Founded by Mr. Kazunobu Azuma in 2003, AZLAB is an R&D company based in Japan that develops next-gen computer technologies. Recognizing a need among post professionals to play back 8K DPX sequence files in real-time, the company recently built Inspiration WS/SDI, a new timeline-based media playback system supporting uncompressed 8K imagery. At the heart of the system are two high-density AJA Corvid 88 video and audio I/O cards.

“We noticed that lot of our customers were using DPX sequence files in post, but that the data size was too large for real-time playback with popular imaging software, so we wanted to help alleviate that challenge. One of our answers was Inspiration WS/SDI, which has already become quite popular with customers,” said Shinichiro Nakamura, Chief Architect, AZLAB. “Corvid 88 was the smart choice for the system, offering 8 bi-directional SDI I/Os. It supports 8K 60P with only two PCIe cards, which is more cost effective than other alternatives.”  

The compact nature of Corvid 88 was also an important consideration in the development of Inspiration WS/SDI, as it was initially designed with a small amount of blank PCIe slots. “Corvid 88 is a low-profile video card, which meant it would fit easily into the system without taking up too much real estate,” Nakamura added. 

Inspiration WS/SDI supports DPX sequence files and enables output to the stream with sixteen 3G-SDIs using two Corvid 88 cards. A highly responsive swipe feature on the timeline makes it easy for the user to search and check the frame quickly. One of the core technologies behind Inspiration WS/SDI is a real-time methodology for feeding video stream data through the memory and SDI. AZLAB developed the system’s SDI output with AJA Corvid 88 as one of the output modules, integrating it all with AJA’s developer SDK. 

“Integration ran smoothly because of AJA’s Developer SDK. It was easy to use and has re-usable software modules,” explained Nakamura. “Working with AJA’s team has been wonderful. They got us an evaluation board quickly, and we’ve been able to touch base with a local support person to answer any questions that come up.” 

About Corvid 88
Corvid 88 is a multi-stream, multi-format PCIe I/O card that allows AJA Developer Partners to access up to eight simultaneous input and output streams on a single PCIe card, making it perfect for ingest and playout servers as well as channel-in-a-box systems. Each SDI connection can be configured individually as input or output and mix formats for up to 8x HD or SD channels on a single card. 

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.
Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions and professional cameras, bringing high quality, cost effective products to the professional broadcast, video and postproduction markets. AJA products are designed and assembled at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com.