AJA Io XT Overview
The Io XT from AJA is a professional 3G-SDI/HDMI capture & playback device that serves as an editing solution for Macs equipped with Thunderbolt ports. With extensive I/O choices including 4:4:4 RGB, dual Thunderbolt ports for ultra-fast (up to 10 Gb/s) connections to both an editing suite and a storage device, and hardware-based up/down/cross conversion for HD and SD formats, this portable device is a strong choice for directing video- and audio-signal traffic into and out of your Mac editing computer – whether a desktop system or a Thunderbolt-enabled MacBook Pro.
The Io XT has dual 3G/HD/SD-SDI inputs and two such outputs; these pairs can also be used for dual-link 4:4:4 RGB I/O. Supported 10-bit formats of that type include 1080i, 1080p, 1080PsF, and 720p. The device can also convert between 4:4:4 and 4:2:2 to set up single-link HD-SDI monitoring and output.
Speaking of conversion, the Io XT features a 10-bit, broadcast-quality motion-adaptive up/down/cross conversion, from HD to SD and vice versa, as well as between 1080 and 720 HD formats – even at filmic 23.98 frame rates involving progressive segmented frames (720p23.98 to 1080PsF/23.98). All conversion is hardware-based, so it’s available always for either ingest or playback.
