AJA IoLA, IoLD Operation Manual

LA

Io

Installation

Operation Guide

and

Io

LD

and

August 23, 2004 P/N P/N 101714-00

ii

Trademarks

AJA, Io, Io

Apple, the Apple logo, AppleShare, AppleTalk, FireWire and Macintosh are registered trademarks
of Apple Computer, Inc. Final Cut Pro, QuickTime and the QuickTime Logo are trademarks of
Apple Computer, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

Notice

Copyright © 2004 AJA Video, 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 Inc.

FCC Emission Information

LA

LD

, Io

, and Kona are trademarks of AJA Video, Inc.

Contacting Support

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by AJA Video can effect emission compliance
and could void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.

To contact AJA Video for sales or support, use any of the following methods:

443 Crown Point Circle, Grass Valley, CA. 95945 USA

Technical Support Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Web: http://www.aja.com
Support Email: [e-mail]
Sales Email: [e-mail]

When calling for support, first read the Chapter on Troubleshooting at the back of this manual. You
can often save time and effort by looking there first for simple remedies and information on how
to get support from AJA and Apple Computer Inc.

Limited Warranty

LD

Io

and Io

AJA Video warrants that this product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship
for a period of three years from the date of purchase. If a product proves to be defective during
this warranty period, AJA Video, at its option, will either repair the defective product without
charge for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the defective product.

In order to obtain service under this warranty, you the Customer, must notify AJA Video of
the defect before the expiration of the warranty period and make suitable arrangements for the
performance of service. The Customer shall be responsible for packaging and shipping the
defective product to a designated service center nominated by AJA Video, with shipping
charges prepaid. AJA Video shall pay for the return of the product to the Customer if the
shipment is to a location within the country in which the AJA Video service center is located.
Customer shall be responsible for paying all shipping charges, insurance, duties, taxes, and
any other charges for products returned to any other locations.

This warranty shall not apply to any defect, failure or damage caused by improper use or
improper or inadequate maintenance and care. AJA Video shall not be obligated to furnish
service under this warranty a) to repair damage resulting from attempts by personnel other
than AJA Video representatives to install, repair or service the product, b) to repair damage
resulting from improper use or connection to incompatible equipment, c) to repair any
damage or malfunction caused by the use of non-AJA Video parts or supplies, or d) to service
a product that has been modified or integrated with other products when the effect of such a
modification or integration increases the time or difficulty of servicing the product.

THIS WARRANTY IS GIVEN BY AJA VIDEO IN LIEU OF ANY OTHER
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. AJA VIDEO AND ITS VENDORS
DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. AJA VIDEO’S RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAIR OR
REPLACE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IS THE WHOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY
PROVIDED TO THE CUSTOMER FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER AJA VIDEO OR
THE VENDOR HAS ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES.

LA

Installation and Operation Manual — Limited Warranty

1

iii

Important Safety Information

There are no user-serviceable parts inside. Opening the chassis will void the warranty unless
performed by an AJA service center or licensed facility.

Cautionary Notice—Possible Damage to Equipment from Phantom Power

Do not connect Io, Io LA, or Io LD, to any equipment having phantom
power turned ON. Phantom power may cause damage to Io, Io LA/Io LD,
or other audio equipment connected.

iv

Io

LD

and Io

LA

Installation and Operation Manual — Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

FCC Emission Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Contacting Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Important Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Chapter 1: Introduction

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

IoLD Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

IoLA Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Optional Rackmounting Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What’s In The Box? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Optional Rackmounting Kit Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Minimum and Recommended System and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

PowerBook Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Understanding Disk Storage Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

About RAIDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Software For Striping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

AJA IoLD/IoLA and Xserve RAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Storage capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

In This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1

1

Chapter 2: Controls and Indicators

Controls and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Front Panel 14

Indicator Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Status Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Mode Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

