AJA announced HELO Plus

Grass Valley, California (20 April 2022) - With the introduction of HELO Plus, AJA Video Systems has expanded its line of H.264 streaming and recording devices. Portable and durable, HELO Plus provides the same flexible streaming and recording benefits as the wildly popular HELO, with a vastly expanded feature set inspired by user feedback. HELO Plus includes dual streaming outputs and multi-input processing, as well as SRT support, advanced encoding/decoding, enhanced scheduling options, and device operation, layouts and graphic insertion, and more.

HELO Plus includes a variety of notable feature additions designed to help video professionals achieve a higher production value with greater cost efficiency and a smaller equipment footprint. Dual streaming outputs enable users to create assets with different parameter settings per output (bit rate, GOP length, frame rate, picture geometry, b-frame cadence, etc.) and feed each into one of two destinations, making it simple to create assets with different parameter settings from a single input. Users of HELO Plus can also select one of the device's two encoders to drive USB, SD card, or NAS recording in order to include the layout output.

A new "Layouts" feature provides users with an almost infinite number of production options, allowing them to combine an SDI input and an HDMI input into a single output stream and add graphic overlays to the composite. Each live video source may be utilized in its own picture-in-picture ("PiP") element and placed in its own PiP location, with a matte background and a graphic used as foreground elements for titles and other purposes. Consequently, users can seamlessly transition between layouts during a streaming session. Ten layouts are stored per preset, with a total of twenty presets available so that event-specific parameters can be recalled. A built-in graphics framestore enables the storage of more than 90 images in the device's internal memory, while a built-in scheduler simplifies the scheduling of independent recording/streaming events prior to an event. HELO Plus, a companion to the AJA Ki Pro Ultra 12G and Ki Pro GO recorders, can also participate in a Ki Pro "Group" as a follower device that begins and stops streaming and/or recording on the group leader's command. Alternately, the HELO Plus can act as the Leader and Ki Pros can be set to follow, or the HELO Plus can act as either the leader or the follower of a group of HELO Plus devices.

Highlights of HELO Plus features include:

• Simultaneous high-quality H.264 HD streaming and recording with the push of a button
• A web-based scheduler to set up recording and streaming events for specific dates and times without an external control system 
• Powerful multi-input video and graphics processing to create sophisticated production looks using “Layouts” without external switchers and the ability to add more processing power to existing cost-efficient production equipment
• Dual streaming outputs for simultaneous live streaming to multiple content delivery networks with improved resiliency and efficiency 
• 1x 3G-SDI input and 1x 3G-SDI output
• 1x HDMI input and 1x HDMI output
• 1x Stereo analog audio input and 1x Stereo analog audio output
• 1x 1GigE network connection for control and SMB recording/playback
• 1x dedicated MicroUSB port for use with AJA Mini-Config software
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 port (5Gb/s) for media recording and playback 
• 1x SD card slot for media recording and playback
• External power supply with locking connector