Alternatives to Virtualdub using FFV1 and Aja Kona LHE+?
 

I'm interested in the AJA Kona LHI/LHE+ cards for the SDI and analog workflows. The downside is I don't think I can use Virtualdub or Virtualdub2 due to the differences in the capture protocols they support.

From what I gather the only viable solution if I want to use something like an FFV1 Codec for it's (lossless) size efficiency is ffmpeg.

Is there a GUI solution for capturing from these cards in FFV1 with ffmpeg? I wasn't able to find one.

Someone posted on here within the past few years the process for modding VirtualDub to detect and use certain Aja capture cards. Can't remember what exactly it was, might have been Windows Registry edits and/or similar means. Seemed like it was a properly working solution at the time. Can't personally attest to any of that though.

At what point are you talking about? Capture, edit, archive, all? Keep in mind you can cycle between lossless formats if/when needed.

Sounds like what you're getting at is ultimately you want your archive format to be FFV1 but you don't necessarily need your capture to be -- is that correct? You can use the current version of Control Room software to do a lossless capture into uncompressed, ProRes, etc, whatever you want. Run it through Hybrid for your QTGMC and crop/resize, and output to FFV1 at that stage if you want. Then go to NLE still lossless and export out lossless for master edits. Encode any delivery files as H264/5 MP4 or whatever you want.

FYI, legitimate value of any used LHx card is no more than $50 USD, and really for that price you should be getting a working card plus cables, in case you're planning to go look at a certain auction site. Sold Listings > Sort by Lowest Price.

Thanks for the info, I'll see if I can hunt down one of those posts on getting it to work with Virtualdub.

I'm more focused on the capturing and archiving of the original interlaced capture in FFV1.

I would rather not have to double up and capture uncompressed then convert to FFV1 after the fact, as I just don't like the workflow, and it takes up more drive space I might need. Not to mention electricity and time.

I'm more interested in using ffmpeg as a capture solution to encode to FFV1 on the fly. It seems like the right tool for the job. I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a GUI?

Worse come to worse it could be a good learning project to get better at basic coding, as it seems it would take pretty few lines of code to cobble together a GUI with the help of some GUI tools. But I am no coder.

I would rather see what's already out there, if there is anything. I know LS has said FFV1 is not a cooperative codec to work with, but plenty of time has passed and it's more commonly supported these days and it's status as an archival format has been upgraded by certain organizations since those comments I read from 2021.

I can't say I've heard of anyone capturing directly to FFV1. Plenty of people do use it for their archive format though. It'd be fairly easy to just run a script to batch convert an entire folder of captures to FFV1 *after* capturing though.

While not super popular here, I still like ProRes as a capture medium because it doesn't require a computer at (you can use something like an AJA KiPro or Blackmagic standalone devices with removable HDD/SSDs) all and is visually lossless once you get up into 422/422HQ. Some Blackmagic devices can also capture in uncompressed 8 or 10 bit directly to SSD. You do need to feed them a stable signal from something like a TBC that has SDI output, or they won't work.

I'm unsure how tolerant to timebase errors feeding an analog signal directly to a Kona LHi/e is.

The ProRes422/HQ formats are also at least 10 bit meaning that in low contrast situations, you're dealing with millions of colors instead of 8 bit's thousands of colors. This means if you've got low dynamic range in a scene in something like a sky or mostly dark scene, the colors don't all get "rounded" to the same 8 bit values creating "banding" that wouldn't be there if the full chain was 10 or more bit. 10 bit workflows are a little trickier since you'd also need to use a 10 bit TBCs and use tools that can utilize 10 bit sources (without first converting to 8 bit) to see the benefit and the "recommended" ones are all 8 bit. I would agree that that 10 bit isn't going to be a hugely visible difference in most scenes, but there can be instances where it is obviously better. Using ProRes, you end up with a file that is roughly the same size (or slightly smaller) as a lossless 8 bit capture, but in 10+ bit instead.

Further, most of the ProRes capture devices can capture illegal values, meaning that if luma clips to a certain degree, it can still be adjusted into the legal range in post, which I do not believe is possible in most situations with traditional capture methods. This alone can save you from needing to recapture.

I asked AI to find that post for me and it pulled it right up. The info was provided by forum member Tiwiliger ( https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/members/tiwiliger.html )
They provided a DIY for getting the newer LHx cards working with VD, but I also asked AI to clean it up and make a bit more detailed step-by-step guide.

Note: The .BAT files are around 1kb, so if you open up any AI, e.g. Gemini, you can just upload all the .BAT files and prompt it to replace "x path" with "y path" and have it done in about 2 secs instead of manually going through each file.

Here are the steps, and I'll attach the PDF with Tiwiliger's Win10 images at the bottom. A step to double-click and run the modified .BAT files to update the Windows Registry has been added to the guide, but other than that it just expands on the original DIY (link at the bottom).