LA

Video In Indicators (Io
SDI In Present Indicators (Io

only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

LD

only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

About Inputs and Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

About BNC Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

LD

Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Io

LA

Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Io
Common Connector Descriptions (Io

LD

and Io

LA

) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

RS422 Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

FireWire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Reference Video (looping) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

2

AC Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

LD

Io

Connector Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

SDI Input and Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

A/V Monitor Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

S/PDIF Audio Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

LA

Connector Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Io

S-Video (Y/C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Composite NTSC/PAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

YPbPr and RGB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Analog Audio Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Chapter 3: Getting Started

IoLD/LA And Your Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Understanding Typical Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

DV (DV25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

DV50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

PhotoJPEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Uncompressed 8-bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Uncompressed 10-bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Mixing and Matching Formats in Final Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Chapter 4: Installation and Configuration

Installation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Shipping Box Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Installing AJA Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Software Installation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Configuring the Panel for Desk or Rackmount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Physical Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Desk Mounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Rackmounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Cabling the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Where to Place Io . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Power Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

System Video/Audio Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Typical Digital System with IoLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Typical Analog System with IoLA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Video and FireWire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Important Features of FireWire and Video as Implemented in Io Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Using 8-bit Versus 10-bit Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Genlock and Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Chapter 5: Using the System with Final Cut Pro 4

Final Cut Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

A Note About Io Audio Levels and Final Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Io

LD

and Io

LA

Installation and Operation Manual — Table of Contents

First Time You Run Final Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Easy Setups for Typical Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Adding and Deleting Default Easy Setups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Easy Setups Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Easy Setups For Use With Io . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Audio/Video Settings Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

To Create A New Easy Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

The Sequence Presets Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Checking the System with a Simple Test Project of Bars and Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter 6: Troubleshooting

If You Run Into Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

1

Updating Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Apple Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Appendix A: Specifications

3

4

Overview

Io

LA

and

Io

LD

Chapter 1:

Introduction

AJA Io
an Apple Power Mac running Final Cut Pro 4 software. Like the award-winning Io,
these products offer unsurpassed 10-bit uncompressed video and multi-channel
audio, allowing a Power Mac to be configured anywhere from a professional editing
suite, corporate/industrial video center, or high-powered desktop video setup.
Unlike the larger Io, Io
optimized for SDI digital or analog suites, respectively.

Both the Io
them and the Apple Power Mac—while serving simultaneous realtime connection
for all audio and video sources. All data—including uncompressed video—moves
over the IEEE 1394a 400Mb/s FireWire port on the Power Mac. And since
uncompressed is only 270Mb/s (and it has filler data included), FireWire can easily
handle the bandwidth. Both panels provide the following professional features:

LD

and Io

•

A/V presets for Final Cut Pro 4.

•

All outputs are active—all the time.

•

RS422 machine control for professional control of VTRs

•

Video Genlock for synchronizing with reference sources

•

Flexible A/V monitoring

LD

and Io

LA

offer two new ways of delivering high quality video and audio to

LD

and Io

LA

install easily using a single FireWire connection between

LA

are smaller more-affordable panels that are

•

Rack-mounting option for professional installation; two panels
can be placed side by side in a standard 19” 1RU rack space.
A blank plate is provided for mounting a single Io

•

Chassis styling compliments Apple’s Xserve and Xserve RAID
for a stylish desktop video suite appearance.

LD

or Io

LA

.

1

1

1

2

Features

LD

Io

Hardware

Io

LD

and Io

LA

each offer a large number of unique features for connectivity,
control, and ease of installation in any environment. In addition to the features
they share in common (mentioned previously), they offer these hardware features:

Optimized for SDI digital systems, Io

RS-422 Control Port (Sony), 9-pin D, for machine control.

•

10-bit uncompressed SDI In/Out—with embedded audio. Two SDI outputs

•

LD

provides:

are provided for flexibility.

SDI Loop-through output.

•

Two channels of 24-bit digital audio out, via S/PDIF connector.

