AJA XenaHS User manual

XenaHS
PCI Card Module
User Manual
July 12, 2005 P/N 101664-00

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Trademarks
AJA, Xena, Io, and Kona are trademarks of AJA Video, Inc. All other trademarks are the property
of their respective holders.
Notice
Copyright © 2005 AJA Video, 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 Inc.
FCC Emission Information
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by AJA Video can effect emission compliance
and could void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.
Contacting Support
To contact AJA Video for sales or support, use any of the following methods:
443 Crown Point Circle, Grass Valley, CA. 95945 USA
Telephone: [phone] or +1.530.274.2048
Fax: [phone]
Web: http://www.aja.com
Support Email: [email protected]
Sales Email: [email protected]
When calling for support, have all information on the product (serial number etc.) at hand prior to
calling.
Limited Warranty
AJA Video warrants that this product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of three years
from the date of purchase. If a product proves to be defective during this warranty period, AJA Video, at its option, will
either repair the defective product without charge for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the
defective product.
In order to obtain service under this warranty, you the Customer, must notify AJA Video of the defect before the expiration
of the warranty period and make suitable arrangements for the performance of service. The Customer shall be responsible
for packaging and shipping the defective product to a designated service center nominated by AJA Video, with shipping
charges prepaid. AJA Video shall pay for the return of the product to the Customer if the shipment is to a location within
the country in which the AJA Video service center is located. Customer shall be responsible for paying all shipping charges,
insurance, duties, taxes, and any other charges for products returned to any other locations.
This warranty shall not apply to any defect, failure or damage caused by improper use or improper or inadequate
maintenance and care. AJA Video shall not be obligated to furnish service under this warranty a) to repair damage resulting
from attempts by personnel other than AJA Video representatives to install, repair or service the product, b) to repair
damage resulting from improper use or connection to incompatible equipment, c) to repair any damage or malfunction
caused by the use of non-AJA Video parts or supplies, or d) to service a product that has been modified or integrated with
other products when the effect of such a modification or integration increases the time or difficulty of servicing the
product.
THIS WARRANTY IS GIVEN BY AJA VIDEO IN LIEU OF ANY OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED. AJA VIDEO AND ITS VENDORS DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. AJA VIDEO’S RESPONSIBILITY TO
REPAIR OR REPLACE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IS THE WHOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY PROVIDED TO
THE CUSTOMER FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER AJA VIDEO OR THE VENDOR HAS ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

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AJA XenaHS User Manual — Contents
Trademarks ......................................................................................................................................... ii
Notice .................................................................................................................................................. ii
FCC Emission Information................................................................................................................. ii
Contacting Support ............................................................................................................................. ii
Limited Warranty ................................................................................................................................ ii
Table Of Contents ............................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1
Features ............................................................................................................................................... 1
Windows Media Support ............................................................................................................. 1
Microsoft applications ................................................................................................................. 1
Other Applications ....................................................................................................................... 2
Requirements ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Software ....................................................................................................................................... 2
Application Requirements ........................................................................................................... 2
Hardware ...................................................................................................................................... 3
PCI Slot Information .................................................................................................................... 3
Disk arrays and PCI performance for SD .................................................................................... 3
Disk arrays and PCI performance for HD ................................................................................... 4
PCI Bus Latency .......................................................................................................................... 4
Block Diagram .................................................................................................................................... 5
I/O Connections .................................................................................................................................. 5
AES/EBU Audio Inputs And Outputs—15-pin D-connector .............................................. 5
Reference Input—BNC ........................................................................................................ 6
SDI Input and Output—2 BNCs (SD/HD) ........................................................................... 6
Using Xena With Application Software ............................................................................................. 6
Control Panel ............................................................................................................................... 6
Video Settings—Choosing Format and Reference Source .................................................. 6
Test Patterns ......................................................................................................................... 8
Capture ................................................................................................................................. 9
Windows Media Preferences—Set Dither .......................................................................... 10
Windows Media Preferences—Set A/V Synchronization .................................................. 10
Windows Media Preferences—Windows Media Player Preferences ................................ 11
Video Processing Settings .................................................................................................. 12
Using Xena With Adobe Photoshop .......................................................................................... 14
Import Plug-in .................................................................................................................... 14
Export Plug-in .................................................................................................................... 15
Using Xena With Adobe AfterEffects ....................................................................................... 15
Using Xena With PowerCG ....................................................................................................... 16
Using Xena With ThumbsPlus .................................................................................................. 17
Working with ThumbsPlus ................................................................................................. 17
YUV Files and ThumbsPlus ............................................................................................... 17
Clipboard ‘image’ interface ................................................................................................ 17
Clipboard ‘filename’ interface ........................................................................................... 18
Supporting YUV Files within ThumbsPlus ........................................................................ 19
Using the Photoshop Plug-in to Load YUV files ............................................................... 21
Using “copyname” as the Default Action .......................................................................... 22
Table Of Contents

