  We report the design, operation, and performance of a next generation
high-speed data acquisition system for multi-channel infrared and optical
photometry based on the modern technologies of Field Programmable Gate Arrays,
the Peripheral Component Interconnect bus, and the Global Positioning System.
This system allows either direct recording of photon arrival times or binned
photon counting with time resolution up to 1-$\mu$s precision in Universal
Time, as well as real-time data monitoring and analysis. The system also allows
simultaneous recording of multi-channel observations with very flexible,
reconfigurable observational modes. We present successful 20-$\mu$s resolution
simultaneous observations of the Crab Nebula Pulsar in the infrared (H-band)
and optical (V-band) wavebands obtained with this system and 100-$\mu$s
resolution V-band observations of the dwarf nova IY Uma with the 5-m Hale
telescope at the Palomar Observatory.