•

Analog Outputs:

•

—stereo balanced analog audio out connectors on a supplied XLR
breakout cable (24-bit D/A conversion).

—analog component (RGB/YPbPr) or composite/S-video outputs, via 3
BNCs on the supplied breakout cable (10-bit D/A conversion).

•

Front Panel Status Indicators: Power On/Off, FireWire (active/inactive), Ref

(Genlock), NTSC or PAL.

•

Front Panel Mode Indicators: Input/Output.

•

Front Panel SDI Video/Audio Source Indicators showing whether Video and

Audio are present at the inputs.

LA

Io

Hardware Optimized for analog video systems, Io

• RS-422 Control Port (Sony), 9-pin D, for machine control.

• Analog (10-bit A/D and D/A) video inputs/outputs:

—S-Video In/Out

—Composite NTSC/PAL Video In/Out

—Component YPbPr/RGB Video In/Out

—Genlock/Reference Video (looping)

• Four channels of Analog balanced Audio In/Out are available

using a supplied XLR breakout cable.

• Front Panel Status Indicators: Power On/Off, FireWire (active/inactive), Ref

(Genlock), NTSC or PAL.

• Front Panel Mode Indicators: Input/Output.

LA

provides:

• Front Panel Video Input Source Indicators:

—Present, Component, S-video, and Composite.

Software AJA’s Io

for powerful video/audio capture, editing, and video production—all in a single
integrated system. Many Final Cut Pro features in version 4 can be better
utilized through use of Io. Each of the panels comes with special Final Cut Pro
presets for ease of use.

IoLD and IoLA Installation and Operation Manual — What’s In The Box?

LD

and IoLA were codeveloped with Apple for use with Final Cut Pro 4

3

Optional
Rackmounting Kit

What’s In The Box?

With a stylish appearance and protective rubber feet underneath, the Io

LA

Io

panels work great placed directly on a desktop; however, you can also

rackmount them if you wish.

1

LD

and

To professionally mount IoLD and IoLA panels in a standard 19” industrial
equipment rack, you’ll want the optional AJA rackmounting kit. The kit
consists of a 1RU rack chassis, mounting screws, and a blank cover plate. You
can mount either one or two Io

LD

and IoLA panels using this kit. Whether
mounting one or two panels, the result is an attractive rack chassis matching the
look of AJA’s full-size Io and Apple’s Xserve RAID products.

When you unpack your AJA IoLD and IoLA panel, you’ll find the following
components:

• AJA Io Installation Software CD-Rom—this CD contains the software

installer to place Io drivers on an Apple Power Mac for use with Final Cut
Pro. Install the software as discussed in this manual in Chapter 4:
Installation and Configuration. The CD also contains a wide variety of useful
information, including a softcopy of this manual you’re reading (PDF
format).

LD

• Io

or IoLA panel.

• Rubber Feet (4) for desk use of the Io

LD

or IoLA panel (see Chapter 4—

Installation and Configuration for further details.

• AC Power cord.

• FireWire cable for connection between Io

LD

or IoL and a Power Mac or

Xserve.

• Breakout Cable

LD

• Io

or IoLA Installation and Operation Manual (the manual you’re

reading).

• Late-breaking News and/or errata (where applicable, AJA may include

additional bulletins related to your product and software).

4

Please save all packaging for shipping the panel should you wish to do so when
moving or sending it in for service.

Installation Software CD

FireWire
Cable

AC Power Cord

Rubber Feet
For Bottom of
Chassis

LD

Io

Breakout Cable
or
Io

Installation and Operation Manual

Status

Power PAL

NTSC

Ref

FireWire

AJA IoLA
or
Io

Status

Power PAL

NTSC

Ref

FireWire

LA

Breakout Cable

LA

Mode

Out

In

LD

Panel

Mode

Out

In

Io

Video In

Present Composite

S-Video

Component

SDI

Io

SDI In Present

Audio

LD

Video

Optional
Rackmounting Kit
Contents

Io Shipping Box Contents

Mounting Screws

Rackmount Chassis
(mounts up to two panels)

Optional Rackmounting Kit Contents

Blank Plate Assembly
(use when mounting a single
panel)

System Requirements

AJA Video recommends that your system meet minimum hardware and software
requirements to achieve a satisfactory level of performance when operating it. Here,
we provide minimum and recommended requirements and then discuss disk storage
issues that should be understood for proper system configuration.

