Troubleshooting an AJA KONA3 card

Summary

This article provides instructions on using the AJA Control Panel to view troubleshooting information on an AJA Kona3 card.

The AJA card is used to provide a frame-locked video output which is routed to the video preview device (usually a broadcast monitor) via SDI out 1 using a splitter.

In order for video preview to function correctly, the following conditions have to be met:

• The AJA card is correctly connected between the Mac system and the broadcast monitor.
• The correct sync is fed to the AJA card, or the card is configured for freerun.
• The correct entries for Video Device and Video Preview are set in the Smoke Setup application.
• The appropriate project template is selected.

AJA Control Panel Overview

The AJA Control Panel allows you to monitor the status of audio, video and timecode signals received or sent by the AJA card.

Run the AJA Control Panel from the Applications folder.

Note: If Smoke is running, you will only have limited control over the options in the Control Panel.

AJA Card Info

Checking that Video Input is Present

Click the Inputs tab to check video input.

If video input is detected, the signal type is displayed in the control panel.

In the following example, a 1080@23.98psf signal is detected, which matches the sync input (Ref In):

In the following example, no signal is detected. The Inputs tab displays ‘No Video’ for SDI 1 and 2:

Checking that Sync Input is Present

Click the Control tab to check sync input.

In the following example, a 1080@23psf sync signal is detected which matches the video input.

Genlock is on only if the video signal and the sync match.

Generating a Test Pattern

The test pattern can be used to test the video output of the AJA card by sending an internally generated image to the AJA output.

This feature is useful if troubleshooting a video output problem as it allows you to bypass the Autodesk software.

Perform the following tasks to generate a test pattern:

1. Click the Control tab.
    
2. Select "Test Pattern" from the Default Video Output list.
    
3. Select a pattern from the Test Pattern list.
    
4. Right-click the Frame Buffer box in the top panel, and select the signal output for the resolution you want to test.