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HOME Apps

Think Outside The Box

Server-Based Processing on Demand

Most evolutionary steps in the broadcast, AV, house-of-worship, theater and live sectors have been incremental. But the industry is changing faster than ever before. New delivery channels, a variety of source and destination formats, and ever tighter budget constraints are the new reality.

This makes it increasingly likely that new formats will emerge which are not supported by the dedicated hardware you own. Purchasing more bespoke hardware that may be obsolete faster than we like, simply no longer makes sense.

A first set of recommendations published by prominent opinion leaders only weeks before Lawo’s HOME Apps were officially introduced emphasized the importance of decoupling processing from the hardware it runs on.

Under the “Second Wave” moniker, this has been complemented with the expectation that broadcast vendors leave all aspects related to the host platform to vendors that have the heft and expertise to take raw processing power to ever new heights. Broadcast vendors, for their part, need to focus on providing added processing value in the form of agile software apps.

Lawo’s HOME Apps epitomize the abstraction of broadcast and media functionality from the hardware that does the compute heavy lifting. When you need it, where you need it, with seamless scalability and a revolutionary commercial model.

lives@HOME

HOME Apps are microservices that run on standard compute platforms.

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HOME Apps — Features

Run on Standard Servers, On-premise, in Private Data Centers or in the Cloud

Mix & match SMPTE ST2110, NDI®, SRT, Dante*, JPEG XS, and H.26x

One overarching solution for Private Datacenters and Public Clouds

Fully integrated with, and managed by, the HOME platform

All Formats and Requirements at the Click of a Button

Decide for yourself how much to invest upfront

Complement your Existing Hardware with Software Apps

Download the brochure here!
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Microservices for Macro Agility

Lawo chip

Start, Stop in Milliseconds

HOME’s processing services will future-proof your operation and infuse it with a striking amount of agility and flexibility.

Effectively doubling the offering in less than a year, Lawo currently offers ten apps for audio, video and ancillary processing. More applications will be announced as they become available.

» HOME Multiviewer (video)
» HOME UDX Converter with HDR processing (video)
» HOME Downstream Keyer (DSK) (video)
» HOME Color Corrector (video)
» HOME Stream Transcoder (video)
» HOME Graphic Inserter (video)

» HOME Audio Shuffler (audio)
» HOME mc² DSP (audio)
» HOME Power Core (audio)

» HOME Commentary (Lawo Workspace mobility app)
» HOME Video Monitor (Lawo Workspace mobility app)
» HOME mc² crystal Controller (Lawo Workspace mobility app)

» HOME Timecode Generator (ancillary)
» HOME Delay (ancillary)
» HOME TPG (Test Pattern & Test Tone Generator) (utility)

Designed for Lawo-grade processing quality in a nifty, containerized software guise, HOME Apps can be spun up and down instantly via HOME’s intuitive user interface, which conveniently preserves your settings for future use.

App usage can be based on perpetual licenses for permanent, long-term availability, if so desired. Lawo Flex Subscriptions, on the other hand, offer peak-time relief and free operators from the pressure (and budget constraints) of getting the project planning right for the life of the CapEx period, with little or no wiggle room once the budget has been approved.

Lawo’s HOME Apps seamlessly interface with all widely used protocols, allowing operators to adapt their equipment pool to the production at hand.

(*) Dante support is a future product development

Intuitive and Fast

New app MV window

Thanks to the native integration of Lawo’s apps with »HOME, Lawo’s management platform for IP infrastructures, operators enjoy a straightforward, fast and streamlined user experience. Plus, users are free to run HOME Apps only when they need them and where they need them, without any long-winded configuration sessions or expert knowledge.

Running apps only when they are needed has the distinct advantage of freeing up budget that can be spent on other functionality, which may very well be provided by Lawo’s .edge or the HOME platform itself.

Lawo Flex — Ultimate Commercial Flexibility

Depending on how you plan your server infrastructure, three flexible usage models, collectively called “Lawo Flex”, can be leveraged with Lawo’s HOME Apps.

As every operation is different, the perfect subscription mix depends on your specific requirements and can be changed at any time.

Usage models that involve occasional top-ups can be handled via a temporary subscription model in HOME. Top-ups can be added quickly and have a minimum validity of one month. After using the available budget to run a multiviewer for a week, for instance, users still have approximately three weeks for graphics insertion, format and stream conversion, and a lot more, with the exact same budget.

Click here for details about Lawo Flex.

Permanent availability

Staple processing capability can be acquired with perpetual licenses, which is similar to purchasing dedicated hardware, except that the processing is performed by apps running on standard servers.

Lawo Flex Subscriptions

Licenses for processing resources with a high degree of flexibility and frequent temporary capacity top-ups where needed. This scheme covers all current and future HOME Apps—not just a specific one.

Hybrid Permanent and Flex licensing

Perpetual licenses for cruise-speed usage, and subscriptions for temporary capacity top-ups at peak times.

