Servers/Replay
The Grass Valley™ K2 platform is a family of server, storage, and application products that can form the foundation of your facility's infrastructure. Based on standard IT Enterprise-class components along with Grass Valley video/audio core technologies, the K2 family provides a rock solid, 24/7/365 file-based infrastructure which can easily expand as your needs grow.
The K2 platform's open storage architecture enables it to be easily integrated with Grass Valley applications as well as hundreds of third-party applications. Its QuickTime compatible file system enables easy integration with third-party editors and its powerful FTP capability supports industry standard file formats such as MXF, GXF, QuickTime, MOV, and AVI for compatibility with a variety of different systems. For multichannel, integrated, automated playout using the K2 Edge™ system, file transfer and storage is based on MXF.
Crucial to a file-based infrastructure is bandwidth. The K2 platform has the highest bandwidth capability of any system in the industry with installed systems of over 2500 MB/s of bandwidth. More importantly, the K2 platform has the most powerful built-in Quality of Service feature which makes sure that bandwidth is available where needed and that video playout never drops a frame for lack of bandwidth.
For video replay, the K2 Summit™ and K2 Solo™ media servers can be integrated into the K2 Dyno™ Replay System, with functionality controlled by the K2 Dyno Replay Controller. Additionally, content management of the system can be managed by the K2 Dyno Production Assistant, providing a centralized view of all content on multiple K2 systems with high-resolution browse, enhanced metadata management, playlist generation and playout capability, and powerful rules-based file management.
The K2 Edge system is purpose-built for multichannel, integrated, automated playout. Whether two channels or hundreds, K2 Edge brings all of the components of integrated playout together in a unified system: media playout, channel graphics, asset management, and automation.
While there are benefits for some facilities invested in traditional playout to continue with that approach, it is too expensive and unnecessarily complex for many of the new players coming online. A fully integrated system offers tremendous benefits, the least of which being a lower initial capital cost. Total cost of ownership is also reduced by streamlining the playout workflow as each tool—server, graphics, master control, and the automation system itself—is seamlessly integrated and purpose-built to work together.
The K2 Summit Transmission Server is optimized for traditional play-to-air applications that require high-capacity local storage for SD/HD MPEG and DV bit rates up to 50 Mb/s. The K2 Summit Transmission Client performs the same role in a direct attached storage or SAN environment. Both are ideal solutions for playback of up to four channels in a compact, 2 RU, cost-effective form factor satisfying the majority of the world's need for high-quality SD or HD playout.
