AJA Control Room

Software

Installation and Operation Manual

Version 17.1
Published July 16, 2024
 Notices
Trademarks
AJA® and Because it matters.® are registered trademarks of AJA Video Systems, Inc.
for use with most AJA products. AJA™ is a trademark of AJA Video Systems, Inc. for
use with recorder, router, software and camera products. Because it matters.™ is a
trademark of AJA Video Systems, Inc. for use with camera products.
Corvid Ultra®, lo®, Ki Pro®, KONA®, KUMO®, ROI® and T-Tap® are registered trademarks of
AJA Video Systems, Inc.
AJA Control Room™, Science of the Beautiful™, TruScale™, V2Analog™ and
V2Digital™ are trademarks of AJA Video Systems, Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright
Copyright © 2024 AJA Video Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. All information in
this manual is subject to change without notice. No part of the document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying or recording, without the express written permission of AJA
Video Systems, Inc.

Contacting AJA Technical Support or Sales

Please have all pertinent information at hand prior to contacting AJA support or sales.
Support Telephone: +1.530.271.3190
Support Website: https://www.aja.com/support/contact
Support Email: support@aja.com
Sales Email: sales@aja.com
Shipping Address: AJA Video Systems
180 Litton Drive
Grass Valley, CA 95945, USA

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 2 www.aja.com

 Contents
Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Contacting AJA Technical Support or Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 1 – Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Supported Files and Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Supported Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Control Room User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Application Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
AJA Control Room (macOS/Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Transport Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Clip Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Device Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
General Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Viewer Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Capture Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Playback Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Timecode Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
CC and Ancillary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Serial Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Scripting Prefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About AJA Control Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 2 – Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Using the Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Playback Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Playback Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Capture Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Input Based Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Capture Clip Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Clip Naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Capture Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Batch Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Edit-To-Tape Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Edit To Tape Settings Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Tape Deck Timing Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Capture Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Edit-to-Tape Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Keystroke Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
AJA Control Room (macOS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
File Menu Keystroke Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
View Menu Keystroke Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Transport Menu Keystroke Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Appendix A – Supported Read/Write Codecs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Appendix B – Control Room: H.264, H.265 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
H.264/AVC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
H.265/HEVC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

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 Appendix C – Python Scripting Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Python Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
macOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
AJA Control Room Setup for Python Scripting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Macintosh Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Windows Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Simple Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

AJA Software License Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

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Chapter 1 – Introduction

Overview
AJA Control Room™ enables professional quality video and audio capture,
conversion, playback, and output for 8K, 4K, HD and SD. With AJA Control Room
you can:
• Playback professional file-based sources with or without AJA Video hardware
attached.
• Capture from live feeds, cameras, consoles, and disk/tape-based sources to
highest quality uncompressed and compressed video files.
• Playout or Master-to-tape using a single application.
• Configure your video/audio I/O via an AJA device using the AJA Control Panel
launched from the AJA Control Room application.

Supported Files and Systems

AJA Control Room supports a wide range of file-types and codecs including .mov,
.mxf, QuickTime*, Apple ProRes, Avid DNxHD and DNxHR, DVCProHD, DPX, and
.mp4. Playback performance is highly tuned for high quality frame codecs, and
the experience can be different with long GOP sources such as H.264 and H.265.
NOTE: *Apple has ended QuickTime for Windows support. Instead, AJA supports ProRes
family capture and playback for macOS, Windows and Linux via AJA Control
Room.
For more information see "Table 1 Control Room Supported Read and Write Codecs
by Operating System" on page 37, and see "Appendix B Control Room: H.264,
H.265" on page 38 for additional data rate information.

Supported Hardware
You can use AJA Control Room with a variety of AJA video and audio processing
hardware products.
AJA Control Room supports the following AJA devices:
• Io X3, Io 4K Plus, Io IP
• KONA X, KONA Xpand, KONA 5, KONA 4, KONA HDMI, KONA IP, KONA 1, KONA
LHi, KONA LHe Plus
• T-TAP Pro

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 NOTE: This release of AJA Desktop Software works with EOL (End of Life) products,
including IoXT/Io4K/KONA IP/IoIP/T-TAP. However, releases after v16.2 were
no longer qualified with end-of-life products. What this means is that issues
affecting these EOL products may arise that are not caught during the testing
phase for new software releases, and these issues may not be fixed. In some
cases, AJA may elect to fix issues that affect EOL products, but that cannot be
guaranteed.
AJA Control Room also works with:
• Avid Artist | DNxIV
• Avid Artist | DNxIP
NOTE: On macOS, AJA Control Room supports Apple silicon processors as well as earlier
Intel processors.

H.264/5 Hardware Requirements

Capturing (encoding) and playback (decoding) of H.264 and H.265 requires some
degree of hardware assistance to be present on the host system where Control
Room is installed. If no hardware acceleration is present (or it cannot be accessed),
then H.264/5 capture/playback will not be available in Control Room.

macOS:
• Apple silicon based host systems have the necessary integral hardware, which
will be used for encode/decode.
• Apple Intel based systems will use AMD or Nvidia GPUs for encode/decode.

Windows
• An Nvidia GPU or an Intel GPU will be used for encode/decode if available.

Linux
• An Nvidia GPU will be used for encode/decode if available.

Installation
AJA Control Room software is available from the AJA website:
https://www.aja.com/family/software/
Control Room has four different installer packages available depending on your
operating system:
• macOS
• Windows
• Linux Redhat/CentOS
• Linux Ubuntu
See the Release Notes for you AJA Card or Device, available on the AJA website
and also installed with the software package, for minimum and recommended
system requirements including OS, CPU, RAM, and GPU.
NOTE: Thunderbolt connected devices are supported when using Linux but may cause
system issues if they are removed during DMA (Direct Memory Access).
1. Locate the appropriate AJA Desktop Software installer package for your OS.
2. Download the installer.
3. Double-click the installer file to open it and run the installer.
4. Follow the installation wizard instructions to install AJA Control Room along
with the AJA drivers.

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 5. After installation, the applications are ready to run.

Control Room User Interface

Figure 1. AJA Control Room Screen layout (Windows)
File Name

Mode Tabs

Preview
Clip Info

Meta-Data
Headers
Transport
Dashboard

Meta-Data
Settings

Bin Name

Bin

Screen Layout
Besides displaying playback or capture video, the Control Room screen is divided
into different panes, which can be shown or hidden as desired.
• Bin - Shows the clips currently imported into the bin and information for them
• Mode Tabs - Shows the Capture, Playback and Edit-to-Tape Mode Select Tabs
• Transport - Contains clip playback controls
• Dashboard - Displays information for the currently loaded clip
• Settings - Shows controls

Operating Mode Tabs

Control Room has three operating modes. Mode Select Tabs at the top of the
page allow you to easily switch between Capture, Playback and Edit To Tape
modes.
Capture - The Capture screen allows capturing video and audio to the computer
from an external video/audio source, such as a VTR/DDR, using the AJA
hardware.
Playback - The Playback screen loads files from your computer and plays them
out through your AJA hardware.
Edit To Tape - This is a workspace where you can perform an insert or assemble
Edit to Tape to record your clips to a VTR/DDR.