IoLD and IoLA Installation and Operation Manual — System Requirements

5

Minimum and
Recommended
System and
Software
Requirements

The following table outlines the system hardware and software needed.

Item Minimum Recommended

Macintosh
Operating System

Editing/Production
Software Suite

Macintosh Power Mac G4,

RAM as recommended

Disk Storage (external RAID)

Note:

see Storage Methods
topic that follows later in this
Chapter

OS X, version

10.2.5

Final Cut Pro 4 Final Cut Pro 4

dual 800 MHz
(or single 933 MHz
G4). For portable
operation, 17”
Powerbook with
Dual port FireWire
800 PCMCIA card.

by Final Cut Pro for
your system
configuration

4 ATA/IDE or
4 SCSI Hard Drives

OS X, version 10.3
or newer

Power Mac G5

as recommended by
Final Cut Pro for
your system
configuration

Apple Xserve RAID

1

PowerBook
Configuration

A PowerBook 17” laptop may be used as the basis for a portable Final Cut system used
with Io

LA/LD

. This configuration, however, is not supported or recommended by Apple,

although it has been found to work by AJA when used in the following configuration
shown in the illustration. Only these components have been tested by AJA.

6

Apple 17” Powerbook

with minimum 1Ghz G4 processor

and 1 GB RAM

LaCie PCMCIA Dual 800 FireWire Card

(installed in the Powerbook)

PowerBook and Io

LA/LD

Configuration—Apple Unsupported

AJA IoLD or Io

Status

FireWire Ref NTSCPower PAL

Mode

OutIn

LA

Io

SDI In Present

Audio Video

Firewire
Connection

Built-in Firewire 400
Connection on PowerBook

2 LaCie “D2” series drives
configured with Apple Disk
Utility software as Raid 0

Understanding
Disk Storage
Methods

LD

or IoLA, an Apple Power Mac, and Final Cut Pro 4, together offer the most

Io
cost-effective set of features and incredible performance for Video/Audio
production applications. However, to ensure performance and quality, the disk
storage system used with the Apple Power Mac must be able to meet the demands of
storing realtime uncompressed media. At the very minimum, the disk storage
system must be able to provide and maintain a consistent 50 MB/s transfer rate
from the Power Mac to disk (read/write). There are a variety of system
configurations and peripherals that can provide this level of performance. Possible
system configurations are listed below:

Storage Method Features/Limitations Cost

Xserve RAID Features up to 14 ATA/100

drive channels, dual
independent RAID controllers,
and a dual 2Gb Fibre Channel
host interface. Xserve provides
up to 3.5TB of storage with
throughput of up to 400
megabytes per second.

Expensive, although
the cost per
gigabyte is excellent
when large storage
is needed

IoLD and IoLA Installation and Operation Manual — System Requirements

Storage Method Features/Limitations Cost

7

External ATA/IDE or SCSI
RAID

Scalable. Performance almost
as good as Xserve, although it

Moderately

Expensive
can be more complex to set up
and maintain. Many vendors
offer solutions (too many to list
here; check with your Apple
dealer for SCSI Storage
solutions for details). Although
the connection to the external
RAID chassis is SCSI, the
drives themselves may be
SCSI or ATA. A pure SCSI
array will offer higher

1

performance at a higher cost.