Reconciling Standard File Types With The “Edit” Default Action ................................... 22
Windows Media Audio Configuration ...................................................................................... 23
Sound Playback controls .................................................................................................... 24
Sound Recording controls .................................................................................................. 25
Enabling/Disabling Xena as a System Audio Device ........................................................ 27
Windows Media Applications ................................................................................................... 27
Using Xena with Windows Media Encoder 9 .................................................................... 27
Setup ................................................................................................................................... 27
For Best Encoder Performance ........................................................................................... 28
Encoder Configuration ....................................................................................................... 28
Using Xena with Windows Media Player 9 ....................................................................... 29
Using Xena with GraphEdit ............................................................................................... 29
Using Xena with WMCap .................................................................................................. 30
Using Xena with Third-Party applications ......................................................................... 31
Installation ......................................................................................................................................... 31
Video and Audio Cabling .......................................................................................................... 31
Video Specifications ...........................................................................................................32
Standard Definition converters ........................................................................................... 32
High Definition converters ................................................................................................. 32
AES Audio ................................................................................................................................. 32
Analog converters ............................................................................................................... 33
Software Installation .................................................................................................................. 33
About the Driver ................................................................................................................. 33
Windows Plug-and-Play Driver Installation Procedure ..................................................... 33
Driver Upgrade Only .......................................................................................................... 37
Xena Control Panel Installation .......................................................................................... 40
Xena Tools Installation ....................................................................................................... 43
Install Photoshop Plug-ins .................................................................................................. 43
Install AfterEffects Plug-ins ............................................................................................... 43
Install PowerCG Support .................................................................................................... 43
WM9Capture Installation ................................................................................................... 43
DirectX9 Installation ..........................................................................................................43
Downloading and Installing Software From The AJA Website ................................................ 44
Troubleshooting Installation Problems ...................................................................................... 44
Driver Has Not Loaded ...................................................................................................... 44
PCI slot Compatibility ........................................................................................................ 44
Page Table Entries .............................................................................................................. 45
Troubleshooting Software Operation ........................................................................................ 45
Firmware Initialization failure ............................................................................................ 45
DMA Speed ........................................................................................................................ 45
Windows Media Problems and Solutions ........................................................................... 45
When to Use the Reference Source Input ........................................................................... 46
If Your Application Drops Frames ..................................................................................... 46
Specifications .................................................................................................................................... 47

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AJA XenaHS User Manual — Introduction
Introduction
XenaHS provides high-speed uncompressed digital audio/video input/output in a
simple to install Windows PCI card. Ideal for character generation, video stills, disk
recording, and ultra-high quality webcasting, XenaHS offers Windows users a
professional-quality solution for working with Windows media applications.
The XenaHS driver (“XenaHD” available from www.aja.com/xena.htm) supplies a
generic Windows Media interface for applications. XenaHS also supports PowerCG,
ThumbsPlus, and Adobe Photoshop and After Effects.
XenaHS offers one channel of either standard definition or high definition Serial
Digital video (input and output).
Features
• Supports SMPTE 292M (SDI) digital video (SD).
• Supports SMPTE 259M (SDI) digital video (HD).
• One video input, one video output, and AES audio I/O.
• Supports up to 6 channels of 24 Bit/48Khz AES Audio or Embedded Audio.
The AES inputs support asynchronous audio at 32-96Khz.
• XenaHS drivers are DirectShow-compatible WDM Kernel Streaming drivers
that work with Windows Media and most DirectShow applications.
Windows Media
Support
Most Windows media applications work properly with XenaHS as a capture device.
However, since few applications support using Xena (or any other device) as an
output device, the Xena Control Panel allows you to reconfigure the Windows Media
Player to output video to the Xena card.
Six channels of audio are available from Xena, accessed as three stereo pairs:
• Channels one and two are represented as “Xena Audio Device (1).
• Channels three and four are represented as “Xena Audio Device (2).”
• Channels five and six are represented as “Xena Audio Device (3).”
XenaHS supports DirectShow-compliant (Windows Media) applications. Microsoft’s
DirectX architecture uses DirectShow as the video component. Within this
architecture, Xena’s board driver is considered a “WDM Streaming” driver. Under
control of Windows Media applications, a WDM Streaming driver makes efficient
use of system resources, as user-mode applications can command the driver.
Other system components can process the video and audio streams entirely in kernel
mode without the extra overhead of switching back and forth into user mode for
processing.
Microsoft
applications
Microsoft produces several Windows Media applications that support the XenaHS
board, including:
• Windows Media Encoder
• WmCap
• Sound Recorder
• Windows Media Player