Context Sensitive Menus

Right clicking on different elements of the screen can display context sensitive
menus of commands, available for quick execution. Examples include:

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 Right Click On Video Image
Figure 2. Right-Click on video image: flyup menu

Right Click On Bin Clip

Figure 3. RIght-Click on Bin clip name: flyup menu

Hover Cursor Help

Hovering the cursor over a control can also display a description of its function.
Figure 4. Cursor hover reveals Help Tips

Application Menus
These top-level application menus provide information and control of the
workspace panes and the overall application performance.
• AJA Control Room (macOS only)
• File
• View
• Transport
• Clip
• Device
• Help
The drop-down menus list the features available, and display the macOS or
Windows keyboard shortcuts. See "Keystroke Commands" on page 35 for a listing
of all shortcuts.

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 AJA Control Room (macOS/Windows)
Figure 5. AJA Control Room Menu: (macOS)

About AJA Control Room

Displays the Control Room application version number and copyright.

Preferences
On Mac, click Preferences to open the Preference panes for configuring Control
Room.

Hide and Quit AJA Control Room

Click Hide to close the Control Room application menu but keep it running, or
click Quit to close the application.

File Menu
Figure 6. File Menu: macOS (left), Windows OS (right)

New Bin
Opens a new blank bin panel for a new project.

Open Bin
Opens a browse window to load an existing saved bin (.crbin file)

Import Files to Bin

Imports media to bin. Also loads EDLs for setting up batch captures adding them
to the Bin.

Save Bin and Save Bin As

Standard file save operations.

Preferences (Windows OS)

Opens the Windows Control Room Preferences pane. Preference panes on macOS
is accessed via the AJA Control Room dropdown menu.

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 Exit (Windows OS)
Closes the Control Panel application.

AJA Control Panel

Opens the AJA Control Panel for setting up or changing AJA hardware.

View Menu
Figure 7. View Menu (macOS)

The View menu offers the following view options and shows the keystroke
commands for on-the-fly selection:

Capture Mode
Selects the Capture workspace.

Playback Mode
Selects the Playback workspace.

Edit-To-Tape Mode
Selects the Edit to Tape workspace.

Video Only Monitoring

Toggles the workspace display between a full screen window showing just the
clip or capture video, and a standard window size that includes the currently
selected user interface areas. Double clicking on the video also toggles Video
Only Monitoring on and off.
NOTE: The following options are useful to hide unused setup and information space and
maximize the Display Screen area while working with clip edits.

Show Bin
Toggles the Bin pane on and off. Located in the left column, the Bin lists and
allows selection of the clips you are working with.

Show Mode Title

Toggles the Mode Title (CAPTURE, PLAYBACK and EDIT TO TAPE tabs) on and off.

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 Show Transport
Toggles the Transport controls on and off.

Show Dashboard
Toggles the Dashboard display on and off.

Show Settings
Toggles the Viewer Settings pane on and off. The Viewer Setting pane is for
setting up control operations for workspaces—Capture, Playback, and Edit To
Tape.

Reset Show-All
Restores the default display showing all panes.

Enter/Exit Full Screen

Toggles the entire user interface, including the currently selected control panes,
between a full screen display and a window display.

Transport Menu
Figure 8. Transport Menu (macOS)

The Transport menu displays different controls, depending on the Control Room
operating mode and currently loaded clip. Grayed out selections are inactive in
the current operating state. For example, Capture controls are not available in
Playback mode. Most of the functions are self-explanatory by name.
The J, K, and L keystrokes may be used to control the Transport as follows:
J: Reverse Play (multiple presses increases the speed)
K: Stop Play
L: Play (multiple presses increases the speed)

Log Clip
Log Clip allows the user to set the VTR In & Out for Batch Capture with a VTR.

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 Clip Menu
Figure 9. Clip Menu (macOS)

Displays a listing of the clips in the current bin, which can be selected by clicking
on the clip name.

Device Menu
Figure 10. Device Menu (macOS)

If you have more than one AJA hardware device installed or connected to your
computer, this menu allows you to select the one that AJA Control Room will use.

Help Menu
Figure 11. Help Menu: macOS (left), Windows OS (right)

Click the AJA Software Site link to visit the AJA website for the latest release notes,
manual and AJA software downloads.
On Windows, click About AJA Control Room see the application version number
and copyright information.

Preferences
In Windows, the Preferences screen is under the File Menu. For MacOS, it is under
the AJA Control Room menu.
This menu includes basic preferences under the following subject heads:

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 General Prefs
Figure 12. Control Room Preferences: General (macOS)

User interface settings reside on this screen.

Hold onto device when app is in background

Check this box if you want the AJA device held onto by Control Room when
the application is backgrounded. This is recommended for working seamlessly
between Control Room and Control Panel. For example, unless this preference is
enabled, play or capture will stop if you click off Control Room and onto another
application or the desktop.

Enable disk OS caching

When checked, Control Room will use Disk Caching that is built into the operating
system when reading and writing files. In many cases this aids short term file
reading and writing performance (the feature defaults to ON). However in some
situations with large raster files and many channels of audio this selection can
reduce performance. In those cases turning disk OS caching OFF may help
improve performance.

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 Host Audio Monitor
• Disabled - Playback or capture audio is routed only through the connected
AJA device. On macOS, you may also need to select the AJA device in
System Prefs to hear the audio. With this setting, video/audio sync should be
maintained.
• Built-in Output (variously named, and you may also see multiple options
depending on the sound cards installed) - Audio is also routed through the
host computer's audio system. This allows the monitoring of incoming audio
being captured by an AJA device, or the monitoring of playback audio, directly
on the host computer. Computer audio playback monitoring with Control
Room is available even if no AJA hardware is connected, or, as with in the case
of KONA HDMI the AJA hardware only supports audio Video and Audio input/
capture. On macOS, you may also need to select the host system audio in
System Prefs to hear the audio. With this setting, the computer audio may not
have perfect video/audio sync, but should be close enough for general audio
monitoring (when not editing picture with sound).

Save and Load Prefs

The Save Prefs and Load Prefs buttons let you manage your Control Room
preferences, by saving and loading named prefs files.

Reset Button
The Reset button will return all Control Room prefs to their factory defaults

Viewer Prefs
Figure 13. Control Room Preferences: Viewer (macOS)

Enable display-to-desktop and choose format options:

NOTE: You can also access Viewer options by Control- or Right-clicking in the Viewer
Screen.

Enable Viewer
Turns Viewer ON or OFF. This is useful if you have a second monitor set-up and
you want to lighten the load on your computer during an intensive capture (by
turning Enable Viewer OFF).

GPU Acceleration
This feature uses the GPU to scale and display video in the Control Room UI. When
Control Room is launched, it will test the GPU for required functionality, and if it
passes the test this feature will default to ON. If not, it will be turned OFF.
In some cases, you can troubleshoot display and performance problems by
turning this feature OFF. Generally speaking, having it ON will reduce work for the
CPU, letting the system focus on other tasks like compression/decompression and
file reading/writing.

