This Q&A series discusses the future of live video production and broadcast through conversations with innovators leveraging Panasonic’s KAIROS platform. 

LiveX — a full-service production company — designs, produces, and broadcasts live events for global brand leaders. From idea development through technical execution to live onsite and remote production and streaming, LiveX uses innovative technologies to help clients create captivating experiences, increase their audience engagement, and build their brands. In 2021, the company decided it was time to upgrade its broadcast streaming studio with a solution that would enhance the quality of its productions and provide greater flexibility. That’s when LiveX was introduced to Panasonic’s KAIROS live production platform.  

How is the broadcast industry scaling to meet customer needs? What challenges does LiveX face?  

The broadcast industry is constantly changing, and so are the needs of our customers. Timeliness and quality of information are important to customers of all verticals including, entertainment, news, and sports. The industry wants technologies with more remote oversight and automation to streamline operations and get information out to audiences in real time. We’re always seeking technologies that allow our teams to put creativity at the forefront and develop captivating live events and multimedia. To better scale our services, we needed a platform that gave production teams unlimited control to deliver rich content to multiple screens and streams. And that’s when we were introduced to KAIROS.  

What role does AV technology play in elevating video production quality?  

AV technology is critical not only to elevating video production quality but the viewer experience. Panasonic Connect offers a suite of AV tools that work together to produce a full-service production from audio, video, projection, display, live production, and more. The combination of these technologies ultimately delivers the highest quality productions, and we expect more production companies will continue to invest their money in elevating their studio tech.  

When it comes to elevating video production quality, creativity is key. We’re constantly looking for ways to stand out and offer our customers something different. KAIROS gives us the creative freedom and flexibility to do that. Unlike traditional switcher technology, we can build to fit the customer’s goals, while having unlimited control to manipulate video and imagery. 

How does KAIROS help you achieve your goals? What differentiates KAIROS from other technologies on the market? 

We adopted KAIROS to automate our 4K broadcast streaming studio and expand our remote capabilities for future productions. Our teams were constrained to the studio when producing an event instead of having the freedom to walk around outside and find new, creative shots to capture. With KAIROS, we can do just that. The solution helped our team streamline operations with more remote oversight and automation, which in turn allows our crews the freedom to focus more on creative tasks such as shot development and strategy.  

Unlike other technologies on the market, KAIROS offers flexibility at an affordable price point. It also supports SMPTE ST 2110, which is more efficient and offers lower bandwidth compared to other IP-based media transport protocols. As a result, we can run more streams at once and have smarter workflows.  

What percentage of your customers utilize livestreaming? Do you expect this number to grow in the coming years?  

Starting in February 2020, we noticed an uptick in the number of customers who wanted to utilize livestream capabilities. Live events during this time required a high level of innovation, and KAIROS enabled us to offer that to customers when they needed it most. Today, more than 90% percent of our customers utilize livestreaming.  

Livestreaming is here to stay. Whether it’s a press event, activation, concert, or a new show, our customers want to make a big splash. Expanding their visibility and reach through livestreaming is a great way to do this. Production companies will demand live production solutions like KAIROS in the coming years as they look for a flexible, fully customizable tool for efficient productions. 

How does KAIROS support livestreaming? 

In the LiveX studio, we have six AW-UE50 4K/30p PTZ Cameras and the Tecnopoint Robotic Camera System to support the increasing need for creative shots. KAIROS, alongside the AW-UE50 PTZs, supports Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) protocol for 4K/60p video streaming. This provides stability while transmitting high-quality video, even in unstable network environments. When our teams are on-site filming an event, we can stream video content back to the studio via SRT and we can control where the video feeds are delivered.  

SRT protocol also ensures secure delivery of the streams. With end-to-end 128/256 bit AES encryption, valuable content is protected, which is a necessity in today’s digital world. The protocol’s low latency and low bandwidth help deliver great viewing experiences with no lag.  

Favorite capabilities offered by KAIROS? 

There are many reasons why KAIROS is our go-to live production solution. KAIROS works with our legacy hardware, which allows us to utilize the platform’s built-in features including the ability to control all its cameras through one IP network, color correct, playback shots, and edit graphics. Because we can manage everything remotely, we can have fewer operators on set, so our teams can focus on creating more creative set configurations. We’ve seen an increase in quality and efficiency following the integration of KAIROS.  

We’re looking forward to testing out the KAIROS cloud-based solution, announced in April 2022. This will give our teams more freedom to move from one studio to another and support hybrid workflows. We’ll also have the flexibility to manage and archive content from different sources and edit, produce, and distribute content in real time.