AJA's Corvid 44 12G PCIe 4-Channel 12G-SDI Full-Size BNC I/O Card is an 8-lane PCIe 3.0 card with four bidirectional 12G-SDI BNC connectors. The bidirectional aspect provides a lot of flexibility for simultaneous capture and pass-through. The advanced card also offers a BNC reference input and internal 9-pin RS-422 port. This version of the card features a tall outer metal bracket for standard size systems and has a fanless, passive cooling design. It operates virtually silent.

The card is designed for demanding video and audio workflows in applications including HFR, 8K, 4K, 2K, HD, SD, Deep Color, and HDR. It supports 10-bit 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 at up to 12-bit color spaces, and it allows for both ingest and output over backward-compatible 12G-SDI.

Key Features

• 12G-SDI I/O for 8K, UHD-2, DCI, UHD, 2K, HD, and SD with HFR support up to 8K60p at YUV 10-bit 4:2:2, and support for RGB 12-bit 4:4:4 up to 8K30p
• Four bidirectional 12G-SDI BNC connectors and one Reference In BNC
• LTC input via Reference In (switchable) on the card header
• 16-channel embedded SDI audio per 12G-SDI port
• 10-bit downstream keyer in hardware, supporting up to 4K resolution
• AJA SDK compatibility on Windows, macOS, and Linux, offering advanced features including multichannel 4K I/O
• Low-profile design for use in workstations or servers
• 8-lane PCIe 3.0 design
• RS-422 serial control via an internal 9-pin port on the header of the card
• Passive heatsink

Video Formats

• (8K) 8192 x 4320p at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94, 60
• (UHD-2) 7680 x 4320p at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
• (DCI) 4096 x 2160p at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94, 60
• (UHD) 3840 x 2160p at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
• (2K) 2048 x 1080p at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94, 60
• (2K) 2048 x 1080PsF at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30
• (HD) 1080p at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
• (HD) 1080PsF at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30
• (HD) 1080i at 50, 59.94, 60
• (HD) 720p at 50, 59.94, 60
• (SD) 625i at 50
• (SD) 525i at 59.94
• High frame rate capabilities are dependent on host system attributes; not all systems and configurations will support all frame rates

Video Input Digital

• 12G-SDI, SMPTE-2082, 12-, 10-, and 8-bit
• 6G-SDI, SMPTE-2081, 10- and 8-bit
• 3G-SDI, SMPTE-259/292/296/424/425, 12-, 10-, and 8-bit
• DCI/UHD 4:4:4 (4 x BNC)
• 1.5G-SDI, SMPTE 372M, dual-link HD 4:4:4 (2 x BNC), 12-, 10-, and 8-bit
• 1.5G-SDI, SMPTE 292M, single link 4:2:2 (one BNC), 10- and 8-bit
• Video Output Digital
• 12G-SDI, SMPTE-2082, 12-, 10-, and 8-bit
• 6G-SDI, SMPTE-2081, 10- and 8-bit
• 3G-SDI, SMPTE-259/292/296/424, 12-, 10-, and 8-bit
• DCI/UHD 4:4:4 (4 x BNC)
• 1.5G-SDI, SMPTE 372M, dual-link HD 4:4:4 (2 x BNC), 12-, 10-, and 8-bit
• 1.5G-SDI, SMPTE 292M, single-link 4:2:2 (one BNC), 10- and 8-bit

SDI I/O

• SDI connections are bidirectional
• 2K/HD; capture and monitoring is simultaneous
• DCI/UHD with 12G-SDI; capture and monitoring is simultaneous
• DCI/UHD with 3G-SDI; all four connections must be used for either input or output
• 8K/UHD-2 with 12G-SDI; connections must be used for either input or output
• When connections are configured for 12G-SDI or 6G-SDI, only UHD/DCI/UHD-2/8K formats are supported

Audio Inputs Digital
16-channel, 24- and 16-bit SDI embedded audio, 48 kHz sample rate, synchronous

Audio Output Digital
16-channel, 24- and 16-bit SDI embedded audio, 48 kHz sample rate, synchronous

Downstream Keyer
Supports graphics with alpha channel over video, matte or framebuffer, or framebuffer content over incoming video or matte up to DCI/UHD

Reference
Analog color black (1V) or composite sync (2 or 4V) or HD tri-level sync (1V) via one BNC on the PCIe bracket
Reference input is terminated into 75 Ohms when genlock is set to Ref In

Timecode
LTC timecode input via a 2-pin header on the PCIe card
LTC timecode input via the Ref In connector (switchable) on the PCIe bracket

Electrical Interface
8-lane PCIe 3.0

Machine Controls
RS-422, Sony 9-pin protocol via a header on the PCIe card

Noise
Ultraquiet (virtually silent) thanks to fanless, passive cooling design
Passive cooling requires in-host/chassis airflow minimum of 150 LFM (linear feet per minute) at 86°F

Power
25W typical, 32W maximum
PC internal ATX power connector (Molex 45559-0002)
Corvid 44 12G can use either PCIe power from a 6-pin ATX connector or via the PCIe slot