Device Format is determined by
the application’s “Video Playback” settings. These format selections are reported
in the AJA Control Panel block diagram.

Controlling applications can start and stop and change modes—even while they
are running. And the behavior of different controlling applications can vary: some
applications take control of the interface as soon as they are launched and don’t
give it up until they quit, while other applications take control of the interface
only when they are the “front-most” running application and then relinquish
control when they’re not. Even these controlling applications may not relinquish
control until capture or output operations are completed.

Control Recommendations

Presets

We recommend you have the Control Panel running and visible at all times. When
the Control Panel is running in the background (not front-most) you can see what
the interface is doing and who has control of it.

Setups can be named and saved as a snapshot (Preset) for recall at any time. You
can save various AJA device Control Panel configurations associated with your
frequent tasks. You don’t have to spend time resetting interface configurations,
just load the previously saved Preset for each task. See "Saving, Loading and

Deleting Presets" on page 49 for more information.

If you work on multiple systems and want to carry your saved setups to another
location, you can copy your saved Preset files on to movable storage and load
them into any computer running the AJA Control Panel application.

Mac OS Preset Files Storage Location

• From the Finder, hold down the Option key (to display the Library directory)
and click on Go/Library/Application Support/AJA/<device name>/Presets/

Windows Preset Files Storage Location

• c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\AJA\Control Panel\<device name>
Presets\

Default Preferences

When an AJA device starts up, a preference can determine what settings it will
have it when it begins to operate. The AJA Control Panel offers two default
preference settings:

• Local Preference - A preference stored from the last AJA device's Control Panel
settings to be used on next startup of AJA Control Panel. This occurs on next
restoration of the default state (triggered by start up of host CPU, startup of
the AJA device, or when a third-party application releases the AJA device).

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• Global Preference - A preference saved for use as a global default start state
for an AJA device that can be shared by multiple users, applied on first startup,
or by pressing the Control Panel Reset Device... button.

Local Preference

The Local Preference file (com.aja.devicesettings) exists to immediately and
automatically store all parameter changes made by a user on a particular AJA
device. When any control is changed in the Control Panel, that change is recorded
in the Local Preference file stored in a unique location on that computer that is
dedicated to that particular device, serial number, and logged-in user. Then, when
AJA Control Panel is restarted for any reason, the AJA device being controlled
restores the settings being used when Control Panel was last closed.

The Local Preference file can be accessed at the following locations.

On Mac:

• From the Finder, hold down the Option key (to display the Library directory)

and click on Go/Library/Preferences/com.aja.devicesettings.

On Windows:

• C:\Users\<USER_NAME>\AppData\Local\aja\com.aja.devicesettings

NOTE: Clicking on the AJA Control Panel "Erase All Prefs" button deletes the existing

Local Preference file from this location. This file will be recreated as soon as any
Control Panel setting is changed.

NOTE: Clicking on the AJA Control Panel "Reset Device..." button will delete the existing

Local Preference file. If a Global Preference file is found, these settings are
reloaded. If a Global Preference file is not found, “factory defaults” are loaded and
the device is set to that state

Global Preference

An administrator can establish a house standard for an AJA device by copying
a preference file to a shared computer location. Once placed at that location, it
becomes a Global Preference file where it will establish a standard default startup
state for all users of that AJA device using that computer system. These settings
preempt the initial AJA factory default settings, and are applied when an AJA
device is first powered up, or when the Control Panel Reset Device button is
pressed.

To establish a Global Preference, the administrator first configures the AJA device
(which automatically creates a "com.aja.devicesettings" Local Preference file in
the location identified above) and then copy or move or that file to the correct
computer locations (manually or by pushing it out across the network) on all the
computers that use the AJA device.

NOTE: If the user makes changes to an AJA Device's Control Panel settings, those

changes are saved to the Local Preference file, which will take priority over the
Global Preference file.

The shared computer locations for a Global Preference file are:

On Mac:

• From the Finder, click on Go/Computer/<System HD>/Users/Shared/AJA/
and copy or move the "com.aja.devicesettings file" described above to this
location.

NOTE: The "AJA" folder needs to be created manually at this location before moving the

preference file into it.

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On Windows there are three possible shared locations depending on your system:

• C:\Users\Public\Aja\

• C:\Users\All Users\Aja\

• C:\ProgramData\Aja

Copy or move the "com.aja.devicesettings file" described above to one of
these locations.

NOTE: The AJA Control Panel Info screen displays the path to the Global Preference file

on that computer.

NOTE: Clicking on the AJA Control Panel Erase All Prefs button does NOT delete an

existing Global Preference file from this location.

Function Screens

Listed below are the function screens for Io 4K Plus and what they are used for.

Table 1. Io 4K Plus Function Screens

Screen Functions

Control Configure basic Io 4K Plus operation options and output timing.

Format Select the framebuffer primary video format settings.

Input Select View and edit input selections and audio mapping.

SDI Out Select output format.

HDMI Configure the HDMI I/O

HDR Configure High Dynamic Range settings

Video Setup Configure Video such as composite black level, progressive format and

Audio Setup Configures Audio options such as analog audio input and output

Audio Mixer Select and mix audio sources for monitoring.

DS Keyer Setup and control the insertion of keyed video from the frame buffer or

LUT Load a lookup table (LUT) file to adjust the calibration of color for any

Timecode Monitors SMPTE 12M-2 timecode and configure timecode window burn

Presets Add or delete saved preset configurations (handy for quick and easy recall

Firmware Install firmware from your currently installed AJA software package.

Info Display status information and the firmware version number. This

ancillary data (Closed Caption) option.

channels, audio monitor level, and audio delay.

graphics files with alpha channel.

source.

output.

of different Io 4K Plus settings for varied workflows).

information is generally intended for troubleshooting/support.

Using Io 4K Plus for UltraHD/4K

4K/UltraHD Transport Modes

The 4K and UltraHD SDI formats can use different transport modes, associated
with the number of links used to transport the signal, the data rates involved, and
the way the image data is organized.

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Io 4K Plus supports both Quadrant and Two Sample Interleave (2SI) transport
standards. Many different combinations of modes and data organization exist.

In 4K mode, single link transport is available as either 12G or 6G (which are both
2SI). Whether the video is auto-sensed as 12G vs. 6G is dependent on the data rate
of the incoming or outgoing signal. For example, 4K p30 at 8bit 4:2:0 requires 6G
only.

Besides single link transport, Io 4K Plus also supports the following multiple link
transport modes for UltraHD and 4K:

• Quadrant 4-wire (transported on four links)

• Quadrant 2-wire (transported on two links)

• 2SI (two or four links automatically selected)

The amount of data in the signal affects the number of links and data rates
necessary to carry that signal.

Quadrant Mode

In Quadrant Mode you can use four HD or 2K signals (1.5G) to input / output
UltraHD or 4K at 30fps or below, or four 3G signals to enable HFR and / or deep
color. Whether using four 1.5G or four 3G wires, each represents individual
quadrants of the higher definition UltraHD 3840x2160 or 4K 4096x2160 4K
formats. Physical connections of the quadrants will be mapped to the SDI
connectors as shown. Monitoring one of these HD signals on a standard SDI
monitor will display one quadrant of the picture.

Figure 6. Mapping of Quad SDI Outputs

2SI Mode

Two Sample Interleave is an alternative method to organize the data of SDI
UltraHD and 4K formats. Instead of dividing the picture raster into quadrants,
this method samples pixels to create four lower resolution versions of the entire
picture. These are combined later to create the full resolution image.

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