Note: FireWire drive solutions are not generally supported in use with AJA IoLD and

LA

. Since they connect to the host Power Mac via FireWire and use the FireWire bus

Io
bandwidth extensively, it cannot also be used for storage—at the same time. The only
exception is a portable Powerbook implementation where a PCMCIA FireWire card
provides an additional two ports; see the discussion on the PowerBook configuration
provided in this manual. You can however attach and use FireWire drives on the
Power Mac whenever Final Cut Pro is not in use. Their presence on the bus will not

LD

affect Io

or IoLAperformance as long as they aren’t being actively used.

AJA IoLDor Io

Status

FireWire Ref NTSCPower PAL

LA

Io

SDIInPresent

Mode

Audio Video

OutIn

Firewire
Connection

Firewire
Connection

Apple G5

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Dual-port 2Gb Apple Fibre Channel PCI card

Apple Xserve RAID

Disk Storage Solutions—G5 and Xserve RAID

(installed in the G5)

8

AJA IoLD or Io

Status

FireWire Ref NTSCPower PAL

LA

Io

SDI In Present

Mode

Audio Video

OutIn

Firewire
Connection

Firewire
Connection

Apple Power Mac with OS X

4 or more ATA/IDE or
SCSI Drives in
RAID Array

SCSI Controller PCI card

(installed in the Power Mac)

External to

Power Mac

Disk Storage Solutions—External ATA/IDE or SCSI RAID

IoLD and IoLA Installation and Operation Manual — System Requirements

About RAIDs

Redundant Array of Independent Disks, or RAID, is a group of hard drives that
appears to the host Power Mac as a single high-speed storage unit. RAID systems
enable you to increase storage capacity and get the performance, reliability, and data
protection needed for video production, but not possible from a single hard drive.
RAID drives inside the array operate simultaneously, increasing overall throughput.
RAID technology is comprised of these techniques (some or all):

• Striping data across multiple drives for storage performance (RAID 0).

• Mirroring for redundancy (RAID 1).

9

• Parity for data protection (RAID 5 [plus others]).

1

Most RAID configurations, or RAID levels, combine these to provide a balance of
protection and performance.

Striping divides a logical drive into data blocks, or stripes, that are distributed across
an array of physical drives. Striping a set of disks improves storage performance
because each drive operates concurrently. However, striping alone, known as RAID
level 0, offers no data protection.

Mirroring involves writing identical copies of all data to a pair of physical drives. This
results in very high data reliability: If one drive fails, the data is still available on the
remaining disk drive. However, it also results in a storage efficiency of only 50 percent,
because two physical drives are required to achieve a single drive’s capacity. Mirroring
alone is known as RAID level 1.

Parity provides data protection without requiring complete duplication of the drive
contents. In the event of a drive failure, parity information can be used with data on
surviving drives to reconstruct the contents of a failed drive. Parity data can be stored
on a dedicated drive, as in RAID 3, or distributed across an array of drives, as in
RAID 5. Parity provides much greater storage efficiency than mirroring—up to 85
percent for a set of seven drives.

Software For Striping

AJA recommends the Disk Utility software provided by Apple with OS X for creating
and striping RAIDs, including 3rd-party, SCSI, and Xserve RAIDs. It is very easy to
use and has been tested to work well. The utility can be found in Macintosh HD/
Applications/Utilities, where “Macintosh HD” is the name of the system drive.

Note: Journaling should be turned off on drives used for realtime video.

10

AJA IoLD/IoLA and Xserve RAID

For the optimum in disk storage with Final Cut Pro 4 and Io

LD

or IoLA, we
recommend Apple’s Xserve RAID. Xserve RAID holds up to 14 hot-swap Apple
Drive Modules—3.5TB of storage—in a rack-optimized 3U enclosure. Each 7200­RPM hard drive connects to a dedicated ATA/100 drive channel, eliminating a
traditional source of bottlenecks and maximizing the 2Gb/s Fibre Channel host
connection(s). By adding more Xserve RAID systems, you’ll have very large
expansion capabilities: A standard 42U rack can hold over 49TB of Xserve RAID
storage.

