Panasonic Introduces KAIROS, the Future of Live Video Production

As a native IP, ST 2110 system, KAIROS supports transitions to live IP workflows and can eliminate dedicated hardware constraints. This COTS-based system creates new production opportunities involving a mosaic of IT ecosystems with a variety of vendor components from several industries.

“KAIROS is introduced as the content creation industry transitions to live IP workflows, requiring broadcast and event producers to think about how they will future-proof their productions and facilities,” said Michael Bergeron, Panasonic senior product manager for live production systems. “With an ever-growing set of tools and hardware, producers need a comprehensive solution for multiple applications to break free of the boundaries of traditional hardware. As an IT/IP platform based on open software architecture, KAIROS takes the various components of a broadcast program and virtualizes them, so productions are flexible, dynamic, and powerful.”

For television studios, KAIROS seamlessly integrates into a facility’s ST 2110 infrastructure without requiring additional IP gateways. For houses of worship, KAIROS handles current screen management and linear broadcast needs, but can also accommodate new devices or non-traditional displays. For sports and entertainment venues or event productions, staff with diverse experience and background can employ the user-friendly GUI to deliver engaging content or set up complex systems with limited training time.

KAIROS delivers creative and operational freedom for the efficient production of expressive live video. The platform features standardized IP connectivity in place of one-to-one video inputs and outputs, which enables KAIROS to support baseband and IP signals in any combination. KAIROS also features uncompressed processing of SDI, ST 2110 as well as NDI streams of any resolution such as HD and UHD and in any format, whether 16:9 or nontraditional formats such as 32:9 for an LED backdrop display.

The GPU-based processing platform also allows users to allocate processing power with 100% efficiency to achieve performance matching a larger scaled hardware system. KAIROS processing latency can be as low as one frame and also supports Precision Time Protocol (PTP) synchronization.

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KAIROS offers a fully customizable, intuitive graphical user interface that enables users to manage unlimited layers and effects with ease. The platform sets a new standard of usability and customization with a “Photoshop-style” intuitive live compositing interface. Since video mix processing is GUI-based, the platform does not limit the number of MEs or keys, like a traditional switcher. Keys, effects, and scaling are set within each scene without restriction and the total number of video layers is only dependent upon the GPU capacity.

KAIROS system centers around the KAIROS Core, mainframe, which handles all video processing. Version 1 mainframe will manage video I/O through a Deltacast gateway card and/or a Mellanox 100 GbE NIC (Network Interface Card) connection to COTS IP devices and SDI and HDMI gateways. Control will all be managed on devices operating over a separate Gbit Ethernet including Kairos Creator, GUI software for setting up and software-based control panel and KAIROS Control, Panasonic’s premium quality 2ME style hardware control panel.