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Windows Media Encoder is a great tool for producing streaming webcasts. When
starting with pristine uncompressed video from the XenaHS board, Encoder can
produce high quality images low-bandwidth networks. Encoder can also capture
uncompressed video and audio to a .wmv file (for use on a high-speed disk system).
WmCap and Sound Recorder are simple tools useful for verifying XenaHS system set-up.
Some of the more complex applications have many possible settings that can interfere
with proper XenaHS usage. WmCap and Sound Recorder can also be useful in their own
right; WmCap can save uncompressed video to an .avi file for viewing with Windows
Media Player, or save compressed video for use with an encoding application such as
Cleaner or Windows Media Encoder.
Windows Media Player can be configured to play video files through the XenaHS card’s
SDI output. There is a configuration setting in the Xena Control Panel for Windows
Media Player. When it’s chosen, the Windows registry is modified so that all Windows
Media Player output goes to XenaHS instead of to the Media Player’s own video
window.
Note:
This configuration may interfere with preview capability in some video
capture programs.
Other Applications
XenaHS boards also work great with many applications for character generation,
producing stills, and general video work. Applications known to work, include Adobe
Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, PowerCG, and ThumbsPlus.
Requirements
Software
• Windows XP or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or better. (Windows XP is
highly recommended for Windows Media applications.)
• DirectX 9 or 8.1 minimum. (DirectX 8.1 is included with Windows XP.) The
latest DirectX Runtime is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx
The DirectX 9.0c setup program can also be installed from the XenaHS CD.
Note:
DirectX 8.1 may work for some applications. However, DirectX 9 is highly
recommended for Windows Media applications.
• Administrator privileges are required for driver installation.
For Windows Media applications, the following requirements apply:
• Windows XP
• DirectX 9
• Windows Media Player 9 is required for the Windows Media Player application
• Windows Media Encoder 9 is required for Windows Media Encoder application
Application
Requirements
• Photoshop 5.0 or above (for use with the supplied Photoshop plug-ins)
• Windows Media applications each have their own requirements for working with
XenaHS. See the “Using XenaHS With Application Software” topic later in this
manual for more information

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AJA XenaHS User Manual — Requirements
Hardware
For detailed hardware requirements, see the Installation topic later in this manual.
• Minimum 400 Mhz Processor (Pentium III or better) and 128 Mbyte RAM
• 1GHz or faster Processor for real-time encoding with XenaHS using the Windows
Media Encoder application.
• For recording uncompressed video, a high performance disk system will be required. Use
the XenaHD disk system performance utility at “ Start > Programs > AJA > Benchmarks >
Test Disk Speed ” to measure your systems’s disk capabilities.
• Use the XenaHD PCI performance utility at “ Start > Programs > AJA > Benchmarks >
Test PCI performance with XenaHD ” to measure Xena’s DMA data transfer performance
on your PCI bus. This will determine if your system’s performance is acceptable for use
with XenaHS. Use the utility program to test the DMA transfer speed between the
XenaHS card and the host PC’s memory. The benchmark utility program comes in SD
and HD versions, and can be found under the Benchmarks folder on the XenaHS
installation CD—use the HD version for XenaHS. PCI transfer speed is generally
dependent on the speed of the computer’s Frontside Bus. For best transfer speeds, use a
PC with the fastest Frontside Bus available.
Note:
PCI slots that support “Zero Channel Raid” may prove problematic with a XenaHS
installed. These tend to be green-colored slots on SuperMicro motherboards.
PCI Slot
Information
The following information is not generally needed for XenaHS Users, but is provided for
reference.
Bus Mastering must be enabled in the BIOS for the PCI slot where XenaHS is installed.
The PCI implementation for any particular PC determines how much memory is addressable
by the CPU for each PCI slot. Some (rare) computers may have insufficient PCI addressing
capabilities. If the board is installed in a PCI slot with insufficient addressing capabilities, the
computer may not boot with the XenaHS driver installed. You may need to contact the
computer manufacturer to determine these limits. The amount of memory space required is
as follows: 256M + 8K
A 64-bit PCI slot is required for real-time video functions.
The XenaHS is designed for 3.3 volt signaling PCI slots, and work in 32-bit or 64-bit PCI
slots. However, this is dependent on the motherboard having both 5.0 Volt and 3.3 Volt
power to the slot. Even though the PCI Specification requires that both voltages are supplied,
some motherboard manufacturers may neglect to provide 5.0 v power to a 3.3 v PCI slot. The
cards will not work in these slots.
The XenaHS card also works in a 5.0 v PCI slot of a modern computer bearing both 5.0 v
and 3.3 v slots. Again, however, this is dependent on the motherboard supplying both 5.0 v
and 3.3 v power to the slot. The cards will not work in an older system bearing only 5.0-volt
slots. (If the motherboard has both ISA and PCI slots, it’s probably too old!)
Disk arrays and
PCI performance
for SD
When using XenaHS with standard-definition video, we recommend a dual-channel ultra320
SCSI controller such as the ATTO UL4D, or the Adaptec 39320. A 2-Gigabit Fibre Channel
host bus adapter also works well. The recommended configuration is four (4) 10K disk drives,
(such as the Seagate Cheetah Ultra320 10K-6 or the Maxtor Ultra320 10K-3). The minimum
requirement is an ultra160 controller (such as the ATTO UL3D or Adaptec 39160) with
Ultra-320 10K disks.
Disk throughput requirements vary according to the video format used.

