Grass Valley, CA - AJA Video Systems, a leading manufacturer of professional video interface and conversion solutions, announced today that Autodesk has qualified the KONA 3 as the only digital video I/O card approved to work with Autodesk Smoke editorial finishing software running on Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Autodesk has incorporated AJA video cards into its advanced systems products, including Flame, Inferno and Lustre, since 2006. KONA 3 is AJA’s top of the line 10-bit uncompressed capture and playback card which delivers flexible video I/O options to customers of Autodesk’s newly released Smoke creative editorial and finishing software for the Mac.

“We’ve had a successful track record with integration of AJA’s OEM technologies in our advanced systems products for many years now,” said Stig Gruman, Vice President, Autodesk Digital Entertainment. “With the eagerly anticipated release of Smoke on the Mac, it’s imperative that Autodesk customers have a reliable video I/O solution and the AJA KONA card meets the stringent standards that our product engineers and users demand.”

“The news of Autodesk Smoke for Mac OS X has been received with great enthusiasm by the professional Mac community in film and television,” said Nick Rashby, President, AJA Video Systems. “Autodesk is so committed to this community and the release of Smoke on the Mac continues this support. We are delighted that once again AJA can enhance the workflow of this talented group of editors and digital artists.”

Autodesk(R) Smoke(R) 2010 software for Mac OS X is an all-in-one editorial finishing solution designed to augment Apple(R) Final Cut Pro(R) and Avid(R) Media Composer(R) editing workflows. Encompassing a comprehensive toolset that spans editorial, color correction, paint, cleanup, titling, keying, tracking, 3D visual effects and finishing, Smoke allows editors to move quickly between creative disciplines. Autodesk Smoke software provides real time, mixed-resolution interactivity for many types of creative editorial work and client-supervised sessions; with direct access to native media formats - from Apple ProRes and MXF to fully uncompressed 10-bit RGB image sequences.

KONA 3 is the ultimate uncompressed capture card for seamless operation with Apple Mac Pro systems and Apple Final Cut Pro. Supporting any uncompressed SD or HD format, including Dual Link 4:4:4 HD and 2K, KONA 3 captures and plays back uncompressed 10-bit and 8-bit digital video and 24-bit digital audio, providing unparalleled power and workflow efficiency. KONA 3 also includes a variety of 10-bit broadcast-quality features, such as hardware-based up-, down-, and cross-conversion to and from HD, and adds a live hardware HD/SD keyer for compositing bugs, live clips, and other elements over video.

Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of high-quality and cost-effective digital video interface, conversion and Desktop solutions supporting the professional broadcast and post-production markets. With headquarters in Grass Valley, California, AJA maintains an extensive sales channel of dealers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website www.aja.com.