We recently received a demo AJA lo XT video capture device and tested it with one of the new MPS iMacs that has Thunderbolt connectivity. This was our first experience using a Thunderbolt supported device. After installing the needed AJA drivers and capture application we were up and running.
The device can accept several different connection types, which are documented here. We only tested the HDMI connection. The lo XT supports wide range of video formats. We tested sending 720P and 1080P video at it. It also supports scaling and converting HD and SD formats, if needed. With the AJA drivers installed the configuration settings for the device can be controlled using the AJA Control Panel application.
We tested capturing using AJA’s VTR Xchange software, Final Cut 7, DukeCapture Mobile, and Screen Flow. It also supports Adobe Premiere but we did not test that. ScreenFlow and DukeCapture Mobile each saw the device as another A/V input. In Final Cut 7 we needed to choose the AJA capture format that matched what was being sent to the lo XT. Once we had the right format selected we were able to use log and capture to record, which worked perfectly.
The device offers a lot of functionality that we did not test. However, what we did test worked great. This paired with any of Apple’s computers that have a Thunderbolt connection offers a great capturing option without the need of a Mac Pro and PCI cards. Click here for more information about the lo XT.