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The data rate for 8-bit UYVY and YUY2 video is 21 MB/second per channel. At this rate,
the disk system must be able to sustain 21 MB/second, with at least 42 MB/second system
PCI performance (for each channel), as the data must go from the AJA Xena card to main
memory, and then from main memory to the disk.
The data rate for RGB video is 42 MB/second per channel. At this rate, the disk system
must be able to sustain 42 MB/second, with at least 84 MB/second system PCI
performance for each channel.
Disk arrays and
PCI performance
for HD
When using XenaHS with high-definition video, we recommend a dual-channel ultra320
SCSI controller such as the ATTO UL4D, or the Adaptec 39320. A 2-Gigabit Fibre
Channel host bus adapter also works well. The recommended configuration is eight (8)
10K disk drives, (such as the Seagate Cheetah Ultra320 10K-6 or the Maxtor Ultra320
10K-3) with four disks connected to each SCSI channel. The minimum requirement is an
ultra160 controller (such as the ATTO UL3D or Adaptec 39160) with Ultra-320 10K
disks. Disk throughput requirements vary according to the video format used.
The data rate for YUV video is 124 MegaBytes/second for UYVY and YUY2 1080i, 30 fps.
This rate requires a disk system that can sustain 124 MB/second, with at least 248 MB/
second system PCI performance (for each channel), as the data must go from Xena to main
memory, and then from main memory to the disk.
The data rate is 100 MB/second for 8-bit 1080i at 24 Hz. At this rate, the disk system only
needs to sustain 100 MB/second, with at least 200 MB/second across the PCI bus.
For RGB, 30 fps, the data rate is 249 MB/second. This rate requires a disk system that can
sustain 249 MB/second, with at least 498 MB/second system PCI performance, per
channel.
Data rates are slightly less for 720p format:
720p/60fps YUV is 111 MB/second disk transfer rate, with 222 MB/second PCI.
720p/60fps RGB is 222 MB/second disk transfer rate, with 444 MB/second PCI.
If the test PCI performance as measured with the XenaHD benchmark utility ( Start->AJA-
>Benchmarks->Test Disk Speed ) indicates inadequate speed, consider using a PC with more
efficient PCI architecture (such as PCIX) or with a faster Frontside Bus.
PCI Bus Latency
PC motherboards with Hypertransport (such as the AMD Opteron systems) may require
changing the PCI latency timer to get acceptable PCI performance. For the fastest DMA
speeds, use the maximum “PCI Latency” in your PC’s BIOS setup.

