AJA Control Room<sup class="trade">™</sup>

AJA Control Room™

Unified Ingest, Playback and Output Software

AJA Control Room™

Overview

Downloads

Software

Overview

AJA Control Room is a professional media software for macOS, Windows, and Linux, enabling 8K/4K/HD/SD and HDR/SDR workflows. AJA Control Room is designed to be used with AJA hardware devices, and it can also operate as a stand-alone media player with full-screen playback and host system audio monitoring, supporting high quality professional media file types and formats.

AJA Control Room is a unified cross-platform software for playback, ingest, monitoring, and output. Whether you’re using files on a network, capturing a live feed, switching feeds for streaming workflows, or working with tape based media, experience the same smooth interface regardless of chosen OS.

AJA Control Room allows for working with numerous professional media types in 8K/4K/HD/SD including uncompressed video, the entire Apple ProRes family, the Avid DNxHD/R family, DVCProHD, H.265, H.264, and more, and also provides native 8K support when used with the AJA KONA 5.

AJA Control Room comes bundled with the associated hardware drivers for KONA, Io®, and T-TAP Pro. Installing the Desktop Software package will automatically install AJA Control Room and these drivers and application plug-ins.

KONA, Io®, and T-TAP Pro. Installing the Desktop Software package will automatically install AJA Control Room and these drivers and application plug-ins.

 

Features

  • Use with compatible AJA hardware for ingest, monitoring, playback and advanced output for file/signal/tape-based SDI, HDMI and IP workflows
  • Stand-alone player for professional media formats on Windows, Linux, and macOS; including full support for Apple Metal, macOS Sonoma and Apple silicon
  • Supports a wide range of file types and codecs including Apple ProRes®, Avid DNxHD/R, DVCProHD, H.265, H.264, uncompressed and DPX
  • Deep Buffer feature assists host-systems (particularly those attached to shared storage) in capturing / playing back high bandwidth video without dropped frames
  • Support for 8K/4K/UltraHD/HD/SD on compatible AJA hardware
  • Support for PQ, HDR10 and HLG on compatible AJA hardware
  • HDR signaling via SDI and/or HDMI outputs for KONA X, KONA 5, KONA 4, KONA 1, Io X3, Io 4K Plus and T-TAP Pro
  • HDR metadata capture support for KONA X, KONA 5, KONA 4, KONA 1, KONA HDMI, Io X3 and Io 4K Plus
  • HDR auto playback detection for KONA X, KONA 5, KONA 4, KONA 1, T-TAP Pro, Io X3 and Io 4K Plus
  • Host-based Video/Audio monitoring for KONA HDMI (capture only device)
  • Closed Captioning support up to 4K for KONA X, KONA 5 and KONA 4
  • Capture media for immediate use in Apple® Final Cut Pro, Adobe® Premiere Pro, Avid® Media Composer, and other leading NLEs and effects packages
  • Capture timecode using source video or time-of-day
  • Overlay “Burn-in” option for timecode and closed captioning on desktop and/or professional video output
  • Clip countdown to mark/out end of file – for accuracy during switching / live playout
  • Route audio tracks in QuickTime® files to desired output/monitor channels with KONA and Io products
  • RS-422 VTR control functionality

Apple ProRes Encode/Decode
on macOS, Windows, and Linux

AJA Control Room provides seamless bridging of your Apple ProRes workflows across macOS, Windows, and Linux.

With full cross-platform support for the entire Apple ProRes family of codecs, AJA Control Room provides comprehensive support for acquisition, production and delivery with the entire set of ProRes data rates and quality settings. ProRes read and write with AJA Control Room is supported across the entire range of AJA KONA, Io and T-TAP devices.

  • OS support: macOS, Windows, Linux Ubuntu, Linux Rocky
  • Codec support: All Apple ProRes Codecs up to 4444 XQ
  • Video formats: 8K/UltraHD2/4K/UltraHD/2K/HD/SD

AJA Control Room Metadata Toolset

Metadata is the key for managing advanced workflows. AJA is bringing to market an entirely new way to harvest metadata in the SDI signal stream and export the metadata to a sidecar file.

This new feature, called AJA Control Room Metadata Toolset*, is being introduced in Desktop Software v17.1 and adds the following functionality:

  • Supports capture of any metadata type, including SCTE-104 and Dolby Vision metadata, that is part of the SDI Ancillary metadata payload.

