IP Network Integration of Video Equipment with Free NDI® Upgrades
Panasonic Connect Europe today announced it will extend NDI® (Network Device Interface) support, an open standard for connecting video devices over a network, to its 4K Integrated PTZ Cameras (AW-UE40W/K, AW-UE50W/K, AW-HE145 and AW-UE 150W/K) as well as the Memory Card Camera Recorder AG-CX350. The upgrades, which previously required a paid licence from Vizrt NDI AB, will be made available via a free firmware update between December 2024 and April 2025, after which the models will ship with NDI® pre-activated.
The free upgrade will activate NDI® functionality as a standard feature in more than 80,000 units currently in use in diverse video-production environments. As the integration of IP technology into video equipment accelerates, this move will help expand the NDI® ecosystem for greater efficiency and flexibility in video production workflows.
NDI® is an open standard for connecting video equipment over IP networks which allows NDI® enabled devices to be used to build systems in standard gigabit IP networks. This simplifies the transition of video production workflows to IP environments, enabling more devices to access all NDI® enabled devices on the network. These devices include switchers, cameras, and media servers, allowing the use of diverse content in video production. In addition, Panasonic’s NDI® enabled PTZ cameras that support PoE – a single cable solution for power, control and audio/video transmission – significantly reduce installation and cabling costs and complexity.
Panasonic NDI® supported products include PTZ cameras such as AW-UE160W/K, AW-UE100W/K and AW-UE80W/K, studio cameras such as AK-UCX100[1], 4K multipurpose cameras AW-UB50[2] and AW-UB102, compact switchers AV-HSW10 and AV-UHS500[3], as well as the KAIROS IT/IP platform and Video Mixer plug-in for Media Production Suite. Together, they can be used to create flexible and efficient IP video production systems for a wide range of needs.
By standardising NDI® integration across its product line, Panasonic aims to advance the IP networking of video equipment.
[1] AK-UCX100 will be available in CY24 4th Quarter.
2 AW-UB10 and AW-UB50 will be available in CY25 1st Quarter and NDI® will be implemented in the near future.
3 The NDI® I/F unit AV-UHS5M6G is required to use NDI® with AV-UHS500.