Now that 4K production has taken off in broadcast, live events, sports and beyond, 8K and 16K production loom large on the horizon, prompting a demand for higher resolution video decoding and playback tools. Media solutions provider Spin Digital addresses this growing need with the Spin Digital Media Player – a high-performance 8K HEVC media player. Comprising proprietary software and industry standard hardware, it facilitates real-time HEVC/H.265 decoding and playback of UltraHD video on PC systems and has been used to transmit 4K, 8K and 16K video for large-scale event productions, broadcasts, virtual reality (VR) experiences and more. For audio and video I/O, the system uses a KONA 5 card and a Corvid 88 multi-stream, multi-format card. 

“AJA’s KONA 5 and Corvid 88 cards give us the 8K 12G-SDI and 3G-SDI outputs needed to make the system possible, not to mention they’re exceptionally fast, which is crucial when working with such high resolution content in the high stakes environments our clients operate in,” shared Mauricio Alvarez Mesa, CEO, Spin Digital.  

The company initially chose AJA KONA 5 and Corvid 88 because the system called for an 8K video output via 12G-SDI and 3G-SDI, which would require an SDI-connected video output board to complement its proprietary software. In its technology research, Spin Digital came across AJA's Developer products and software development kit, and quickly realized they were the right fit.

“We evaluated different solutions, but only the KONA 5 and Corvid 88 offered us the flexibility and ease of use that we required,” Mauricio shared. “The SDK give us low-level control to the cards, which is crucial for ensuring that the video timing is correct for demanding applications such as 8Kp60 playback. Furthermore, the SDK allows us to combine multiple devices for applications that require even higher performance, including 8Kp120 or 16Kp60 playback.”

About KONA 5
KONA 5 is an 8-lane PCIe 3.0 video and audio I/O card supporting 12G-SDI I/O and HDMI 2.0 monitoring/output for workstations or Thunderbolt™ 3-connected chassis. KONA 5 supports 4K/UltraHD and HD high frame rate, deep color and HDR workflows over a single cable. For developers, AJA’s SDK offers support for KONA 5 multi-channel 12G-SDI I/O, enabling multiple 4K streams of input or output. www.aja.com/products/kona-5

About Corvid 88
Part of AJA’s family of Corvid products designed for integration into solutions offered by third-party developers, Corvid 88 delivers high-density multi-channel video and audio I/O via an 8-lane PCIe 2.0 card. Each of Corvid 88’s eight 3G-SDI connections can be set programmatically as an input or output and support a different video format, provided all formats use the same clock timing – providing maximum flexibility in applications that require high-density I/O, such as playout servers, ingest servers, channel-in-a-box systems and more. www.aja.com/products/corvid-88