  • Using an AJA KONA capture card that supports SDI input and the included AJA Control Room software (such as KONA 5 or KONA X), the card captures the metadata, which is then preserved in a metadata sidecar file.

  • AJA Control Room can playback the metadata to provide quality monitoring.

  • AJA Control Room can export the metadata synchronized with the media on a per-frame basis.

*macOS and Windows only

Download Workflow

Elegant User Interface

AJA Control Room’s interface focuses on the task at hand without adding unnecessary clutter. Intuitive controls are instantly recognizable, keyboard shortcuts and context sensitive menus streamline actions, layouts can be customized, and user presets saved, making it fast and easy to get your work done.

Create Bins, capture uncompressed video or choose from a range of compression options. Once captured, files can be simply played out through AJA hardware to professional SDI or HDMI devices/destinations, depending upon your choice of AJA I/O hardware.

Full Screen Playback and System Audio Support

AJA Control Room can be used as a free stand-alone professional media player, even on systems without any AJA hardware attached or installed.

When used without AJA hardware, video can be monitored full-screen using the host system GUI, and audio can be monitored with any internal or attached speakers.

Flexible Workflows

AJA Control Room feels, looks, and works the same whether your sources and deliverables are files, live feeds, or tape. With the same intuitive interface available on macOS, Windows, and Linux, teams can feel comfortable when they need to capture, monitor, or output media, with the same features, controls and layout are available on whatever system they are working on. AJA Control Panel, which is AJA Control Room’s companion application for configuring your AJA hardware, extends the flexibility and speed for even the most complex and challenging workflows.

Work with 8K, UltraHD2, 4K, UltraHD, 2K, HD, and SD resolutions plus a full range of uncompressed and compressed file formats at your disposal, including read/write support for H.264 and H.265, Avid DNxHD/R, plus the entire Apple ProRes family including ProRes 4444 XQ, and many more.

AJA Control Room software supports 12-bit, 10-bit, 8-bit YCbCr and RGB workflows, plus the industry standard RS-422 interface allows capture and playout to VTRs with frame accurate control.

8K Capture and Playback with Control Room and KONA 5

Unlock the next generation power of 8K capture and playback via KONA 5 and use a more cost effective workstation. For example, capture 8K ProRes and use the file immediately in your NLE or other application of choice.

4K Closed Captioning Support

AJA Control Room software now supports ingest and playback of 4K content that carries Closed Captioning when using a KONA 5, KONA 4, Io 4K Plus, or T-TAP Pro.

HDR

HDR or High Dynamic Range, provides the ability to display a wider and richer range of colors, much brighter whites, and much deeper, darker blacks than standard signals allow. This gives your imagery a more ‘dynamic’ look and allows for natural true to life colors to be communicated to your audience.

HDR workflows can also benefit from AJA's Control Room application and its companion, AJA Control Panel, which comes complete which has built-in HDR test patterns.

AJA Control Room also provides VPID signaling for SDR/HDR Transfer Characteristics, Colorimetry, and Luminance transfer characteristics over SDI, bringing flexible output options to your AJA device. 

AJA Control Room can also feed HDMI HDR displays, offering HLG and HDR10 support with HDR Infoframe metadata in accordance with HDMI 2.0a/CTA-861.G, for compatible KONA, Io, and T-TAP products. HDMI ports that were already HDR compatible will work simultaneously, for HDR output via both SDI and HDMI.

AJA Control Room software further offers HDR Auto Playback Detection. Embedded HDR metadata in a recorded .mov file, is read and used to automatically set the HDR format on the monitor(s) connected to the AJA HDMI and/or SDI outputs.

Support for file based .mov HDR outputs with metadata from Adobe Premiere Pro/Adobe Media Encoder HDR files is also available. Screening those rendered outputs is a simple and high quality experience with AJA Control Room. Every frame is presented in its full quality, at the timing intended, and with the proper HDR format set correctly and automatically.

Explore more of our HDR Solutions here:

HDR Solutions  

Cross-Platform Efficiency

Combine free AJA Control Room software with AJA’s capture and output hardware for an affordable ingest, playback, and output station on macOS®, Windows®, or Linux®. Keep your editing systems focused on editing and offload time consuming tasks to more cost effective workstations. 

Supports macOS, Windows, and Linux Ubuntu / Rocky. Please see Release Notes for details and version information which can be found in the Downloads, Software tab.

Software License Agreement

Contact Support

180 Litton Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945 USA
Phone: +1-530-271-3190, Fax: +1-530-271-3140
Email: support@aja.com

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