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AJA XenaHS User Manual — Block Diagram
Block Diagram
Xena, Block Diagram
I/O Connections
XenaHS I/O Connection
A group of BNCs on the card edge plate provide I/O for the module. The illustration above
shows the connectors available when the card is installed in a PC.
AES/EBU Audio Inputs And Outputs — 15-pin D-connector
One female 15-pin D connector is provided for six channels of AES/EBU inputs and outputs.
The connector attaches to a six-XLR breakout cable supplied with the Xena card module.
Xena AES/EBU audio is 24 Bit/48Khz. All AES inputs support asynchronous audio at 32-
96Khz.
VIDEO PROCESSING
MIXER/
KEYER/
SPLIT or
PASSTHRU
PCI Bus
Control Interface
Memory
Output
Mix/Split
Control
Genlock
Reference
Input
Format
Convert
Format
Convert
Channel 2
Video In Video Out
Key In
NOTES:
Input and output are Serial Digital
Reference Input - Can be:
HD Composite Sync- Bi or Trilevel
Standard Def - Color Black or
Composite Sync.
Memory - The memory can accept
the following formats:
10 Bit YCbCr.
8BitYCbCr.
8BitRGBA.
Format Convert - General Block for Color
Space Conversion, Key Extraction,
and Level Shifting
VideoProcessing-Alldonewith10bit
YCbCr and 10 Bit Key.
Channel 1
Channel 1
Channel 2
Input
Constant
Format
Convert
AES Audio Input/Output
Output
Reference Input
Input

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Reference Input — BNC
This BNC connector allows you to synchronize outputs to your house reference video
signal (or black burst). If you have a sync generator or central piece of video equipment to
use for synchronizing other video equipment in your studio, then connect its composite
output here. When Xena outputs video it uses this reference signal to lock to.
SDI Input and Output — 2 BNCs (SD/HD)
These BNC connectors are for connecting serial digital video input and output devices
(respectively). SD signals are 10-bit or 8-bit SMPTE-259. HD signals are 10-bit or 8-bit
SMPTE-292.
Using Xena With Application Software
The Xena card is configured with a supplied control panel that is installed as part of the
normal software installation. Once configured, the Xena board can be used with a variety of
Windows Media applications and 3rd-party software such as Adobe Photoshop, After
Effects, and others. In some cases supplied plug-ins provide the 3rd-party software with
special control features for using Xena capabilities.
Control Panel
The Xena Control Panel offers a way to select specific board settings, generally not
selectable from standard applications. Through the Control Panel, you can choose the
Video Format, select the Video Reference source, output test patterns, and control Dither
for 8-bit inputs.
For Windows Media applications, you can alter the Audio/Video synchronization values in
the Control Panel Preferences, and modify the default behavior of the Windows Media
Player.
If you have more than one Xena board installed, you can run one Control Panel for each
board installed.
Video Settings — Choosing Format and Reference Source
For video Capture applications, set the Reference Source to “Input 1.” For Playback-only
applications, instead set the Reference Source to “Free Run.”
To GenLock your system to the “Reference In” signal, set Reference Source to “External.”
For Windows Media applications, you don’t have to select “Input 1” as the reference source
for Capturing. When the board is put into Capture mode, the system automatically uses
“Input 1” as the capture source. When not in Capture mode, the system uses the Reference
selected in the Control Panel. For non-Windows Media applications, such as Photoshop,
you do have to select sources manually.

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AJA XenaHS User Manual — Using Xena With Application Software
Xena Control Panel Settings Dialog
Video Format settings you can choose, include:
HD
• 1080i 50.00 Hz.
• 1080i 59.94 Hz.
• 1080i 60.00 Hz.
• 720p 59.94 Hz.
• 720p 60.00 Hz.
• 1080p sf 23.98 Hz.
• 1080p sf 24.00 Hz.
SD
• 525 59.94 Hz.
• 625 50.00 Hz.
Reference Source settings you can choose, include:
• Reference Input : Use Reference Input for Reference Source
• Input 1 : Use Input 1 for Reference Source
• Free Run: Free Run Output

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The Video Settings window reports on the status of the XenaHS board inputs (Reference
and Input).
Note that HD signals cannot be detected in SD mode, and that SD signals cannot be
detected in HD mode.
Test Patterns
This tab in the Control Panel allows you to output a known video signal from the XenaHS
output for testing purposes. When exporting, you can choose which components you wish
to export (Y/Cb/Cr). Checking all the boxes downloads all the components of the chosen
test pattern. Test patterns available include:
• 100% Color Bars
• 75% Color Bars
• Ramp
• Multiburst
• Linesweep
• Pathological
• Flat Field
• Multipattern
• Black
Xena Control Panel, Test Pattern Settings

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AJA XenaHS User Manual — Using Xena With Application Software
Capture
Xena Control Panel, Capture Window