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Containers to Instantly Unleash Your Processing Capability

Based on a series of deliberate choices, HOME Apps processing is provided by means of microservices running in containers to ensure maximum agility. Containers are cloud-native, standalone executable software packages comprising the applications and their dependencies. They run on standard servers and offer the following benefits:

  • The ecosystem is based on a modern, agile system architecture;
  • Containers and apps are fast to boot;
  • They are easy to scale and are portable;
  • They are optimized for performance, memory and space requirements;
  • They operate in isolation (no interference from other apps);
  • They are quicker to update (short compilation times) and manage: switching off one microservice has no effect on others that may be running simultaneously.

Containers can be moved to most hardware platforms, whether CPU- or both CPU- and GPU*-based, whether on-prem, in a remote datacenter (fog) or in the cloud. Plus, HOME Apps command compute resources and energy only when they are in use, which is good news for the environment.

Amid the growing diversity of deliverables and the race towards ever more content, Lawo recognizes the benefits offered by NDI® and SRT, and is pleased to support its customers in search of the right production tools for the job at hand, enhancing their functionality with unbridled Lawo expertise.

Thanks to their support for NDI®, SRT, and Dante AV—in addition to SMPTE ST2110 and JPEG XS—Lawo’s HOME Apps allow broadcasters and media producers to select the tools they require to tell compelling stories from the largest possible pool.

(*) GPU support is a future product development.

Hardware-Agnostic Processing

Lawo’s HOME Apps run on standard servers* with CPU processors as well as CPU + GPU** processor combinations, and in any public cloud. Operators are free to select the processing combination they are most comfortable with.

(*) Please ask your Lawo contact for details about the system requirements.
(**) GPU support is a future product development.

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Orchestrated by HOME

Lawo’s HOME Apps for IP infrastructures are single-purpose applications that run on standard servers. With the exception of the need for a network interface card (NIC), they are completely abstracted from the hardware.

HOME Apps require no proprietary hardware and are orchestrated in a broad sense: »HOME manages the stream flows, the services, the applications and the processing capacity in a lightning-fast and intuitive way.

This allows operators to solicit, and spin down, services on demand, via a single, unified user interface, without having to worry about everything that needs to happen in the background.

Call it functionality on demand if you will, presented in such a way that operators remain free to run containerized apps on on-premise servers, in their OB trucks, in a datacenter and/or a public cloud—whichever makes most sense.

Specifications

Please see the dedicated HOME Apps pages for app-specific specifications.

Note: All information given below refers to preliminary product specifications and is subject to change.

SMPTE Specifications

STANDARDS

  • SMPTE 2110 Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks:
    ST2110-10: System Timing and Definitions
    ST2110-20: Uncompressed Active video
    ST2110-21: Traffic Shaping and Delivery Timing for Video
    ST2110-22: Constant Bit-Rate Compressed Video
    ST2110-30: PCM Digital Audio (Levels A, B & C)
  • ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
    SMPTE ST2022-7: Seamless Protection Switching (Class A & B)

REFERENCE STANDARD

  • IEEE1588 (PTPv2)

SUPPORTED FORMATS

  • SD: 525i59.94 (NTSC) and 625i50 (PAL)
  • HD: 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60
  • 3G: 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60
  • 12G: 2160p50, 2160p59.94, 2160p60

MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING (Server connectivity)

  • In-band Control via 2 x QSFP28 (100GbE) interfaces
  • Out-of-band Control via 1GbE Interface
  • API protocol: Lawo HOME

DATA FORMAT

  • 10-bit 4:2:2 YCbCr
JPEG XS Specifications

SUPPORTED FORMATS

  • HD: 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60
  • 3G: 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60
  • 12G: 2160p50, 2160p59.94, 2160p60

DATA FORMATS

  • 16-bit 4:2:2 YCrCb
  • 10-bit 4:2:2 YCrCb (decode only)
SRT Specifications

STANDARDS

  • MPEG-TS
  • H.264, H.265/HEVC
  • Accelerated via GPU (optional)

SUPPORTED FORMATS

  • SD: 525i59.94 (NTSC) and 625i50 (PAL)
  • HD: 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60
  • 3G: 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60
  • 12G: 2160p50, 2160p59.94, 2160p60

DATA FORMATS

  • 8-bit 4:2:0 YCbCr
NDI® Specifications

STANDARDS

  • NDI
  • NDI-HX2 (H.264)
  • NDI-HX2 (H.265)

SUPPORTED FORMATS

  • SD: 525i59.94 (NTSC)* and 625i50 (PAL)*
  • HD: 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080i50*, 1080i59.94*, 1080i60*
  • 3G: 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60
  • 12G: 2160p50, 2160p59.94, 2160p60

DATA FORMATS

  • P216 16-bit 4:2:2 YCbCr
  • UYVY 8-bit 4:2:2 YCbCr (decode only)
  • PA16 16-bit 4:2:2 YCbCR, alpha discarded (decode only)

(*) NDI only (not NDI|HX2)

Lawo Workspaces

Responsive. Accessible. Secure.

HOME Multiviewer

Intelligent, Server-Based Multiviewer App

HOME Multiviewer

HOME Power Core

Virtual DSP Mixing Engine for Broadcast

HOME Power Core

HOME mc² DSP

Server-Based, Agile Audio Engine

HOME mc2 DSP