Panasonic Kairos: productivity with maximum versatility

That Kairos goes much further than an IP mixer has been evident in the demonstration sessions that Panasonic next to Unitecnic has organized this week at the Madrid headquarters of Mediapro in Getafe by the freelance director Jordi Sacasa. Designed to facilitate the transition to an IP environment, it offers unlimited possibilities in a single software-based platform thanks to a layered structure to generate compositions with maximum versatility with a simple interface (more typical of Photohop than a traditional mixer).

Sacasa, who has already worked with Kairos on an e-sports program and collaborates with some of the most important sports production companies such as Mediapro, DAZN or Dorna, highlighted that Panasonic's proposal is completely independent of resolutions and formats, being able to work with an endless number of keys and layers with just 1 frame of latency throughout the process, which makes it ideal for live production.

Kairos is presented as a complete solution for composition and performance both for live performances with control over cameras, robotics, tracking systems, audio and even lighting; productions with virtual or extended reality with third-party systems such as Brainstorm or Vizrt; either presentations at large live events with large format canvas (both television and corporate). It is also completely transparent when working with third-party servers or peripherals such as AJA, Riedel, Nvidia or Imagine.

There are already numerous broadcasters around the world that are using Kairos, such as the Catalan public broadcaster TV3, BeIN Sports o Mediaset Italy. In rental, companies like the Spanish one Visual Media Broadcast (VMB) or the European ones Lang, Creative Technology o Video They are using Kairos in their demanding live productions for broadcast, streaming or corporate purposes.

Without a doubt, what is most striking when someone sits in front of Kairos is that more than being in front of a mixer, it is a powerful software tool with classic appearance thanks to its pure mixer-style panel but which, with the help of an open software-based architecture and a simple interface, allows you to create any production with compression-free processing. Being a solution conceived natively as IP, supports IP signals (ST2110) and through gateways with SDI, HDMI, DP… with direct IP output or through baseband gateways SDI, HDMI, DP… or streaming with SRT, NDI, RTMP… protocols.

Starting from a scheme scalable, Kairos users can opt for two server models, one entry-level (AT-KC100 in 1 RU) and another more powerful one capable of processing up to 64 channels and 40 outputs (AT-KC1000 in 2RU), opting for two physical panels: one compact (12XPT) and another extended (24XPT). The creative heart of the system is Kairos Creator, a client-based GUI software under Windows or Mac operating system that allows you to have a virtual mirror panel of the chosen physical surface. At the same time, Agile I/O assigns the different inputs and outputs depending on the bandwidth of each source. The number of outputs does not change, as it is based on the available bandwidth (60 GbE in the case of the AT-KC1000) and all inputs and outputs can be seen on the multiscreens offered by the system (up to 36 windows per multiscreen).

In the presentation held at Mediapro, Panasonic had the Kairos Control extended panel, a Panapod pedestal with AW-UE100 (4K) PTZ camera, with the possibility of controlling both systems from the mixer itself or through the AW-RP60 surface. The demo infrastructure was completed by a PC running Kairos Creator, a 1Gb PoE++ Switch, and two multi-screens with direct output from Kairos Core.

A different concept

The concept of Kairos is very different than an FPGA based mixer in which the different crossing points accumulate delays in the signals. In the case of Panasonic's development, being based on software and a layer structure, everything is processed at the same time, depending on the potential of the GPU, and offering a composition with unprecedented versatility.

The Kairos latency can reach only 1 frame with multiple keys and layers without DVE or FS on ST2110, making it ideal for live sports.

As multiple layers are processed at once on the GPU, there are no cascading delays, and a delay of just 1 frame can be maintained from start to finish.

When composing productions with different video signals, audio, effects, graphics... the user will soon realize that their working formula is familiar since it is similar to that used by programs such as Photoshop, but in this case in a mixer that has no limits on MEs or keys.

Layers can be created from scratch or by copying and pasting others, and various effects and keys can be added to any layer without restrictions. The Kairos Creator tool also allows you to take snapshots between two scenes with transition movement from one to the other.

The layered structure allows versatile composition, being possible to chain scenes as part of another scene without affecting the delay. Each scene is assigned to XPT and can be taken to the Look Ahead Preview (PVW) directly for output in either HD or 4K, sending the same production in different formats and resolutions simultaneously from the mixer itself.

At the internal memory level, it has stills that can import different types of PNG, TIFF, JPEG, TGA formats... being able to play the files directly without having to go through a channel taking up space. It also has a video player with up to 8 channels, with direct playback of loops, bursts...

Unlike a traditional mixer, Kairos allows for as many layers as the GPU capacity.

They are ease of defining scenes which can contain both snapshots and macros, gives it great customization to instantly launch any program or reconfigure it with the push of a button according to the preferences of each director. Kairos not only allows sources or transitions to be memorized but is also capable of saving camera movements or pedestals such as the Panapod using macros, thus streamlining its use in virtual production environments. Together with a virtual reality engine it would be possible to automate both the movements of the cameras and the virtual scene, calling the different scenarios, elements, movements...

As for robotics control is concerned, Kairos allows the control of robotic systems such as PTZs or robotic arms such as KST-CamBot. The pan/tilt/zoom functions can be adjusted by controlling the speed, and position memories can be called up by simply pressing a button with its corresponding icon. Even systems like Tecnopoint Tuning can be launched using an HTTP/IP command.
Together with the CamBot system it is possible to automate the complete system including additional robotic systems and other systems such as audio, lighting, graphics, recorders...

Internal resources

In addition to physical tickets, Kairos offers a number of internal resources such as 8 Channel RAM Player (without compression), 2 channels Media Player (tablets), 4 audio channels, and audio mixer, and unlimited still image repository, and three Colour Matters + Negro y blanco.

Although still images and RAM Players have to be loaded into RAM first, Clip Player works with real-time decompression from the internal disk without any additional operations.

It should also be noted that Kairos works as client/server so different clients can access the server, which means that different users can connect and operate at the same time.

In addition, different types of controllers can be connected to Kairos including dedicated panels, touch panels, PCs... In the case of the presentation at Mediapro, the added versatility offered by its interoperability with the StreamDeck XL panel could be seen.

Live presentations

For live presentation environments, event producers can use Kairos to replace classic and cumbersome presentation systems. multi-screen, multi-source and multi-resolution content on LED video walls, or large format projections.

Kairos is capable in a matter of minutes of creating canvas of any size regardless of the format or resolution of both the input and output signals.

The option Free Canvas allows you to create any type of aspect ratio to support any display format. It even allows productions with content with different resolutions and aspect ratios, adapting to any display format (16:9, 32:9 for blending or 9:16 in vertical mode). And each output can have a different aspect ratio that is “rendered” live.

Each content is controlled individually with color correction available for each output independently, thus giving uniqueness to a global presentation that includes projection with blending or several LED video walls and screens (horizontally or vertically) whether it is a corporate presentation, an e-Sports event or a large television set.