Panasonic Connect North America announces additions to its solution suite to help content producers capture, create, and deliver content for any production environment from broadcast studios to event venues to meeting spaces.
The Kairos lineup expands with the launch of the AT-KC200L1 core and new additions to the Kairos Alliance Partners program. In addition, Panasonic Connect introduced the new AW-UE30 PTZ Camera and Media Production Suite software platform.
“Content creators are faced with growing audience expectations and rising content needs amid a production staffing shortage,” saya Stephen Milley, Director of the Professional Imaging Business Unit at Panasonic Connect. “It has never been more important to equip content teams with easy-to-use technology that meets current production needs while future-proofing workflows. The latest updates to our solution suite are a direct response to this industry demand.”
AT-KC200L1 Main Frame Rear
Panasonic Connect’s new solutions include:
- AT-KC200L1 Main Frame (Kairos Core 200): In addition to producing content for live TV, production studios need to develop content for streaming platforms and social channels. Live production workflows have also grown more complex as venues incorporate more location-specific displays, engaging video wall content, and LED ribbon displays for a dynamic audience experience. With its user-defined canvas and unlimited MEs, the Kairos live video production platform was designed for these environments. The AT-KC200L1 allows SDI-centric customers in entertainment venues, rental & staging, and corporate environments as well as broadcast to take advantage of the highly scalable, software-defined video production platform. Supporting SDI workflows today, the AT-KC200L1 can also future-proofs productions, opening the door for expansion into IP in the coming years (Available CY2024 2Q).
- Kairos Alliance Partners: The Kairos ecosystem further expands with the addition of new partners and suppliers to the Kairos Alliance Partners program. Now featuring upwards of 50 partner companies, the latest additions to the program include Drastic Technologies, LAWO, NetGear, and Singular.live. These pre-tested partner products help Kairos integrate more easily into a customer-defined production system.
- AW-UE30 PTZ Camera: Corporate and higher education environments continue to face the challenge of creating a seamless meeting experience for both in-person and remote participants. The AW-UE30 PTZ camera offers enhanced video streaming with 4K/30p images and 20x optical zoom to make remote participants feel as if they are present in person. A compact design and quiet operation ensure it won’t interfere with the in-person experience. The AW-UE30 also supports easy and efficient operation for professors and corporate presenters who don’t have extensive production experience. It can even be used within an existing USB-based system (CY2024 3Q).
- Media Production Suite: Panasonic Connect designed Media Production Suite to centralize camera management for small team operations. This unified software platform is designed to streamline camera setup with a wide range of features to support video production. For an organization like LiveX that remotely produces comedy shows with SRT technology, the ability to track the subject and their movements without delay and control the PTZ camera operations remotely through a single server can reduce equipment operating costs. And for rental company Evolve Technology, the auto-tracking capabilities of the PTZ mimic a real camera operator while Media Production Suite allows one operator to control multiple live cameras. A range of plug-ins can be added to the platform, including a Video Mixer plug-in that features AI keying with automatic image recognition to separate people from backgrounds for chroma key-like compositions without the need for a green background (Video Mixer Plug-in availableCY2024 2Q).
- AV-SF10 Software Control Panel for AV-HSW10: Panasonic’s new Software Control Panel allows a networked PC or tablet (Windows/MacOS) connected to an AV-HSW10 Main Switcher to be used for diverse operations and configurations. Switcher functions can be controlled from a PC or tablet for a simple one-person operation. Functions exclusive to the software control panel, such as sequencing of shot memory, and direct write/replace of still memory, will be possible for more efficient pre-shoot preparation and on-shoot review. Both inputs and outputs can be confirmed on the MultiViewer screen for intuitive operation even for operators with minimal experience (CY2024 2Q)
The announcement concludes, “These additions to Panasonic’s solution suite embody the company’s commitment to supporting the industry with interoperable solutions that power the entire production chain. The new solutions, along with Panasonic’s full lineup of PTZ cameras, studio cameras, switchers, and projection/display tech will be on display from April 14-17 at NAB Show 2024 (Booth C3310).”