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 Active Capture FPS
Select a preview display frame rate during capture, useful to conserve system
resources for capture functions:
• Full frame rate
• 2 frames per second
• 1 frames per second
• 0 frames per second

Capture Prefs
Figure 14. Control Room Preferences: Capture (Windows)

NOTE: Reserve Buffer Size is limited to 2 GB Maximum

Stop Capture/ETT on dropped frames

In the default preference mode, Control Room will display a red dropped frame
counter during Capture and Edit to Tape (ETT). If you enable Stop Capture/
ETT on dropped frames, the counter is not displayed and the process will stop
immediately if a dropped frame occurs.

Load Clip Settings

Check these boxes to automatically load a clip into the Bin and/or Viewer after
capture.

Mark SD MOV files as 16:9 anamorphic

(Only available for SD input format.) When capturing an anamorphic signal,
checking the box marks the captured file as anamorphic.

Enable large "Deep Buffer" capture queues

Checking this box lets you set a reserve buffer size, which can permit
uninterrupted writing of frames to storage even during intermittent access.
When checked the Reserve buffer size parameter is activated. The range available
depends on the amount of your computer's available RAM, which is reported on
the screen. AJA recommends not using more than half of the available RAM, and
Control Room limits the maximum buffer size to 2 GB of RAM.

Capture Path
Use the Choose button to select the directory path to be used for Capture.

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 Playback Prefs
Figure 15. Control Room Preferences: Playback (Windows)

Stop Playback on dropped frames

In the default preference mode, Control Room will display a red dropped frame
counter during Playback. If you enable Stop Playback on dropped frame, the
counter is not displayed and the process will stop immediately if a dropped frame
occurs.
Figure 16. Dropped Frame Counter

Enable large "Deep Buffer" playback queues

Checking this box lets you set a reserve buffer size, which can permit
uninterrupted playback from storage even when storage, fabric or network
bottlenecks interrupt the flow of data. When checked the Reserve buffer size
parameter is activated. The range available depends on the amount of your
computer's available RAM, which is reported on the screen. AJA recommends not
using more than half of the available RAM. Control Room limits the maximum
buffer size to 2GB of RAM.
IMPORTANT: If you uncheck 'Enable large "Deep Buffer" playback queues" (when it
had been checked) you will be prompted that a restart of the Control Room
application will be required. (Note that a computer restart is not required.)

Figure 17. Restart required dialog (Windows)

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 Click OK, unless you are capturing or playing to a live destination, in which case
you may want to click Cancel.
CAUTION: Avoid disabling 'large Deep Buffer playback queues' while capturing or when
playing to a live broadcast destination. Otherwise you may inadvertently restart
Control Room, which will definitely interrupt any in-progress capture or playback.

Figure 18. Must now relaunch dialog (Windows)

Click OK.
This is normal for changing the Deep Buffer parameter, and is not an error
condition.

Preload queues before playback start

Checking this box will preload video queues before starting playback, which can
reduce dropping frames when playback starts. A brief delay (typically less than
two seconds), will be imposed after playback in initiated.

Reserve Buffer Size

The Reserve Buffer setting is for improving performance by reserving (setting
aside) RAM for I/O operations. The reserve buffer can be from 0 to 2GB. If Control
Room is functioning as you expect, you can leave this setting in default. If you
notice sluggish or inconsistent performance, you can adjust this setting, starting
with a minimal reserve buffer, and increasing from there until performance is
nominal.

Timecode Prefs
Figure 19. Control Room Preferences: Timecode (macOS)

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 Format
• SMPTE Timecode
• Frames

Options
• Absolute TC - Fixed in and out timecode values are displayed on the
Dashboard.
• Relative TC - Dynamic From In and From Out timecode values are displayed on
the Dashboard (see Figure 28 on page 24).

Capture Source
• Video Input
• Time-of-Day

Burn In
• Disabled - No timecode is displayed
• Playback Only - Reads embedded Timecode data and displays as a real time
overlay during playback
• Capture Only - Reads embedded Timecode data from input source and burns
that into then picture area during capture
• Enabled All - Both Playback and Capture behaviors are concurrent

X Pct/Y Pct
You can define the X and Y axis location of the timecode display on the video,
using the sliders, up/down arrows, or text entry controls.

CC and Ancillary
Figure 20. Control Room Preferences: CC and Ancillary (macOS)

Control Room supports CC (closed captions) in QuickTime files and creates side
car files in .scc and .mcc formats that are stored in the same directory as your
current project (Capture Path). The files are automatically named the same as the
subject video clip with the appropriate file extension (.scc and .mcc).
Control Room also supports full ancillary I/O VANC data capture and playback via
sidecar .mkv file.

Enable Closed Captioning

To capture and output Closed Captioning using compatible devices, check the
Enable Closed Captioning (master enable) box.

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 Show CC In Viewer (When Present)
Displays in the Viewer any captions that are present in the video. In this mode,
Control Room will detect and show captions in Control Room even when an
external monitor does not support them.

Render CC to video playback (When Present)

Provides a real time overlay of the Closed Captioning data on the video output,
rather than in the Control Room Viewer. This feature can be used to show Closed
Captioning on the video monitor display in the bay for the producer, or you can
output a screener with the Closed Captioning burned in

Capture Options
• Write CC to .mcc sidecar file
• Write CC to .scc sidecar file

Full Ancillary Capture and Playback

When enabled, writes ancillary I/O VANC to sidecar .mkv file for use in Capture or
Playback modes.

Serial Prefs
Figure 21. Control Room Preferences: Serial (macOS)

Settings for serial control via selected timecode source:

• AJA Control Panel timecode settings
• Tape deck control via RS-422 port
For information on using Capture and Output offsets to adjust Tape Deck frame
accuracy, see "Tape Deck Timing Adjustment" on page 33.

Scripting Prefs
NOTE: "Python Scripting Tutorial" on page 39.

Figure 22. Control Room Preferences: Scripting (macOS)

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 For users who want to use Python Scripting to operate AJA Control Room, it
is enabled here and a link to an online tutorial is available. (The tutorial is also
available in"Python Scripting Tutorial" on page 39.
When you enable scripting, a popup message indicates the "Hold device in
background" setting on the General Preferences page must also be enabled,
which Control Room can do for you if you click on the Enable and Continue
button.

About AJA Control Room

Figure 23. About AJA Control Room (Windows)

In the Windows OS the About AJA Control Room screen is found under the Help
menu. In MacOS it is found in the AJA Control Room dropdown menu.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 20 www.aja.com

Chapter 2 – Operation

Startup
Once installed, the AJA Control Room application is launched the same as any
other application, depending on your computer's operating system.

Reset all preferences to factory values

AJA Control Room settings can be restored to factory defaults by holding down
the Shift key during startup.
Figure 24. Control Room Startup Options (macOS)

Force software-only render in viewer

This reduces the load on the systems graphics card. Selecting this option will
result in the "Enable GPU Accelerated Viewer" being grayed out as an option.

Using the Bin

The Bin is a list of links to media files in your project directory.
The project directory is defined in the Preferences>Capture screen where you
choose a Capture Path (see "Capture Prefs" on page 15).
You can begin a new project by selecting New Bin under the File Menu.

