
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.
ㅤHOME Apps are microservices that run on standard compute platforms.
HOME Apps brochure

Meet Lawo’s HOME Apps—the abstraction of broadcast and media functionality from the IT hardware that does the compute heavy lifting. When you need it, where you need it, with a revolutionary commercial model.
HOME Apps — Features
Microservices for Macro Agility
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.
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
Video Applications
HOME Multiviewer
HOME Multiviewer is perfectly suited for high-bandwidth/low-latency ST2110 broadcast environments, SRT stream workflows in the cloud, NDI devices, compressed formats, and so on. The number of PiPs can easily be adapted to the job at hand. Going from one to up to 32 splits in a real-world scenario (more splits are possible) is a simple matter of setting the relevant parameter in HOME which, among many other things, acts as the GUI for all HOME Apps.
HOME UDX Converter
The HOME UDX Converter offers a deinterlacer, HDR/color processor, a scaler and two outputs. Each output can use a different format with a different overlay, and—where applicable—can be set to “i” or “p”. It delivers conversions between SD, HD, 3G and UHD as well as ST2110, SRT and NDI in the HOME Apps ecosystem. One example would be: UHD to both 3G and HD, either with or without graphics, e.g. for simultaneous “clean” feed and “dirty” feed output during global events.
HOME Downstream Keyer (DSK)
HOME Downstream Keyer (DSK) sets a new benchmark in video processing for broadcasters, bringing a higher level of control, flexibility, and compatibility to modern production environments. It is a sophisticated and powerful HOME App for video, with a feature set closer to what a video switcher provides than to what operators expect from a regular downstream keying function.
HOME Color Corrector
This stand-alone HOME App provides YUV (YCrCb) and RGB color correction functions with an HDR–SDR conversion option. A typical workflow that involves HDR conversion provides proc amp corrections in the YCrCb space, after which the information is processed by a matrix that moves it to the RGB color space.
HOME Stream Transcoder
The HOME Stream Transcoder app allows operators to convert incoming video streams of a given format to one of the supported output formats.
HOME Graphic Inserter
The HOME Graphic Inserter app allows users to turn 2D or 3D animated graphics into video streams. Simply add the URL of your HTML5 graphic, pick your output resolution and specify the required output format.
Audio Applications
HOME Audio Shuffler
HOME Audio Shuffler is a HOME App that replaces a traditional baseband audio matrix within an IP-based Dynamic Media Facility. Designed for advanced audio channel remapping and signal processing in Audio-over-IP environments, and available in six preconfigured matrix sizes, it allows users to repackage incoming audio signals for different applications, to freely compile streams based on audio signals from a variety of sources, and otherwise customize an audio stream’s payload. This is especially handy for downstream applications and devices without built-in audio matrix functionality.
HOME mc² DSP
Lawo’s HOME mc² DSP app is a microservice-based, virtual audio processing core with the equivalent feature set of the A__UHD Core, hosted on CPU-based standard servers.
With instantly familiar A__UHD Core features, it is part of Lawo’s HOME Apps offering, providing processing on demand with superior connectivity, elasticity and scalability for today’s and tomorrow’s production requirements.
HOME Power Core
The HOME Power Core app leverages the agility of Lawo’s HOME Apps platform to provide instant processing, mixing, routing and monitoring for radio and TV workflows where physical Power Core units are not available, already in use, or impractical. For each application, users can choose among a compact, a large, and an XL instance of the app to make sensible use of the available CPU cores.
Lawo Workspace Mobility Apps
HOME Commentary
Even a compact traditional commentary setup is still rather bulky and requires a solid technical background to get users up and running. The HOME Commentary app provides a fresh approach to any commentary scenario, whether off-tube or on-location.
HOME Video Monitor
The HOME Video Monitor app delivers low-latency video and audio to any location, on any device. Designed for broadcast and AV professionals with a million things to do, this HTML5-based app for laptops, mobile devices, and AR goggles is a light-weight solution for heavy-duty video monitoring tasks.
HOME mc² crystal Controller
The HOME mc² crystal Controller app is the missing link for mixing scenarios where compact crystal consoles complement a large mc² audio control surface operated by the A1.
Ancillary & Utility Apps
HOME Timecode Generator
HOME Timecode Generator is a standalone HOME Apps application that generates timecode signals for infrastructure timing needs. Up to 8 different ST2110-40 timecode feeds can be generated.
HOME Delay
The HOME Delay app allows operators to delay incoming and outgoing essences (video, audio, ancillary) either simultaneously or separately.
This is often essential to get all production assets aligned, for perfect lip-sync, to compensate for unavoidable latency, etc.
HOME TPG
All users of the HOME Apps platform have access to a free test pattern generator for video, and a test tone generator for audio.
HOME Test Pattern/Test Tone Generator assigns 10 fixed outputs to these generators.
Intuitive and Fast
Fast and Streamlined User Experience
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
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.
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.
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
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 & D)
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)
Please Note
All information given above refers to preliminary product specifications and is subject to change.
Please see the dedicated HOME Apps pages for app-specific specifications.





















