As broadcasters and producers deploy IP, cloud and artificial intelligence technologies to more efficiently produce and deliver content to multiple different platforms, KVM systems are helping them revamp their operations and tap into the benefits of newer technologies.
In the process, KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) systems, originally conceived of as a simple way to control multiple computers, are undergoing a rapid transformation, adding capabilities and tools designed to help producers and broadcasters manage increasingly large operations, handle higher-resolution content, control large remote productions and oversee complex arrays of devices, networks and processes relying on IP and cloud workflows.
“In both the AV world as well as the broadcast world, there is a definite move towards IP,” says Mark Hempel, head of product management at IHSE, which has launched the Draco XStreme KVM extender product line that uses the JPEG XS codec to provide cutting-edge performance.
In some cases, as they expand their footprint to play a more central role in controlling large operations, KVM tech providers are also playing in the same space as video platform providers such as Akla, which uses artificial intelligence to seamlessly merge streaming video, monetization and broadcast workflows in the cloud. This increasingly blurs the lines between KVM products and other technologies while also providing new competition for a variety of tech providers.
“We live in a SaaS world,” Matt Smith, chief evangelist at Akta, said. “All our tools are cloud-based and our customers can access them from anywhere. They can program channels, edit programs and publish FAST channels. They don’t need to remote into a box and leverage KVM technologies to monitor and manage their operations.”
IP, Cloud Imperatives
The transition to IP infrastructures continues to be one of the major trends driving many of these changes. “Everyone is moving over to IP,” says Thomas Tang, president and founder of Apantac, which offers a variety of solutions, including its openGear OG KVM over IP, for users making that transition. “Every time, there is a new facility or they are replacing the infrastructure, they are going IP.”
Adds Catherine Koutsaris, product marketing manager at Matrox Video: “The transition to IP has transformed expectations for KVM systems. Legacy KVM switchers are increasingly viewed as outdated. They’re proprietary, often expensive and difficult to scale or configure without vendor-specific training. By contrast, IP-based KVMs can run over standard network infrastructure, allowing users to scale and adapt the system as needed. This flexibility is one of the biggest drivers of growth in the market, enabling more efficient, customizable, and interoperable installations.”
Leo Bull, chief revenue officer at G&D North America and VuWall, said the move to IP is part of a larger effort by broadcasters and other M&E companies to create more efficient workflows and break down old operational silos. “There’s a lot of value in unification of disparate, formerly disparate, systems and solutions that provide an administrative team to be able to control multiple silos of equipment,” he said. “Merging that together is a big, big trend.”
KVM providers are also offering users more choices in terms of how they transition to IP.
To help smooth the upgrade path to IP while maintaining very low latency, high-quality video, IHSE has introduced its new Draco EXtreme line, including the Draco vario XS DisplayPort 1.2 Extender Series, which uses JPEG-XS.
“This gives us a very high-performance codec with regard to real-time and high-quality imaging,” Hempel says. “This will also help interconnect with IP interfaces and provide more seamless integration with broadcast signals.”
Workflow Shifts
Another major trend driving important changes in KVM technologies is the move to cloud-based workflows. “Recently, we have seen leading broadcast organizations adopting new virtual production technology to streamline workflows and reduce postproduction overheads,” John Halksworth, senior product manager at Adder Technology, says. “This change allows for real-time adaptations to occur, reducing the requirement for re-recording and improved decision-making timelines. A shift towards virtual production also sees an even bigger requirement for remote collaboration, and this is a key area that Adder continues to support its customers in achieving.”
These transitions come as KVM systems continue to be applied to a wider array of operations that connect an ever-growing amount of devices.
“KVM used to be just little desktop switches,” Tang at Apantac says. “Now, every mobile truck has a KVM switch, whether it is a physical switch or KVM-over-IP system, because more and more computers are involved with all the graphics, scoreboards and other capabilities.”
Adds Matrox Video’s Koutsaris: “KVM technologies are an increasingly essential part of control-room design, including in content-production environments. Nearly every control room can benefit from an IP KVM setup, whether to declutter operator desks by removing physical machines, reduce noise and heat, or centralize computer access for better security.”
Other use cases involve more traditional applications like postproduction, broadcast operations and remote production, making KVM widely used in TV, film and streaming industries, Koutsaris and others say.
G&D’s recent acquisition of VuWall provides a more unified hardware and software platform for managing larger, more complex operations from a simplified user interface, Bull says. “That means that the team administering this environment don’t need multiple control interfaces to manage their entire video ecosystem in this environment,” he says. “They can do that from a single interface.”
Like many parts of the M&E industry, AI has emerged as a hot topic for KVM providers, particularly in cases where such solutions are used to control and manage larger operations or distributed productions, and in cases where KVM systems are deployed in cloud-based or virtualized environments.
AI Results and Realities
This has led to KVM solutions competing with providers of AI-powered video platforms or getting integrated into operations that also use large, AI-powered video platforms.
Smith at video platform provider Akla notes that its AI-powered technologies have produced “tangible, measurable results” for clients like the NFL, TelevisaUnivision’s ViX streaming platform, Fox Television Stations, Nexstar Media Group and others, producing efficiencies that have dramatically reduced headcounts. In one case, the user reduced staff from 60 people to five.
Akla has also approached AI as a foundational technology, not an add-on, for its platform, which provides centralized asset management, cloud-based processing, live channel scheduling, AI-driven video editing, server-side ad insertion, georestrictions and multiplatform capabilities. “It allows people to be more efficient than they have ever been,” Smith says.
Others highlight the promise of AI while cautioning that many existing KVM solutions provide great efficiencies.
The transition to IP has transformed expectations for KVM systems.”
Catherine Koutsaris, Matrox Video
“Adopting AI capabilities in a KVM network must drive customer value in the first instance,” Adder’s Halksworth says. “Organizations use KVM to access and control critical information, and it’s essential that any development or innovation around AI is reliable and trustworthy. AI has the capability of being very influential going forward, and we have a lot of learning to do to know how to best deploy its abilities. For example, leveraging AI in some way to detect system issues and suggest resolution paths for a user is just one example of implementing AI that adds customer value.”
Similar caution can also be seen with the transition to IP and cloud-based workflows. “There is always a little bit of a trade-off when you make these transitions,” IHSE’s Hempel explained. “There are people who’ve made up their mind and just state they want to go IP, without really knowing what the impact is. Personally, I would like to see more customers … making a decision based on what suits their requirements best. … Depending upon their needs, it can be an IP system, a proprietary system or a mix of both.”