Xserve RAID is designed for nonstop operation. Redundant hot-swap power and
cooling modules allow the system to keep functioning even if one module fails. A
high-availability architecture and dual independent RAID controllers support
RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5, and 0+1. In addition, Xserve RAID supports hybrid RAID
levels 10, 30, and 50 when used in conjunction with host-based software RAID.
Remote Xserve RAID management capabilities are provided via Apple’s Java-based
RAID Admin application.

Note: When creating and striping an Xserve RAID for Io

LA

or IoLD, using the

Apple Disk Utility provided with OS X, use RAID 50. The internal Xserve RAID
drives are set up as RAID 5; the Xserve RAID then shows up in Disk Utility as two
drives (regardless of the number of internal drives) which must be configured
together as RAID 0. Apple calls this configuration “RAID 50.”

Storage capacity

No matter which storage system you choose, pick one that can scale to meet your
needs over time. Ideally, you should be able to increase storage capacity or switch to
a RAID level offering increased data protection in the future. Balance current and
future storage needs with your budget and choose accordingly.

FORMAT

10 bit Uncompressed 28 101 2.9 4.8

8 bit Uncompressed 21 76 3.9 6.3

DV50 6.3 23 12.9 21.2

DV25 3.1 11 26.2 43.0

Photo JPEG 2.5 9 32.4 53.3

MB = MegaBytes

GB = GigaBytes

Transfer Rate in
MB/sec

Storage
Requirement in
GB/Hour

Capacity of
Typical 4 x 73GB
SCSI RAID in
Hours

Capacity of
Typical 4 x
120GB ATA RAID
in Hours

Note: for uncompressed formats, PAL and NTSC transfer rates and storage
requirements are the about the same because PAL has a lower frame rate, but more
lines.

11

In This Manual

Chapter 1 is the introduction you’re reading, listing features, box contents, and
system requirements.

Chapter 2 discusses the front and rear panel connections and indicators.
Illustrations point out the various connectors and indicators with text discussions of
each.

Chapter 3 gets you started with using your system in a typical Video environment.
Workflows for Analog component or composite, Digital SDI (Serial Digital), DV,
and offline, are all discussed.

Chapter 4 provides complete instructions for installing and configuring the panel,
from unpacking, installing the chassis, installing AJA software from CD, cabling the
system and then getting it up and running. Important configuration information is
provided on video settings and use of genlock/external reference.

Chapter 5 discusses operational aspects of Io

LD

and IoLA when used with Final Cut

Pro.

Chapter 6 discusses troubleshooting problems with your system and what to do
when there’s a problem you can’t solve.

Appendix A presents a list of technical specifications for the products.

The remainder of the manual consists of appendices listing specifications and an
index section to help you rapidly find topics in the manual.

12

LA

LD

LA

Io

www.aja.com

101571-00

RS-422

Analog Audio Ch. 1-4 In/Out

Controls and Indicators

When installing the AJA IoLD or IoLA system, you’ll make media cable connections
to a variety of equipment. After installation, the front panel indicators will be useful
in monitoring what is happening on the system as well as troubleshooting problems
that can occur. Becoming familiar with the front and rear panels will simplify
installation, setup, and operation of the system.

Io

and Io

Chapter 2:

Controls and Indicators

100 - 240V~

Ref Loop

50/60Hz 0.25A

RS-422

AV Monitor Out

In

In

Out

Pr/R

In

Out

Y/G

In

Out

Out

S-Video

Pb/B

Composite

Io

101572-00

S/PDIF Out

LD

www.aja.com

SDI

Out 1

SDIInSDI

SDI
Out 2

Loop

100 - 240V~

50/60Hz 0.25A

Ref

Ref

Loop

Loop

On the following pages are front and rear panel illustrations with notations that
summarize all of the connectors and indicators. Detailed descriptions of each of the
connectors and indicators follow afterward.

