AJA Announces Virtual KONA at IBC 2024 by Jose Antunes

Virtual KONA and AJA SDK provide a direct plug-in to AWS CDI, allowing any KONA-enabled application to connect to the cloud to access input and output data.

Virtual KONA is a new software-defined, virtualized video capture/playback solution that the company is developing in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Virtual KONA integrates the AJA NTV2 Software Development Kit (SDK), which is being adopted by developers worldwide to create high-quality workflow solutions with AJA video I/O cards, along with AWS Cloud Digital Interface (CDI).

AWS CDI is a networking technology for delivering high-quality, uncompressed video to the cloud with high reliability and latency as low as 8 milliseconds. Together, these technologies break down the barriers between on-premises and in the cloud for media production, enabling third-party developers to build solutions in both environments for a range of applications from broadcast to live streaming, post-production, and beyond.

Virtual KONA and the AJA SDK provide a direct plug-in to AWS CDI, enabling any KONA-enabled application to connect to the cloud for I/O. This eliminates the need for developers to code integrations from scratch, while offering all of the same multimedia and metadata capabilities that the AJA line of audio and video I/O cards are known for, but in a virtual environment. Third-party applications and hardware solutions that leverage the integration will be able to seamlessly inject/output uncompressed high-resolution, high-dynamic-range (HDR) video between the cloud and local workstations located almost anywhere in the world to support visual effects, color correction, editing, broadcast graphics and playback, streaming, and other needs.

“As live creative and production workflows become increasingly distributed, the need for hybrid cloud and on-premises workflows is growing. Virtualizing workstations and the third-party applications that run on them, while still being able to stream that work to local workstations for production stakeholders, is critical for remote teams,” said AJA President Nick Rashby. “AWS CDI provides the networking technology to deliver live content with ultra-low latency in the cloud, while Virtual KONA and the AJA SDK provide the reliable, high-speed I/O required to move media and metadata to and from that network to and from local workstations, making these technologies highly complementary. Working with AWS on this integration has been an incredible experience and we look forward to showcasing it at IBC.”

Virtual KONA Technology Preview currently supports Linux. Learn more at the AWS booth, 5.C90, and the AJA booth, 7.B19 at IBC, September 13-16 in Amsterdam. Virtual KONA is expected to be released in 2025, with pricing details coming closer to launch.