Grass Valley introduces major advances in IP-connected live production and strategic direction toward the cloud

Grass Valley demonstrates its commitment to leading the industry toward a cloud-based future with a series of product introductions and new, soon-to-be-released strategic initiatives that promise to shift the paradigm in broadcast workflow flexibility, scalability and performance. During this challenging time for the world and our heavily impacted industry, Grass Valley leverages its history of stability and reliability to deliver solutions that help broadcasters manage through the current crisis while also ensuring they’re prepared for the future with tools that help them deal with the unprecedented demand for more content by enabling them to unleash the creativity of their teams.

For Live Production, Grass Valley launches the LDX 100 camera platform, a high-speed, native UHD camera built specifically for the rigors of IP-connected workflows, such as Remote/At-Home Production because it connects directly into the contribution network — eliminating the need for an external control unit. LDX 100 maximizes rich storytelling abilities and is ergonomically designed to provide additional benefits for operators.

Complementing the new camera platform is the launch of the company’s newest production switcher engine, K-Frame XP. Featuring true single-raster processing at 2160p, the K-Frame XP takes the complexity out of 4K UHD workflows, removing the processing power barriers that have existed that forced compromises in I/O count and even in the on-air look. Popular Grass Valley switcher control surfaces Kayenne, Karrera, GV Korona and KSP are compatible with K-Frame XP, allowing customers to leverage their existing investments.

Marco Lopez, Grass Valley’s senior vice president of live production, commented, “Our customers have seen big increases in demand for 4K UHD content and many of them are using IP workflows to support this growing demand. These two new platforms deliver on the Grass Valley promise to enable storytellers to unleash their creativity while increasing their workflow efficiency.”

Grass Valley also provides a glimpse into the future with the first public reveal of the GV Media Universe, a concept designed around a comprehensive ecosystem of cloud-based tools and services interconnected with existing solutions, partner offerings and a community of marketplaces that promises to revolutionize the way you think about making TV happen. The GV Media Universe, which will be formally introduced during the company’s online event, GV LIVE Presents — Innovate 2020 on April 23^rd, represents a ground-breaking leap forward in overcoming broadcasters’ reticence to move their workflows into the cloud. GV Media Universe, powered by its core technology platform, GV AMPP, provides broadcasters with access to the enormous flexibility and elasticity of the cloud and opens the door to pay-as-you-go models while mitigating any concerns about the cloud, such as frame accuracy and timing. During GV LIVE Presents — Innovate 2020, viewers will also learn that this solution is already on-air, being used by a major brand to deliver live content around the world.

Tim Shoulders, Grass Valley’s president, said, “Our customers need suppliers to help them get to a sustainable future business model in which they can adapt to changes in viewer behaviour quickly, achieve a higher level of resource utilization and deliver more professionally produced content to an ever growing number of platforms. They expect Grass Valley to be one of those suppliers and we’re committed to being there for them. I believe that introductions like our fully IP-connected Live Production suite and the debut of the GV Media Universe concept can only be accomplished by a company like Grass Valley, with our tradition of excellence and large pool of talented technologists. We’ve listened to our customers and we’re moving together to a place where we can prosper long into the future.” BCS Bureau