Panasonic Appoints University Of Staffordshire

Panasonic Connect Europe has appointed University of Staffordshire as a KAIROS Academy Partner, the first UK university to achieve this status.

Alongside long-term partner, Digital Garage, the University of Staffordshire's KAIROS Academy will specialise in educating operators and students on getting the most out of Panasonic's KAIROS IP-based live video production platform.

In addition to the University of Staffordshire KAIROS Academy, Panasonic also operates KAIROS academies across Europe with industry partners, with centres at Creative Technology (UK and Sweden), AED (Belgium), KST Moschkau (Germany) and VMB (Spain).

Richard Mortimer, Technical Services Manager at University of Staffordshire, commented: "We're delighted to be the first UK university to become a KAIROS Academy Partner. It gives us the best opportunity to utilise Panasonic’s and Digital Garage’s expertise to train our students with the required IP-based skills required for a future in video production – whilst positioning us a leader in academic eSports broadcasting."

The first university to launch a dedicated eSports degree, University of Staffordshire has invested £2.7 million in upgrading its infrastructure with Panasonic professional broadcasting equipment, at its Stoke-on-Trent eSports Broadcasting Hub. In addition to 4K-capable PTZ cameras and HDR studio cameras, two Panasonic KAIROS AT-KC200 mainframes have been installed. These primarily utilise the SMPTE ST 2110 IP-based transmission standard that is revolutionising the transmission of video and audio signals over IP networks.

KAIROS virtualises traditional switcher functions and eliminates many legacy switcher hardware constraints. It features innovative CPU/GPU architecture and removes the one-to-one input restrictions of SDI-only switchers. This will enable much of the intermediary kit to be removed, providing a cutting-edge, cost-effective solution for eSports broadcasting.