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A capture window provides you with the ability to directly grab frames or fields from the
video input channel and then save them locally on the PC at a selected size (Capture Size
25, 50, 75 or 100%), file type (Capture To BMP, JPEG, YUV, or TIFF), and location
(destination folder and filename on your hard drive or network). Alternatively, you can also
save the frame/field to the Windows clipboard for pasting into a graphics or video
application. For compressed JPEG files, you can also specify a JPEG Quality level.
Notes:
1. While this dialog is active, Xena remains in capture mode. In capture mode, the
board routes the input to the output. The board automatically reverts to display mode
when you exit the dialog.
2. The dialog does not warn you if it is going to overwrite a file.
To perform a capture, simply make your capture size and quality settings and then click on
the Capture button.
Auto Increment: When checked, this causes Xena to append a number to the
filename you enter, and then it increments that number after each capture. In
this manner, you can keep clicking the capture button to capture a series of
separate files without having to specify a filename each time.
Convert Aspect: Aspect Convert affects only SD captures. If the button is checked
while in 525 mode, it stretches a 648x486 image to 720x486. In 625 mode it
compresses a 768x576 image to 720x486. Such conversion may be necessary
because in television pixels are rectangular rather than square, and yet computer
monitors only display square pixels. So to ensure that circles display as circles, for
example, you may need to convert the pixel aspect ratio by selecting this
checkbox.
Windows Media Preferences—Set Dither
You can select dithering for 8-bit video inputs via a checkbox on the Windows Media
Preferences page.
Windows Media Preferences—Set A/V Synchronization
Each Windows Media application may have differing requirements for Audio/Video
synchronization, due to inherent delays in the application or in the different codecs used for
processing media. These same delays may also vary slightly from one PC to another due to
hardware differences. Using the Xena Control Panel “Windows Media Preferences” tab, you
can change the initial delay values for the Audio and Video streams. Adjust the supplied
sliders if your Audio and Video are not sufficiently in sync.
Video Playback Delay—Adjust this slider to change the Video Delay relative to the
Audio (during playback). A value of 0 means that neither Audio or Video are
delayed (other than inherent delay). A negative value means that Video is not
delayed, but Audio is delayed, by the number of milliseconds specified. A positive
number means that Video is delayed one frame (33.3 mS at 59.94 Hz), and
Audio is also delayed, using this algorithm:
“audio delay” = ( (integer # of frame periods + 1) x “frame period” ) - “specified video playback
delay”
The default 48 milliSecond Video Playback Delay, for instance, is implemented
(at 59.94 Hz) as 2 frames of Video Delay and 18 milliSeconds of Audio Delay.

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AJA XenaHS User Manual — Using Xena With Application Software
Xena Control Panel, Windows Media Preferences
Audio Record Delay—change this slider as necessary for synchronization of audio
during recording. (There is no video delay available for Record.) A factory default
value of 10 milliSeconds provides synchronized audio and video when using
Windows Media Player to playback a “.wmv” file to the computer monitor.
Strict Timing (default Off)—The Strict Timing setting enables software which
enforces strict frame output timing for Windows Media video rendering. (In
technical terms, this enforces a strict correlation between Presentation Time
Stamps and the Graph Clock.). This setting has no effect on video capture.
Under adverse conditions (slow disk, high CPU Usage, clock inaccuracies, etc.), the
computer may not be able to send video frames to Xena fast enough for proper
playback. (This is especially true when playing .AVI files.) In such a case, setting
the “Strict Timing” control to “Off” will allow rendering of the video at low speed.
(With Strict Timing set to “On” for this case, the video playback may "freeze" after
playing for a short duration.)
When playing video for long periods of time, the clock used by Windows Media is
not accurate enough to allow proper playback at true broadcast video rates, unless
software compensation is used. With Strict Timing enabled, the Xena software
corrects for clock drift and jitter caused by the inaccuracy of the DirectShow clock
and time-stamps. The drift-correction and anti-jitter algorithms allow temporally-
accurate rendering of long video streams. When using the Strict Timing setting,
make sure that your PC is powerful enough to avoid delayed delivery of video
frames due to lack of system resources. (This could cause the playback to “freeze”,
waiting endlessly for a frame with a valid time-stamp!)
In Xena software versions prior to 5.2, the Strict Timing setting was in effect
“On”. For 5.2, we have added the option to turn it “Off”. In fact, In order to
allow playback under adverse conditions, we have opted to make “Off” the default
condition. If you need accurate frame timing of your playback video, you should
turn Strict Timing “On”.