Adding to the Bin

To add Clips or a DPX folder to your project bin, you can:
• Use the Import Files to Bin command
• Click the plus (+) at the bottom of the Bin, then browse and select a file
• Drag media from the Finder/Explorer to the bin
To open an existing Bin that you have saved, go to the File Menu and select Open
Bin, then browse and select the Bin (bin files are appended .crbin).

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 You may also use the Capture Tab to create a new clip and a file that is added to
the Bin and your directory. This automatic bin addition feature is enabled (the
default setting) or disabled via a checkbox in Preferences>Capture.
Figure 25. AJA Control Room Bin (Windows)

Left-click or
Right-click Flyout Menu
to show/hide
a specific
Meta-Data
column

Meta-Data
Header

Right-click
on Header to
open the
Flyout Menu

Moving Clips and Metadata

The Bin panel can be expanded by dragging the right-edge to display a wide
range of metadata for each clip. Right-click on the Bin metadata header to select
the specific information columns you want to display.
To further organize the bin, you can move Meta-data columns by dragging and
dropping header titles to the right or left.
To remove a file from the Bin, you can select it and click the trash can icon.
NOTE: Removing a file does NOT delete the file from your directory but removes the link
from the Bin.

Bin Item Menu Right Click

If you select a bin item and right-click, you will access this menu.

From the menu, you can:

• Go to the project directory to access clips
• Delete the Bin Item while keeping the clip (content)
• Delete Media allows you to delete while keeping the Bin Item (no content) or
delete both the item and media
• Export your project Bin as an Event to Final Cut Pro (MacOS), see below

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 • Batch Capture clips (see "Batch Capture" on page 30)

Export to Final Cut Pro Event (macOS)

Events in Final Cut Pro (FCP) are where you store your project footage. AJA
Control Room can create an XML file that is read by FCP which then generates an
Event containing the selected files.
You can select a clip or group of clips in the bin then right-click to select Export
Final Cut Pro Event.
The Final Cut Pro application automatically launches when an Event is generated.
NOTE: In this process, files are not moved but links to them are created.

Playback Tab
Figure 26. Control Room Playback Tab (macOS)

When the Playback Tab screen mode is selected, AJA Control Room allows you to
playback, view and trim the clips in your project.
Use playback functions for any clips that are loaded in the Bin. Double-click on a
clip in the bin to open it in the Playback viewer pane.

Playback Controls
In Playback mode you can use the transport controls to play, stop, rewind, and jog
through the clip and set IN and OUT points to trim the playback region.
Various methods are available in the Dashboard to change IN/OUT and Duration
values. You can enter the cursor and type values into the fields or use keystroke
commands (see "Keystroke Commands" on page 35).

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 23 www.aja.com

 Dragging Markers
You can also drag the marker elements along the timeline to set edit points. Note
that active elements will display in yellow. The timeline markers (shown below)
include:
• IN Point slider icon
• OUT Point slider icon
• Current Playhead Position Indicator
Figure 27. Transport and Dashboard controls
In Point Slider Playhead Out Point Slider
Loop Set In Button Set Out Button
On/Off
Full Screen
Monitoring
Hold Device
In Background

Duration In Point Playhead Out Point

Field Field Timecode Field Field

Figure 28. Relative Timecode Preference selected

Set the IN/OUT Points

Perhaps the easiest and most precise method of setting IN/OUT points, is to
advance the Playhead to the desired start location and click the Set IN button.
Then do the same for the end location using Set OUT.
You can adjust the Set points by click-and-holding in the IN Point or OUT Point
fields and dragging left or right.
NOTE: The IN/OUT points and Current Playhead position are displayed as either Frames
or Clip Timecode values depending on your Preference settings.

Rate Options
Rate options include:
• Auto - Play video and audio tracks at the same frame rate captured
• No Video - Play audio tracks only
• Frame Rate - Select a speed to play an image sequence such as DPX files
(available when an image sequence is loaded for playback)

RAM Buffer
The RAM buffer shows how many frames are buffered into your system's RAM
that are ready for delivery to your AJA device. As the device outputs frames, the
RAM buffer keeps the device filled with the next set of frames.
NOTE: If Deep Buffer playback is enabled, the number of RAM buffered frames increases
according to how much RAM has been allocated and the frame rate of the clip.

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 Device Buffer
The Device buffer shows how many frames are buffered into the AJA device.
Fewer frames will be reported in this buffer than in the RAM buffer, but this is an
extra safeguard to prevent a dropped frame if the software RAM buffer empties.
NOTE: As long as the RAM and Device buffers are filled, your system should not drop
frames during playback.

Audio Meters
The Tab Settings Pane contains meters for 8 or 16 audio channels determined by
the number of audio channels your AJA edit device supports.
Figure 29. Playback Mode Audio Meters

In Playback mode, you can turn audio on/off by clicking on any of the meter
channels. Option-click a meter to enable/disable all available channels.
You can also re-route audio from any audio input to any audio output. The
number below each meter indicates the output channel, which is fixed. The
number above the meter indicates the input channel. Clicking on that number
opens a dropdown allowing you to choose any other audio input channel, make
the output channel empty (no input), or reset one or all the channels to the
default (1 to 1, 2 to 2, etc.) Each input audio channel can be routed to only one
output channel.
Audio meter operation for Capture and Edit-To-Tape is different for each mode
and is described in their respective sections in this chapter.

Bin Pane Options

You may select any combination of Bin Meta-Data as columns in the Bin Pane.
Available Meta-Data columns include:
Name, ID, Type, Frame Size, Rate, DF, Tracks, Tape, Media In, Media Out, Media Dur,
Mark In, Mark Out, Mark Dur, Video Fmt, Audio Fmt, Video, Audio, Genre, Author,
Copyright, Onine, Seq, Status, HDR, Bits and Sample.
Meta-Data columns may be freely repositioned within the Bin Pane by dragging a
heading left or right.

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 Figure 30. Playback Tab with Bin Meta-Data selection menu open (Windows)

Capture Tab
Figure 31. Control Room Capture Tab (macOS)

Using the Capture Tab, you can create a new clip from the input of your AJA
device.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 26 www.aja.com

 Input Based Capture
Your AJA device frame buffer must be set for the expected video format either
via the Control Panel Format setting or the Follow Input function. In the Format
screen, you enable the Follow Input checkbox which automatically switches the
buffer format to match the detected input format.
NOTE: KONA 5 in 8K mode does not support color space conversion for any video
formats. You will need to manually match the color space (YCbCr, RGB) of the
Video codec type in AJA Control Room (or other controlling application) with the
KONA 5 card's framebuffer color space. In general, 444 = RGB, and 422 = YCbCr.
In AJA Control Room you can go to File>AJA Control Panel to open AJA Control
Panel (see "File Menu" on page 9.)

Remote Control
If your input is from a Tape Deck and you have RS-422 connection, AJA Control
Room provides remote control of the deck and captures according to Timecode
settings for DURATION, VTR IN, and VTR OUT points (see "Playback Controls" on
page 23).
Capture mode also supports Batch Capture which automates the process of
capturing multiple clips from one or more tapes (see "Batch Capture" on page
30).
NOTE: When a Capture is in-progress, the viewer is outlined in red.

