Pro video i/o card maker Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. on Thursday announced price drops on some of its DeckLink card models. What’s more, the company also unveiled an upgrade program to provide users of AJA Video’s Kona card a way to migrate to Blackmagic’s own DeckLink HD product.
The DeckLink, DeckLink Pro and DeckLink SP are now US$695, $995 and $895 respectively, down from $995, $1,295 and $1,095. Each PCI-based DeckLink card works with Macs and Windows PCs, and Blackmagic notes that the cards are Panther and Power Mac G5-compatible.
Aimed at professional video editors, the DeckLink card series provide uncompressed video capture and output. Each card sports different features depending on the user’s needs.
In related news, the company also announced an upgrade program to allow users of AJA Video Systems’ Kona SD or Kona HD video cards to upgrade to DeckLink HD for $995. The full price of the DeckLink HD card is $1,995.
DeckLink HD supports HDTV resolution JPEG capture and playback, and can switch to standard definition SDI video as well. It features full PCI-X 133/100MHz support, so it can work at optimal speeds on the Power Mac G5.
The upgrade requires users to turn in their Kona boards in exchange — the upgrade is available through Blackmagic’s offices in the US, Europe and Australia.