In 2007, Phil Wade teamed up with Leslie Zunz to launch Fat Dog Solutions, a company specializing in studio design and engineering services, as well as equipment rentals. Over the last six years, the UK-based boutique has established a diverse client base ranging from corporate customers like ICANN, PwC and Johnson & Johnson to broadcast clients like Channel 5. As the business has evolved, AJA’s Ki Pro and Ki Pro Rack digital video recorders have played a key role in the company’s success. With a stock of Ki Pros and Ki Pro Racks, Fat Dog Solutions is home to one of the largest Ki Pro rental fleets in the region.

The Managing Director of Fat Dog Solutions, Phil Wade, first discovered the Ki Pro three years ago, after researching recording formats and recorders that would facilitate easy access and transfer, free of transcoding needs for editing, archiving, duplication and repurposing at the request of a client. Quickly recognizing the value of the Ki Pro, he purchased a dozen of the recording devices.

“As soon as we saw the Ki Pro, we were impressed. It’s such a clever piece of kit in terms of cost of revenue, that it’s completely viable,” Wade shared. “You don’t have to cull several pieces of gear to upscale, downscale or garner multiple types of input; it’s all built in. The Ki Pro is a one-stop shop for composite, component video, standard SDI, HD-SDI and more.”

Since adding the Ki Pros to his slate of rental services, Wade has also invested in several Ki Pro Racks. With support for DNxHD, fast Ethernet file transfers, extended audio connectivity and a secondary HD-SDI output for both window burns and secondary SDI output needs – all in a 1RU form factor, the Ki Pro Rack has expanded the types of customers with which Fat Dog Solutions is able to work. “Not only does Ki Pro Rack support DNxHD, but it also allows customers to condense all of their material into a smaller form, which is very practical for clients working on larger jobs,” Wade shared.

Fat Dog customizes the design of every Ki Pro Rack rental unit to fit the needs of each client. Encased in a plug-and-play, rackmount flight case, a typical build includes up to ten Ki Pro Rack units, as well as multi-view monitoring, power distribution with UPS backup, and time code generators and distribution to enable the recording of up to ten sources simultaneously. “These solutions have been extremely popular, especially with customers in live-event production and reality TV – really anyone looking to record multiple sources,” said Wade.

With reliable gear a key factor in the success of Fat Dog’s rental business, the steady performance and durability of the Ki Pro products have been crucial to Wade and his team. “If you’re persuading a client to change recording methods and something goes wrong, you’ve just put your reputation on the line. Naturally, reliability is hugely important in this business and you really have to trust your equipment,” he noted.

“Every Ki Pro product is well engineered, and AJA never releases a software update until it’s tried and tested,” added Wade. “Unlike other brands that can be fiddly, AJA products provide unmatched connectivity and fit into existing infrastructures quite perfectly. Our rental customers always have great things to say about them.”

Wade has also personally used the Ki Pro devices in the field. Earlier this year, he wrapped up an extensive project for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) in Istanbul. Tasked with recording multiple streams of the establishment’s annual meeting from several different conference rooms, Wade opted to use Ki Pro digital video recorders from Fat Dog Solutions’ rental fleet to complete the job. He concluded, “The Ki Pro truly has it all – reliability, usability and speed in one box. Once I’m done recording, all I have to do is simply hand off the footage directly to editors, and I’m confident that all of the footage captured was recorded.”

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.
Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of high-quality and cost-effective digital video interface, conversion, acquisition 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 visit www.aja.com.