Capture Clip Settings

The Capture Tab provides the Clip Settings panel that allows you to enter
metadata and library information for the clip you will create. In the top row, from
pulldown menus, you will select format options for the file:

File Types
• BMP
• DPX
• MOV
• MP4
• MXF
• Targa
After a File Type has been selected, a drop down list can be used to select a
version (encoding, bit depth, etc.) supported by that file type.

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 MOV Files
Control Room supports Apple ProRes, AVID DNxHD, and AVID DNxHR (for 4K/
UltraHD only) files.
• Apple ProRes 422
• Apple ProRes 422 HQ
• Apple ProRes 422 LT
• Apple ProRes 422 Proxy
• Apple ProRes 4444
• Apple ProRes 4444 XQ
• AVID DNxHD HQ
• AVID DNxHD HQX
• AVID DNxHD SQ
• AVID DNxHR 444
• AVID DNxHR 444 12bit
• AVID DNxHR HQ
• AVID DNxHR HQX
• AVID DNxHR LB
• AVID DNxHR SQ

MP4 Files
Control Room will attempt to use a hardware path for encode. If the path does
not exist it will do a software only encode. These conditions vary on systems
depending on the CPU, drivers loaded and platform. Decode at this time uses
only software.
NOTE: H.264/5 interlaced video will be captured as progressive.
• AVC/H.264 Low
• AVC/H.264 Med Low
• AVC/H.264 Med
• AVC/H.264 Med High
• AVC/H.264 High
• AVC/H.264 Max
• HEVC/H.265 Low
• HEVC/H.265 Med Low
• HEVC/H.265 Med
• HEVC/H.265 Med High
• HEVC/H.265 High
• HEVC/H.265 Max
See "Appendix B Control Room: H.264, H.265" on page 38 for additional
information.

MXF Files
MXF files captured by AJA Control Room are type OP-1A. For MXF container files,
Control Room supports the following codecs:
• AVID DNxHD HQ
• AVID DNxHD HQX
• AVID DNxHD SQ
• AVID DNxHR HQ
• AVID DNxHR HQX
• AVID DNxHR 444
• AVID DNxHR 444 12bit

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 • AVID DNxHR LB
• AVID DNxHR SQ

Targa Files
• 8 bit BGRA
• 8 bit BGR

Clip Naming
A Clip Name will be generated automatically or you can choose to enter your own
designations for:
• File Name
• Reel name
• Scene description
• Take designation
NOTE: If you want your information to be displayed as part of the Clip Name in AJA
Control Room, you must enable the check boxes to the right of the entry field. The
plus (+) buttons are used to add/increment a numeric designation.

Figure 32. Capture Tab Settings Pane

Audio Channel Selection

To select audio channels for capture:
• Single-click to enable/disable individual channels
• Single-click between the odd/even channel pair numbers (1&2, 3&4, etc.) to
select audio-pairs (a plus sign will indicate paired channels). In this mode,
clicking one of the paired meter bars will turn on/off both channels
• Option-click to enable/disable all available channels

Capture Controls
The Capture controls offer standard tape deck play controls (as described
previously) and adds the jog control slider above the transport controls.
Figure 33. Capture Controls with Jog Control Slider

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 AJA Control Room can control a Tape Deck via RS422 or can do manually initiated
captures. The Tape Deck Control icon indicates the communication status of the
deck. If no active RS422 connection is present, the icon reports OFFLINE. When
connected, the status will report:
• LOCAL – remote control is not enabled for the VTR
• REMOTE – the VTR is set for remote control via RS422
To activate Remote mode:
1. Verify the RS422 cable connection between your AJA device and the deck.
2. Verify the remote control mode on your recording device is enabled.
Figure 34. Capture Buttons & Tape Deck Control Indicator

Tape Deck icon

NOTE: If the Tape Deck icon is lit (yellow), AJA Control Room is detecting an RS-422
connection that is active. If it is white, there is no active RS422 connection.
Two record buttons are available:
• Start tape capture - captures from the deck according to timecode VTR IN and
VTR OUT settings
• Start capture - initiates immediate manual capture of the AJA device input

Batch Capture
The batch capture procedure consists of these steps:
1. Create bin items without content by entering:
• File Type and Clip information in the capture tab settings pane
• IN Point and OUT Point or Duration information for the clip.
2. Click the Pencil icon. You will see a red line through the bin icon that
indicates “Footage is offline”.
3. Repeat this process for additional bin items.
NOTE: You can enter bin items from different tapes entering the numbers in the Tape
field (Clip information). The batch capture will pause for tape change and resume
to complete the batch.
4. When all the bin items are listed, select them in the bin and right-click to
select Batch Capture from the resulting menu.
5. Next, in the options screen you can set the Capture type to:
• All Selected Items – captures content for all selected bin items
• Offline Items Only – captures content only for items in the bin with “footage
offline”
• You may enable Add Handles to add pre- and post-footage to your captures.
After setting Batch Capture Options, click Continue.

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 Figure 35. Batch Capture Options Screen (macOS)

6. On the Batch Capture Screen, you may:

• Select a single item and click Capture Clip to capture one item
• Click on Capture Tape to capture all listed items.
AJA Control Room will sequentially record multiple clips into the project directory
and assign the bin item links as the capture media is run.
Figure 36. Batch Capture Screen (macOS)

You can right-click in the bin to delete a bin item, its media content, or both, from
the bin (refer to "Bin Item Menu Right Click" on page 22). If you keep the bin item
and delete the media, the bin item icon’s red line returns.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 31 www.aja.com

Edit-To-Tape Tab
Using the Edit-To-Tape tab you can output your current clip to a tape deck or
recording device using remote control. A tape deck connected via RS-422 and
set in remote control mode allows AJA Control Room to send an Insert Edit or
Assemble Edit with timecode VTR IN and VTR OUT or Duration designated.
IMPORTANT: Not all tape machines can be controlled for edit-to-tape functionality.
Contact tape machine manufacturer for more information on specific tape
machine models.

Figure 37. Edit-To-Tape Tab (macOS)

Edit To Tape Controls

The controls for Edit-To-Tape provides the same functions as described for
Capture mode (see "Capture Controls" on page 29.

Edit To Tape Settings Pane

Edit Mode
• Insert – lays down selected video and audio tracks using timecode VTR IN/VTR
OUT or Duration maintaining existing control tracks on the tape
• Assemble – erases previous content and records all video, audio, timecode,
and control track information onto tape according to the timecode
information (VTR IN/VTR OUT/Duration) set in AJA Control Room

Edit Track Content

The Video checkbox allows you to include/exclude Video content in an Insert Edit
(not applicable to Assemble Edits).
If you check the Preview box, you can use the play control to view the content in
AJA Control Room without recording it to the deck.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 32 www.aja.com

 Figure 38. Edit-To-Tape Transport and Dashboard Controls

Audio Track Inclusion

In Insert mode you have complete control of the individual audio tracks you want
to include in the edit. Click on each track you want to enable/disable or Option-
click to enable/disable all available tracks. An Assemble edit has no control of the
audio track selection.