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This guide outlines a method to enable Aja Kona LHi and Lhe Plus capture cards for use with VirtualDub, bypassing the need for Aja's native Control Room software. This process leverages the DirectShow filters for Windows provided by Aja, requiring a slight modification to their installation. This allows users to capture directly to preferred codecs like Huffyuv or Lagarith within VirtualDub, potentially streamlining their video capture workflow.
Important Note: This procedure involves modifying system files and assumes a basic understanding of file paths and Windows operations. Proceed with caution.

Prerequisites:

• Aja Kona LHi or Lhe Plus capture card installed in your system.
• A Windows operating system (tested on Windows 10).
• VirtualDub capture software installed.
• Administrative privileges on your computer.
• A text editor (like Notepad) for modifying batch files.

Step-by-Step Procedure:

1. Download the Aja DirectShow Filters:

• Locate the Filters: Navigate to the official Aja Support website. As of July 15, 2025, the DirectShow Filters can be found at: https://www.aja.com/assets/support/f...age_15_5_2.zip
• Download: Download the AJA_DirectShowPackage_15_5_2.zip archive (or the latest available version).
• Extract: Extract the contents of the downloaded ZIP archive to a easily accessible location on your Hard Disk Drive (HDD). For example, you might extract it to C:\AJA_DirectShowPackage_15_5_2. Remember this exact file path, as you will need it later. The name of the extracted folder is typically AJA_DirectShowPackage_15_5_2, but always verify the exact name.

2. Install the NTV2 Driver:

• Navigate to the folder where you extracted the DirectShow filters.
• Locate and run the ntv2driver-15.5.2.msi file (the version number may vary based on the downloaded package). This will install the necessary NTV2 drivers for your Aja card.

3. Modify the Registration Batch Files:
This is the most critical step, where you will correct the file paths that the DirectShow filter registration scripts use.

• Locate Registration Files: Inside your extracted DirectShow package folder, navigate to the RegistrationFiles subfolder. You will see several .bat (batch) executable files.
• Edit Register32.bat:
  • Right-click on Register32.bat and select "Edit" (or "Open with Notepad" if "Edit" is not an option).
  • You will see commands similar to: regsvr32 "..\Filters\SingleChannel\AJACapture32.dll"
  • Understand the Modification: The .. (dot-dot) indicates going up one directory level. This path needs to be changed to the absolute path where you extracted the DirectShow package.
  • Change the Path: Replace ..\Filters\SingleChannel\ with the full path to your extracted Filters\SingleChannel\ folder.
    • Example: If your extracted folder is C:\AJA_DirectShowPackage_15_5_2, then ..\Filters\SingleChannel\AJACapture32.dll becomes C:\AJA_DirectShowPackage_15_5_2\Filters\SingleChan nel\AJACapture32.dll.
    • Important: Ensure you apply this change to all corresponding commands within the Register32.bat file.
  • Save: Save the changes to the Register32.bat file.
• Edit Register64.bat:
  • Repeat the exact same modification process for Register64.bat. Right-click, edit, change all relevant paths, and save the file.
• Consider MultiRegister Batch Files (Optional but Recommended):
  • While the original forum post suggests these are not strictly necessary for basic functionality, failing to modify them can lead to other errors.
  • You can use an AI tool (like Google Gemini) to help with the modification:
    1. Open each MultiRegister.bat file (e.g., MultiRegister_Dual.bat, MultiRegister_Quad.bat) in a text editor.
    2. Copy the entire text content of the .bat file.
    3. Paste it into an AI prompt and instruct it to replace all instances of ..\Filters\ with your full extracted path (e.g., C:\AJA_DirectShowPackage_15_5_2\Filters\).
    4. Carefully proofread the AI-generated modified text.
    5. Copy the modified text and paste it back into the respective .bat file, overwriting the original content.
    6. Save the changes.

4. Run the Modified Batch Files:

• After saving all modifications, execute the Register32.bat and Register64.bat files by double-clicking them. You might see a command prompt window briefly appear and disappear. This registers the DirectShow filters with your Windows system.
• If you modified the MultiRegister files, run those as well.

5. Restart Your PC:

• It is crucial to restart your computer after making these changes for them to take full effect.

6. Verify in VirtualDub:

• After your PC restarts, open VirtualDub.
• Go to File > Capture AVI... (or press F6).
• In the capture window, go to Device. Your Aja Kona LHi or Lhe Plus card should now appear as a selectable capture device.
• You should now be able to select your desired video and audio sources and capture directly within VirtualDub using your preferred video codecs (e.g., Huffyuv, Lagarith).

By following these steps, you should successfully enable your Aja Kona LHi or Lhe Plus capture card for use with VirtualDub, allowing for more flexible and direct capture workflows.

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Here is Tiwiliger's original useful DIY post for editing the Register.bat files:
https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vid...html#post96680

And the .PDF of this guide is attached below.

Wow thank you so much! This gives me a whole new avenue here, I can't thank you enough!!