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Windows Media Preferences—Windows Media Player Preferences
The Windows Media Player Preference settings alter the system registry and take effect only
after a reboot.
Note: Windows Media Player may operate with reduced functionality until the reboot is
executed. Also, administrator privileges are required to be able to set the Windows
Media Player Preferences.
Settings you can select are as follows:
Output to Xena Board—When selected, the Windows Media Player will not output
video to its own window on the computer monitor, but will instead play video to
the Xena SDI output.
Output to Windows Media Player Window—Selecting this restores the Windows
Media Player output to normal.
Note: other applications may be affected by this configuration, if they use Windows
Media Player components for Preview, etc.
Caution: If you uninstall the Xena board or move it to another slot, you should first
restore this preference to “Output to Windows Media Player Window“. This will prevent the
use of invalid registry files. If you have more than one Xena board installed in a machine,
only one of them can be configured for output from Windows Media Player. If you try to
configure both for Windows Media Player output, you may get invalid registry files.
Technical Note: The mechanism used to perform Windows Media Player re-
configuration involves making changes to the registry, and adding files to your
WINDOWS/SYSTEM32 directory. Original registry settings are saved to files in the
directory where you installed the Xena Control Panel (C:\Program
Files\AJA\XenaSDControlPanel by default). There are six registry files saved; they are:
Registry_DefaultVideoRenderer; Registry_FilterClassMgr_VMR1;
Registry_FilterClassMgr_VMR2; Registry_PlayerDMOs;
Registry_VideoMixingRenderer; and Registry_VideoRenderer. When Media Player
configuration is restored to normal, these saved registry settings are restored. Note that
these settings are specific to your machine, and even to the particular PCI slot where
the Xena board is installed.
Video Processing Settings
The Video Processing tab in the Windows Media Settings Control Panel allows you to
actively use the built-in video processing capabilities of the Xena card. On this tabbed page
you can select video sources, and even mix or wipe between them. Although XenaHS only
has one input and output channel, but you can mix/wipe between input video and
framestore video/key.
When the Xena Control Panel Application starts up, video processing is disabled. No
mixing occurs and Channel 1 Video routes to the Output. To enable the video processing,
click the “Enable” checkbox.

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Xena Control Panel Windows Media Settings, Video Processing Settings
Enable—when checked, this turns video processing on. If unchecked, video is passed
without any mix/split/key etc.
Vid Proc Mode—selecting one of these buttons chooses a function (Mix video, split
video, or key) to be performed on the sources selected in the pulldowns to the right
of the buttons.
Mix—When video processing is enabled and Mix is chosen, the Mix Coefficient
slider is active. This slider mixes from Foreground Video to Background Video.
Split—When video processing is enabled and Split is chosen, both sliders are
enabled and they perform either wipe or slit operations. See Split Mode discussed
later.
Key—When video processing is enabled and Key is chosen, the Foreground key will
cut a hole in the Background Video and insert the Foreground Video.
Split Mode—selects a transition to be applied, wipe or split, that can be adjusted using
the slider controls at the right.
H Wipe—In this mode, the Wipe Position and Wipe Softness sliders are active. The
Wipe Position slider, wipes from Channel 1 Video (leftmost position) to Channel 2
Video (rightmost position). The Wipe Softness slider goes from no softness to
softness covering a quarter of the raster.
V Wipe—In this mode, the Wipe Position and Wipe Softness sliders are active. The
Wipe Position slider, wipes from Channel 1 Video (leftmost position) to Channel 2
Video (rightmost position). The Wipe Softness slider goes from no softness to
softness covering a quarter of the raster.

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H Slit—In this mode, the Slit Start and Slit Width Sliders are active. The Slit
Start slider determines where the first transition between Foreground Video (left)
and the Background Video (right) occurs. The Slit Width determines how wide
the Background Video is shown before it transitions back to the Foreground
Video.
V Slit —In this mode, the Slit Start and Slit Width Sliders are active. The Slit
Start slider determines where the first transition between Foreground Video (top)
and the Background Video (bottom) occurs. The Slit Width determines how
wide the Background Video becomes before it transitions back to the Foreground
Video.
Export—click on the Select File button to choose a graphics file to export to each
channel’s current output frame. A file selection dialog will be displayed allowing
you to select any file the PC has access to locally or on an attached network.
Supported file types you can choose are bitmap, JPEG, TIFF, and Targa.). You
can use the “Select File” mechanism, or drag-and-drop a file onto the Control
Panel.
Using Xena With
Adobe Photoshop
Xena comes with several Adobe Photoshop plug-ins that allow you to import and export
still files from the card. There are several subdirectories in the Adobe Photoshop Plug-ins
folder; the Xena plug-ins will work if placed anywhere under the “Plug-Ins” directory. Once
placed in the plug-ins folder, you will be able to use the plug-ins in Adobe Photoshop from
the Photoshop File menu, under the Import and Export menu items.
Note: The plug-ins also work with Adobe PhotoDeluxe.
Import Plug-in
The Import plug-in is responsible for importing stills from the Xena board into Photoshop.
The import function from photoshop is activated via the File->Import->Xena Import menu
selection. While the import dialog is displayed the video signal going into the Xena board
will be looped back out the output BNC. The Plug-in will import a still each time the
“Import” button is pressed. The “Done” button ends the dialog. The import dialog is shown
below.
Windows NT Xena Import Dialog
The photoshop import plug-in has a control called “Acquisition Mode.” This control selects
whether the entire Frame is imported or if Field 1 is imported. If there is motion video on
the input then Field should be chosen.
Note: If you want to control which field is imported, import the entire frame and choose
the Photoshop deinterlace function.