Full installation instructions are provided in Chapter 4 later in this manual. Be sure
to read that chapter before attempting to install the product.

1

2

1

14

Front Panel

Power

On/Off

Indicator

Indicator
Descriptions

External

Reference

Present

Indicator

FireWire Ref NTSCPower PAL

Firewire
Connection
(active or not)

NTSC
or PAL
Indicator

Status

Mode Indicator

(shows input or

outut operational

status)

Mode

OutIn

LD

AJA Io

and Io

Video Input

Source Indicator

LA

Io

Video In

SDI Component S-VideoPresent Composite

Power

On/Off

Indicator

LA

Front Panel Indicators

External

Reference

Present

Indicator

Status

FireWire Ref NTSCPower PAL

Firewire
Connection
(active or not)

NTSC
or PAL
Indicator

Mode Indicator
(shows input or

outut operational

status)

Mode

OutIn

SDI Input

Present Indicator

LD

Io

SDI In Present

Audio Vi deo

Indicators on the front panel are LEDs that illuminate when a condition is
present. The following indicators are conveniently arranged in groups to show
specific subjects:

• Status

• Mode

• Video In or Video Present

Each of these groups of indicators are discussed on the following pages.

Status Indicators

Power—shows that Io

LD/LA

is connected to AC mains power. It may also blink or

not light at all in the case of a boot error.

FireWire—shows audio/video is flowing over the FireWire connection (capture or

playback are occurring).

Ref—shows that the panel has an external reference video source applied

(Genlock), usually black burst. Please refer to the “Genlock and Your System”
topic in Chapter 4 for additional information on the use of the Ref Loop
connector and the effect of Genlock/External Reference sources on the
system.

NTSC—shows that the system is configured for NTSC/525-line standards.

PAL—shows that the system is configured for PAL/625-line standards.

IoLD and IoLA Installation and Operation Manual — Rear Panel

Mode Indicators

In—shows that the panel is configured to capture video/audio.

Out—shows that the panel is currently selected to playback video/audio.

If you’re not running Final Cut Pro, both Mode LEDs will be off.

15

Rear Panel

RS422

Machine

Control

RS-422

Analog Audio Ch. 1-4 In/Out

Io

101571-00

LA

www.aja.com

Video In Indicators (Io

LA

only)

Present—shows that the selected video source has been detected.

Component—shows that the component RGB/YPbPr video input is selected.

S-Video—shows that the S-Video digital video input is selected.

1

Composite—shows that the composite video input, in either NTSC or PAL, is

selected.

SDI In Present Indicators (Io

LD

only)

Video—shows that serial digital video has been detected at the input.

Audio—shows that embedded serial digital audio has been detected at the

input.

RS-422

AV Monitor Out

Digital

Audio

S/PDIF

Out

LD

Io

101572-00

S/PDIF Out

www.aja.com

Serial

Digital

Out

In Loop

Ref

SDI

Out 1

SDIInSDI

SDI

Out 2

Loop

Ref

Loop

Loop

Component Video

In/Out

In

In

Out

Out

Pb/B

Y/G

Pr/R

In

Out

S-Video

Composite

In/Out

In

Out

Ref Loop

Composite

100 - 240V~
50/60Hz 0.25A

RS422

Machine

Control

100 - 240V~
50/60Hz 0.25A

4 Channels

of Analog Audio

In/Out

LA

FireWire

to Mac

AJA Io

S-Video

In/Out

LD

and Io

Autosensing
100 to 240VAC
50/60Hz
AC Power Supply
Socket

External
Reference

LA

Rear Panel Connectors

Analog

Audio/
Video

Out

FireWire

to Mac

External
Reference

Autosensing
100 to 240VAC
50/60Hz
AC Power Supply
Socket

LD