Tape Deck Timing Adjustment

Both Capture and Edit-To-Tape operations employ Timecode for executing
seamless frame-accurate operation. Latency in communication between devices
can cause delays of several frames depending on the signal format and tape
machine being used. To fine-tune timing between the tape deck and your
computer and AJA edit device I/O, open AJA Control Room Preferences and select
the Serial screen.
Figure 39. AJA Control Room Serial Preferences Screen (macOS)

In the following procedure, you will use the Capture Offset for Capture timing and
Output Offset for Edit-To-Tape. Offset values presented are in whole Frames and
tenths.

Offset Adjustment Procedure

This procedure is basically the same for both Capture and Edit-to-Tape
adjustment.
You will enter an Offset value and then capture or output-to-tape a number of
clips while checking the resultant timecode accuracy.

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 We recommend ten edits or captures (with timecode burn-in output from the
VTR) be examined.

Machine and Video Format Changes

If you use multiple tape deck types, you will want to perform and record these
adjustments for each.
Timing can vary between deck manufacturers and models. Also, changing video
formats between 30 fps video (eg. 1080i 29.97) and 50 to 60 fps video (720p 59.94)
may require offset adjustment.
Our experience indicates required offsets will be approximately:
• 2.0 frames for 30 fps formats
• 1.0 frames for 60 fps formats

Capture Timing
NOTE: For Capture testing, you can use Batch Capture to quickly generate a series of
sample captures.

Capture Adjustment Procedure

1. Enter your Capture Offset (1 frame for this example).
2. Set an IN Point for the Capture noting it’s timecode.
3. Set a two-second Duration or an OUT Point.

4. Click the Tape Capture button to start the capture.

5. When Capture is complete, double-click on the clip in the bin to enter
Playback mode.
6. Compare the first two frames of the burned-in timecode of the capture with
the timecode values in the dashboard’s Current Position Indicator (CPI).
7. If the capture resulted in a timecode beginning a frame before the CPI,
adjust the offset by adding a frame. Conversely, if the clip was late, decrease
the offset.
As you perform more trial captures, you may see a variance in frame accuracy. If
so, you can use the tenth-of-a-frame offset (beginning with five-tenths) to make
more subtle adjustment until the clip timecode and CPI consistently match.
NOTE: 720p 50 to 60 fps formats actually records two frames for each timecode frame
value. For frame accuracy you must check that the timecode value does not
change for the first two frames of video.

Edit-to-Tape Timing
For Edit-to-Tape Timing you enter frame values in the Output Offset field in Serial
Preferences. AJA Control Room must begin playout so that the correct frame is
on-air at the edit IN point.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 34 www.aja.com

 Edit Adjustment Procedure
Begin the procedure by doing a test edit.
1. Using a clip with timecode burn-in, select a CPI point marking the desired
edit IN.
2. Set a two-second Duration or an OUT Point

.
3. Click the Tape start button to perform the edit.
4. When the edit is complete, roll the tape back to the edit IN point and verify
that the first frame that was captured on tape was the frame you expected.
5. If the edit begins a frame early, adjust the offset by adding a frame.
Conversely, if the clip was late, decrease the offset.
As you perform more trial edits, you may see a variance in frame accuracy. If so,
you can use the tenth-of-a-frame offset (beginning with five-tenths) to make
more subtle adjustment until the edit is consistently frame-accurate.
Again, for video formats of 720p 50 to 60 fps, refer to the NOTE above.

Keystroke Commands
Many Control Room functions can also be performed using computer keyboard
shortcuts. Many are entered using the Cmd key ( on macOS) or the Ctrl key
(Windows).

AJA Control Room (macOS)

Function macOS
Preferences Cmd+,
Hide AJA Control Room Cmd+H
Hide Others Option+Cmd+H
Quit AJA Control Room Cmd+Q

File Menu Keystroke Commands

Function macOS Windows
New Bin Cmd+N Ctrl+N
Open Bin Cmd+O Ctrl+O
Import Files to Bin Cmd+I Ctrl+I
Save Bin Cmd+S Ctrl+S
Preferences Cmd+, Ctrl+,

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 35 www.aja.com

 View Menu Keystroke Commands
Function macOS Windows
Capture Mode Cmd+1 Ctrl+1
Playback Mode Cmd+2 Ctrl+2
Edit-To-Tape Mode Cmd+3 Ctrl+3
Video Only Monitoring V V
Show Bin Cmd+B Cmd+B
Show Mode Title Cmd+M Cmd+M
Show Transport Cmd+T Cmd+T
Show Dashboard Cmd+D Cmd+D
Show Settings Cmd+' Cmd+'
Toggle Fullscreen Ctrl+F

Transport Menu Keystroke Commands

Function macOS Windows
Play/Pause Space Space
Step Left Left Arrow Left Arrow
Up Arrow Up Arrow
Step Right Right Arrow Right Arrow
Down Arrow Down Arrow
Play Reverse J J
(repeat faster)
Pause K K
Play Forward L L
(repeat faster)
Mark In I I
Mark Out O O
Goto In Q Q
Goto Out W W
Clear In D D
Clear Out F F
Clear In-Out G G
Capture/Stop R R
Log Clip C C
Stop/Escape Esc Esc
Loop Playback Y Y

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 36 www.aja.com

Appendix A – Supported Read/Write Codecs
Control Room supports the compressors listed in the capture settings dropdown
lists. Different selections are available under different conditions.
The following table lists the read and write capabilities of Control Room by codec
and operating system.

Table 1. Control Room Supported Read and Write Codecs by Operating System
LINUX LINUX
Codec WIN OS MAC OS
Red Hat/CentOS Ubuntu
ProRes Family Read Yes Yes Yes Yes
ProRes Family Write Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHD Read - MOV Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHD Write - MOV Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHD Read - MXF Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHD Write - MXF Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHR Read - MOV Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHR Write - MOV Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHR Read - MXF Yes Yes Yes Yes
DNxHR Write - MXF Yes Yes Yes Yes
DVCProHD Read ** Yes Yes No No
DVCProHD Write ** Yes Yes No No
DPX Read Yes Yes Yes Yes
DPX Write Yes Yes Yes Yes
BMP Read Yes Yes Yes Yes
BMP Write Yes Yes Yes Yes
Targa Read Yes Yes Yes Yes
Targa Write Yes Yes Yes Yes
MP4 Read Yes Yes Yes Yes
MP4 Write Yes Yes Yes Yes
** Requires a UFC bitfile which contains the DVCProHD hardware scaler.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 37 www.aja.com

Appendix B – Control Room: H.264, H.265
H.264/AVC
Control Room supports six target data rates specified for HD:

H.264 (AVC) Low Low-Med Medium Med-High High Maximum

Reference Quality 5Mb/sec 10 Mb/sec 15 Mb/sec 20 Mb/sec 25 Mb/sec 50 Mb/sec
Format 1080p60,
10-bit 4:2:2

H.265/HEVC
Control Room supports six target data rates specified for HD:

H.265 (HEVC) Low Low-Med Medium Med-High High Maximum

Reference Quality 2Mb/sec 5 Mb/sec 8 Mb/sec 10 Mb/sec 15 Mb/sec 20 Mb/sec
Format 1080p60,
10-bit 4:2:2

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 38 www.aja.com

Appendix C – Python Scripting Tutorial
AJA has implemented a Python Scripting interface for the AJA Control Room
application.
Under Python script control you can:
• Name the file to be captured
• Start Capturing
• Stop Capturing
• Load Files into the bin
• Use transport controls
• Get a list of files in the bin
• Set the mode (Capture, Playback, Edit To Tape)
• Show/Hide the Bin and Settings panes
NOTE: The AJA implementation is based upon Python 3.x.
This tutorial and the example files are available as a download in the Documents
section from:
https://www.aja.com/software/control-room/tutorials

Python Installation
Windows
The Python libraries are not installed with Windows by default. You can get the
Python 2.7.6 installer from:
https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/
Once this is installed, you must set an environmental variable to point to your
Python installation. To add an Environmental Variable for Python:
1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Advanced System Settings.
3. Click Environment Variables.
Figure 40. Environment Variables Screen

4. Click one the New buttons to add either a User or a System variable:
5. Enter the name and value.

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 Figure 41. Python Environment Variable Window

6. Click OK.

macOS
Python v2.7 is installed as part of the standard macOS X system install. No
additional installation is necessary.

AJA Control Room Setup for Python Scripting

1. Copy the python folder to your desktop. It can be copied anywhere, but for
this example we will expect it to be on your Desktop
2. Launch the AJA Control Room application
3. Open the AJA Control Room Preferences
4. Select the Scripting pane
• Make sure Enable Scripting Server is checked
• The Scripting server port defaults to Port 8080.
NOTE: You can change this if desired but our example code expects it to be set to Port
8080. If you modify this port number you must change the appropriate value in
the code to match.
5. Select the General pane and
• Make sure Hold onto device when app is in background is checked
• Make sure a Capture Path is specified
6. Dismiss Preferences window
7. Select Capture tab in Main window
• Specify desired File Type
• Specify desired Video Codec
• Specify desired Audio Codec
• Specify number of Audio Channels
• Confirm that the checkbox next to the File Name field is checked

Macintosh Instructions
1. Make sure the AJA Control Room app is running and is set up as described
above.
2. Open the Terminal application
3. Type cd ~/Desktop/python/examples
4. Type ./testcapture.py to run the testcapture Python script.
The testcapture script tells AJA Control Room to capture a one-second clip called
“testClip”. The captured clip will appear in the bin.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 40 www.aja.com

 Figure 42. Desktop Python Examples

Windows Instructions
The following instructions expect the AJA Python folder to be on your Desktop.
Make sure the AJA Control Room application is running.
1. Open up a Command Prompt
2. Type cd %HOMEPATH%\Desktop\python\examples
3. Type testcapture.py to run the testcapture Python script.
The testcapture script tells AJA Control Room to capture a one-second clip called
“testClip”. The captured clip will appear in the bin.
Figure 43. Command Prompt Entries

Simple Modifications
Following is the code for testcapture.py
You can change the duration of the capture by changing the number (in seconds)
in the parentheses in line 15 time.sleep(1)
The name of the file to be captured comes from the word in quotes in line 26
(“testClip” in the example below) captureTest(client, “testClip”)
This script is meant to control the AJA Control Room app on the local computer,
however you can control an AJA Control Room app on a different computer
on the network by replacing ‘localhost’ on line 22 with the IP address (e.g.
10.192.168.40) of another computer on your network. If the Scripting server port
in the Scripting Preferences has been changed you must match that port number
in line 23. An instance of the AJA Control Room app must be running on the
remote computer.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 41 www.aja.com

 Figure 44. Example Python script “testcapture.py”

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 42 www.aja.com

 Figure 45. Example Python script “testplayback.py”

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 43 www.aja.com

 AJA Software License Agreement
AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS, INC.
THIS IS AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS, INC. (“AJA”) THAT
GOVERNS YOUR USE OF the software ACCOMPANYING THIS LICENSE (E.G., AS installed
on the device with which this license is provided).
The “AJA Software” referenced in this Agreement includes all such software, whether
made available to you on disk, in read only memory, on any other media or in
any other form, and all updates, corrections, enhancements and new versions of
such software made available by AJA, together with all related documentation. BY
INSTALLING OR USING THE AJA SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY
THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS
AGREEMENT, DO NOT INSTALL OR USE IT AND, IF APPLICABLE, RETURN THE AJA
SOFTWARE TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU OBTAINED IT FOR A REFUND.
1. License Grant. AJA hereby grants you a nonexclusive, personal, non-sublicenseable
and limited license to install and use AJA Software on a computer or AJA device.
The foregoing license also includes the right to make copies of the AJA Software in
machine-readable form for installation and backup purposes only, and provided that
each copy you make must include all copyright or other proprietary notices contained
on the original.
2. Limitations. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, modify, or
create derivative works of the AJA Software or any part thereof except to the extent
(if any) authorized by applicable law notwithstanding the foregoing restriction. You
may not rent, lease, lend, loan, distribute or act as a service bureau or “cloud service”
provider with respect to use of the AJA Software or any functionality thereof. THE AJA
SOFTWARE IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES,
AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
SYSTEMS, LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES OR OTHER EQUIPMENT IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF
THE AJA SOFTWARE COULD LEAD TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL
OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE.
3. Reservation of Rights. The AJA Software is protected by law, including without
limitation copyright law. The AJA Software is licensed, not sold, to you. AJA and its
licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted to you by this Agreement. You own
the media on which the AJA Software is recorded but AJA and/or AJA's licensor(s)
retain ownership of the AJA Software itself. You may not use the AJA Software for any
illegal purpose.
4. Transfer. You may make a one-time permanent transfer of all of your license rights
to the AJA Software to another person or entity, provided that: (a) you transfer
all of the AJA Software, including all its component parts, original media, printed
materials and this Agreement; (b) you do not retain any copies of the AJA Software,
including any copies stored on a computer or other device; and (c) you transfer the
AJA Software subject to this Agreement, and the person or entity receiving the AJA
Software accepts the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
5. NFR (Not for Resale) Copies and Add-On Features: Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in this Agreement, (a) AJA Software that is labeled “Not for Resale” or
otherwise provided to you on a promotional or demonstration basis may be used only
for your demonstration, testing and evaluation purposes and may not be resold or
transferred; and (b) AJA may make available certain software components (“Add-On
Features”) under separate terms and conditions, in which case those separate terms
and conditions apply and the Add-On Features are not considered AJA Software
under this Agreement.
6. Termination. Your rights in the AJA Software are conditioned on complying with
this Agreement, and those rights (together with this Agreement) will terminate
automatically, without notice from AJA, if you fail to comply with any term(s) of this
Agreement. Upon termination of this Agreement, you must cease all use of the AJA
Software and destroy all copies, full or partial, of the AJA Software in your possession
or control.
7. Limited Warranty on AJA Software. If you comply with all terms of this Agreement
and use the AJA Software in accordance with its documentation, and you install any
patches or other updates made available to the AJA Software by AJA, AJA warrants
that the AJA Software will perform substantially in accordance with its documentation
for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of your original retail purchase. Your
exclusive remedy under this warranty will be, at AJA’s option, a refund of the purchase