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Export Plug-in
Use the Export plug-in to export a Photoshop image to the Xena board for serial digital
output. You can find the Xena export function from Photoshop’s File->Export->XenaExport
menu selection. The Xena export plug-in currently only exports RGB Mode 8 bit images. The
export dialog is shown below.
Windows NT Xena Export Dialog
The only control available in the dialog is Vertical Filtering. When the Vertical Filtering box is
checked, the photoshop image is filtered in the vertical direction before exporting to the Xena
card. Check the box when you want to decrease flicker caused by computer graphics non-
interlace conversion to interlaced video. When checked, Xena performs vertical filtering using
a three line kernel, whereby half of the current line’s pixel values are combined with a quarter
of each of the previous and next line’s pixel values. The boundary conditions (first and last
line) use black for the boundary values.
Usage Notes:
1. The exported image will be output based on the Format set in the Xena Control Panel.
For example, if the image or selected part of the image is not full size, the image will
then be centered on the output. If the image or selected part of the image to be
exported is larger than full size then only the upper-left most part of the image will be
exported. Photoshop can be used to resize the image accordingly.
2. If there is a selection via the Marquee tool the plug-in will export only the selected part
of the image. If a non-rectangular selection is made however, the entire bounding
rectangle is exported.
3. It is useful to use the Actions palette to avoid having the dialog come up for each
export. It can also be useful to assign the action to a function key if the export function
is used often
Using Xena With
Adobe AfterEffects
Xena comes with an Adobe AfterEffects plug-in that allows you to route the AfterEffects
composition window to the Xena board’s selected output channel. No AfterEffects menus or
windows are changed or altered in any way. As long as the supplied AJA plug-in is put in the
AfterEffects plug-in folder, the composition window will be available at the Xena output. The
plug-in can be found in the “AfterEffects” folder on the Xena Installation CD (as discussed in
the Installation topic in the manual you are reading).
For proper operation, the AfterEffects composition window must be sized to match the
resolution as set on the Xena board for output. The following list gives the settings:
• If 525, set to 720 x 486
• If 625, set to 720 x 576
• If 720p, set to 1280 x 720
• If 1080, set to 1920 x 1080

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Using Xena With
PowerCG
The Xena boards support PowerCG, a powerful Character Generator for video titling,
animation, image viewing and editing. PowerCG is available in several versions from
Cayman Graphics.
Use of PowerCG with Xena is completely transparent. No user interface changes (menus
etc.) are altered by Xena software. By adding the AJA “PCG_HWFA.DLL” file located in
the PowerCG directory on the Xena Installation CD to the PowerCG folder, the Xena
board outputs PowerCG video and title key.
• Cayman Graphics Sales [phone], email: [email protected]
• Cayman Graphics Support [phone], email: Support
[email protected]
Web: http://www.CaymanGraphics.com/In PowerCG—
Go to Settings > User Preferences
4. Set User Preferences > Change Video Format
NTSC: Rectangular Pixels 720 by 486
or PAL: Rectangular Pixels 720 by 576
or HDTV: 1920 by 1080
or HDTV: 1280 by 720
In Xena Control Panel—set the Control Panel Video Format to a compatible value.
To key over still images, disable video processing via the Xena control panel and then select
“No Graphic on Background Image” tab in PowerCG.
In PowerCG, to key over input video:
1. In PowerCG, Select File > New.
2. In the Xena Control Panel, go to “Video Processing” tab and set it as follows:
Xena Control Panel, Video Processing Settings
If you want embedded audio to pass through and output along with the
video then make these settings in the “Wave In Mixer Dialog” (see page
26):
Mixer Dialog, Wave In