On the same day both AJA and Blackmagic Design published new drivers for their video I/O devices. Just a tweak for BMD, but a new unified driver across products for AJA.
Not the biggest headline news, but good to see that development keeps rolling on with new software for existing products. This time video I/O drivers from AJA Video Systems and Blackmagic Design.
AJA has announced version 12.1 which is available for download from here. (Click on any video product.) Finding the right driver for a product by scrolling through the download section of a website is always a pain, so we're pleased that they have now adopted a 'single driver' approach.
"AJA today released new v12.1 software for Mac and Windows, for the first time providing a single unified all-in-one device driver and Plug-in installer per platform for all currently shipping AJA edit and streaming hardware. The new software supports a broad range of AJA products including KONA 4, KONA 3G, KONA LHi, KONA LHe Plus, Io 4K, Io XT, Io Express and T-TAP(TM)."
The AJA v12.1 driver is compatible with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (64-bit) and Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) and OS X 10.9.5 (Mavericks). Aside from being a unified all-in-one device driver across multiple AJA products, new features add support for 4K and UltraHD resolution capture with the Open I/O Plug-in for Avid Media Composer 8.3, along with a new Wirecast capture Plug-in for support for Telestream Wirecast version 5.x and 6.x. The unified installer includes all of the following:
- Device drivers for all currently shipping AJA hardware including KONA 4, KONA 3G, KONA LHi, KONA LHe Plus, Io 4K, Io XT, Io Express and T-TAP
- AJA Control Room capture/playback software
- AJA Control Panel configuration software
- Adobe Creative Cloud Plug-ins
- Avid Open I/O Plug-in
- Telestream Wirecast Plug-in
Blackmagic Design has published Desktop Video 10.3.5
Already a unified driver for the range of Blackmagic devices, the new version adds a few features and fixes a few bugs.
- Adds support for output clock adjustment on DeckLink Duo and DeckLink Quad
- Adds support for RP188 timecode output on DeckLink Duo and DeckLink Quad
- A/V sync improvements for DeckLink Duo and DeckLink Quad
- Improved compatibility for DeckLink Quad and DeckLink Duo with Magma Thunderbolt chassis
- Fixes a rare subdevice lockup on DeckLink Duo and DeckLink Quad
- General performance and stability improvements for all models
Just one word of warning, if you are the middle of an important project, it's probably not a good idea to rush into installing these updates. Both companies don't test every possible hardware & software combination, so don't be the person who finds a problem. Both sites do have access to previous driver versions.