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 44 www.aja.com

 price of the product containing the AJA Software or an update to or replacement of
the AJA Software (or applicable component of it). THIS LIMITED WARRANTY AND ANY
IMPLIED WARRANTIES ON THE AJA SOFTWARE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, OR OF FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO NINETY (90) DAYS FROM
THE DATE OF ORIGINAL RETAIL PURCHASE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW
LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG A WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY
NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS LIMITED WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS,
AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY BY JURISDICTION.
8. Disclaimer of Other Warranties on Aja Software. EXCEPT FOR THE LIMITED
WARRANTY ON AJA SOFTWARE SET FORTH ABOVE, AJA AND AJA'S LICENSORS
(COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS "AJA" FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTIONS 8 AND 9)
HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE AJA
SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY,
OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OF ACCURACY,
AND OF QUIET ENJOYMENT. FURTHER, AJA DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY
REGARDING NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. SUBJECT ONLY TO THE
LIMITED WARRANTY SET FORTH IN SECTION 7, YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE
AND AGREE THAT USE OF THE AJA SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. AJA DOES NOT
WARRANT AGAINST INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE AJA SOFTWARE,
THAT THE AJA SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THE OPERATION
OF THE AJA SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS
IN THE AJA SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION
OR ADVICE GIVEN BY AJA OR AN AJA AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE WILL CREATE
A WARRANTY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS ON APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER,
SO SOME OR ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS PARAGRAPH MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
9. Limitation of Liability. TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL
AJA BE LIABLE FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOST PROFITS WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF DATA, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER
COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE
OR INABILITY TO USE THE AJA SOFTWARE, HOWEVER CAUSED, REGARDLESS OF THE
THEORY OF LIABILITY (E.G., WHETHER UNDER CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) AND
EVEN IF AJA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. In no event
will AJA's total liability to you for all damages (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION
BREACH OF WARRANTY) exceed the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00). The foregoing
limitations will apply even if the any remedy set forth in this agreement fails of
its essential purpose. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF
LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES,
SO SOME OR ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS PARAGRAPH MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
10. Export Law Assurances. You may not use or otherwise export or reexport the AJA
Software except as authorized by United States law and the laws of the jurisdiction in
which the AJA Software was obtained. In particular, but without limitation, the AJA
Software may not be exported or re-exported (a) into (or to a national or resident of)
any U.S. embargoed countries, or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's
list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied
Persons List or Entity List or any similar legal designation. By using the AJA Software,
you represent and warrant that you are not located in, under control of, or a national
or resident of any such country or on any such list.
11. Government End Users. The AJA Software including its documentation
is a "Commercial Item", as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. § 2.101, consisting
of "Commercial Computer Software" and "Commercial Computer Software
Documentation", as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. § 12.212 or 48 C.F.R. § 227.7202 (or
their successors), as applicable. Consistent with these provisions, the AJA Software
is licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as a Commercial Item and (b) with
only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to this Agreement.
Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States.
12. Controlling Law and Severability. This Agreement will be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, as applied to
agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within California between
California residents. This Agreement will not be governed by the United Nations

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 45 www.aja.com

 Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the application of which
is expressly excluded. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any
provision, or portion thereof, to be unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement
will continue in full force and effect.
13. Complete Agreement; Governing Language. This Agreement constitutes the
entire agreement between the parties with respect to the use of the AJA Software
licensed hereunder and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous understandings
regarding such subject matter. No amendment to or modification of this Agreement
will be binding unless in writing and signed by AJA. Any translation of this Agreement
is intended for convenience and to meet local requirements and in the event of a
dispute between the English and any non-English versions, the English version of this
Agreement will govern.

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 46 www.aja.com

 Index
Symbols File Format P
.crbin 9, 21 .crbin 9, 21 Pencil Icon 30
.mcc 24 DNX HD 28 Playback Prefs 16
.scc 18 DNX HR 28 Playback Screen 7
.mcc 18 Playback Tab 23
MOV 28
A MXF 28
Playback Tab Screen 23
About AJA Control Room 20 Preferences 12
OP-1A 28 Capture 15
AJA Control Room (macOS) 35 .scc 18
AJA Control Room Menu 9 Closed Captions 18
File Menu 9 General 13
AJA Software License Agreement 44 File Menu Keystroke Commands 35
AJA Support 2 Reset 21
Frame-Accurate Operation 33 Scripting 19
Application Menus 8
Audio Channel Selection 29 Serial 19
Audio Meter 25 G Timecode 17
Audio Track Inclusion 33 General Prefs 13 Viewer 14
Preferences Screen 12

B H Preload Queues 17
H.264/5 Hardware Requirements 6 Project Directory 21
Batch Capture 30
H.264/AVC 38 Python Installation 39
Bin 21
H.265/HEVC 38 Python Scripting 20, 40
Bin Pane Options 25
Help Menu 12 Python Tutorial 39
Hold Onto Device 13
C Hover Cursor Help 8 R
Capture Clip Settings 27
RAM Buffer 24
Capture Controls 29
Capture In-Progress 27 I Rate Options 24
In Point 24 Remote Control 27
Capture Path 15
Input Based Capture 27 Reset Preferences 21
Capture Prefs 15
Insert Mode 33 RS-422 19, 32
Capture Screen 7
Capture Tab 26 Installation 6
Capture Timing 34 S
Clip Menu 12 J Screen Layout 7
Clip Name 29 Jog Control Slider 29 Scripting Prefs 19
Clip Naming 29 Serial Control 19
Serial Prefs 19
Closed Captioning 18 K Side Car File 18
Closed Captions Prefs 18 Keystroke Commands 35
Contacting AJA Support 2 Software License Agreement 44
Context Sensitive Menu 7 SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT 44
Control Room User Interface 7
L Software-Only Render 21
Load Clip Settings 15 Startup 21
Log Clip 11 Supported Files 5
D Supported Hardware 5
Device Buffer 25
Device Menu 12
M Supported Read/Write Codecs 37
Metadata 22, 27 Supported Systems 5
DNX HD 28
MOV 28
DNX HR 28
Dragging Markers 24
MXF 28 T
Dropped Frame Counter 15, 16 Tape Deck Timing Adjustment 33
N Targa Files 29
New pPoject 9 Timecode Prefs 17
E New Project 8 Timeline Marker 24
Edit to Tape 7
Timing Adjustment 33
Edit To Tape Settings Pane 32
Edit-To-Tape Tab 32 O Trademarks 2
Transport Menu 11
Edit-to-Tape Timing 34 OP-1A 28
Transport Menu Keystroke
EDL 9 Operating Modes 7
Commands 36
OUT Point 24
F
Factory Default 21

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 47 www.aja.com

 U
Using the Bin 21

V
Viewer Prefs 14
View Menu 10
View Menu Keystroke Commands
36

AJA Control Room Software v17.1 48 www.aja.com