Ross Video’s Kevin Cottam on Carbonite HyperMax, Other Innovations at NAB 2025

The new switching/routing/processing platform was a major attraction at the booth

Ross Video’s booth at the NAB Show always overflows with new technologies. This year, according to Ross Video VP, Global Sports and Live Events, Kevin Cottam, one of the big hits was the Carbonite HyperMax, a new platform for production switching, routing, and video/audio processing that complements the established Acuity production switcher.

“It’s great for all markets, including large and small mobile trucks, and all types of sports venues,” he explains. “It can scale from four mix effects and 200×200 inputs and outputs to eight mix effects and 144×144 inputs and outputs. HyperMax brings Carbonite workflows to the big-switcher world for the first time.”

The Ross Video booth at NAB 2025 was a beehive of activity throughout the show.

Another hot product at the show was the improved Xpression M9 version 12 chassis, which can handle two UHD output channels with key, up from one UHD channel in the previous version. It also has custom 3D LUTs for high-dynamic-range (HDR) workflows, enabling precise color grading, and video shaders have automatic detection from source metadata, delivering optimized performance. “With twice the channel count,” adds Cottam, “we can now drive more LED pixels for a much lower cost with our XPression Tessera solution.”

The Ultrix router and multiviewer got a lift with the addition of a display-port card and NDI support. “Users can feed monitors or LED displays straight out of the Ultrix,” he says, “which is something that hasn’t been possible before.”

The Ross PIERO graphics and analysis system has been improved with version 20, which features ST 2110 IP support. Improved tracking and keying for basketball and other indoor sports and courts allow users to lay sponsorship and other graphics onto a basketball court similar to that done on football fields; soccer graphics also are improved via a vertical-grid effect that overlays a grid and markers within the goal area, creating a structured look at shots on goal.

“We’re also using AI to calibrate PIERO,” adds Cottam. “With respect to AI, there is all kinds of cool technology in the works, like helping with repeatable tasks, which makes sense for AI. And then there are things like voice commands to recall graphics, which Chairman/CEO David Ross did at the press-event keynote.”