Gentlemen, I am relatively new to editsuite, but not as a TD. I have been a TD for most of the 28 years I have worked at the same metro NY station. I once switched news on a COHU (sp?), then graduated to the progression of small GV products. Five years ago the EIC made a decision to purchase the Kalipso. I was chosen to attend GV training in CA. Mr. Bob Ennis was my instructor. I have been through many "training" experiences but none can compare with the value I got having Bob as a teacher. His easy open approach helped enormously in bridging the gap between the GV250 I was familiar with and the unknown (and quite overwhelming) kalipso. His contribution to this site has been a valuable tool. He writes as he speaks, clearly and in a manner that helps one VISUALIZE his instruction. I have to agree with the others who have commented on Bob's departure. I find it hard to imagine that Bob will ever be in want of work. He is a pro, and a prince of a man, if I do say so... I have recently been put to the challenge of training freelance TD's from scratch. I found myself quoting Bob at every turn. You cannot put a pricetag on what Bob has to give or how he does it, but whatever it takes, he is truly worth every penny! He is the real thing. Linda Moats WNJU/Telemundo/NBC Universal

[quote="Dave Bernstein"]It's a pity you can't see the old editsuite . . .[/quote] Ahh. . . but Dave, there is a lovely link labeled "Old Forums" (I love alliteration, too) that I put in when we switched over. It's near the top of this page, just above the "Logged in as" info. Here's the direct link, just in case: [url]http://editsuite.com/jump_forum.php[/url] Years of interesting things in those forums, enjoy. -JH

Mr. Casper, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to thoroughly answer my questions. Welcome to the forum and, please, come back often. Dave B., you're right on the money. Thank you for so elloquently putting into words what I was thinking. jh

David, So nice of you to join us! (As of 11:37 am on tuesday 6/13/06 you are editsuite's newest user). As I write this, you are still online, hopefully browsing back as far as this version of editsuite will allow, in order to get a better idea of what is discussed here and who says what about your products and your competitors'. It's a pity you can't see the old editsuite to get a more complete idea of the extremely high regard in which we hold Bob Ennis' input. Bob is a voice of reason in a howling wilderness of pain and frustration. People who have had a bad day with a product and come here to vent (yours truly included), have been soothed and enlightened by the calm reason and high intellect characteristic of Bob's posts. Over the life of this forum, Bob has been the staunchest defender of Grass Valley - its products and its people. When we railed about bugs or glitches or just the generally uncommunicative nature of GVG vis a vis its main user group (what happened to Kevin Windrem BTW?), Bob was there to support the product, calm us down and point us in the right direction. Bob has always believed in the Kalypso platform, especially the viability of its future and the likelihood that its successor would lead the market. This is why you are now witnessing outpourings of anger and frustration: When your biggest fan, the one who most believes in the future of your product and product line, can no longer publicly support your company's position; When he percieves that the needs of those who put their careers in the line with your products are being ignored (even naysayed) to the point where he feels he can no longer rely on you to deliver the product this industry so badly needs; When the eternal optimist finally gives up hope in front of the entire industry, there is no way to put on a brave face. The Voice Of Reason has left the building and only Insanity, Chaos and Entropy remain. You want my input on your new product design as a TD? Here it is, gratis, free of charge: Do whatever it takes to get Bob Ennis et al involved again. Bow, scrape, throw money, cars and houses, (or simply get rid of whatever obstacles are being put in his way), but get him back. Why? Because whomever gets Bob and his Boys (and Girls - sorry, but the alliteration...) on their team wins, and the rest go back to making pretty routers with lots of colorful, blinking lights and knobs. cheers dave

[quote]A.) Although I have seen nothing "official," the word on the street is that Kalypso is in the early stages of being phased out. Is this true? If so, what is going to replace it? The concensus seems to lean toward the Kayak, but the opinions I've read would make it seem that this would be a huge step back in terms of operational functionality and capability. What would you say to those claims?[/quote] Kalypso is not being phased out. We are still continuing to enhance it's software. Release 14 is scheduled towards for towards the end of this year. (Someone wiser than me decided to skip version 13). [quote]B.) Your competitors continue to make great strides, not only with their respective product lines, but with their relationships with the TDs who will ultimately be piloting the product. One manufacturer is offering free training and a 24 hour TD hotline. Does T/GV offer this kind of free support? If not, does T/GV plan to offer this kind of support for the next generation of production switcher?[/quote] GV does not have a regular ongoing policy of free training as this is not tenable in a business sense. If you think about it, nothing is really free. It could be free for the TD, but price is paid elsewhere - generally in the cost of the switcher itself, or switcher maintenance contracts. GV offers training courses which we see as value for money. However, we are open to offering free freelancer training especially when a significant new product ships, as we did when Kalypso launched. So we may again make this as a general offer for a period of time. Additionally we always consider requests from freelance TD's on a case-by-case basis. Typically, we can offer free "tuition" for operations classes while the attendee covers his/her own expenses. So If interested, contact the switcher group and/or the training department in Grass Valley. In terms of support of course GV continues to have 24/7 support. One reason I suspect that editsuite is so useful to everyone is that there are some things which no hotline can really provide. You need to communicate with people actually doing the job - not sitting on call at a telephone. [quote]C.) Does T/GV employ real-world TD's in the R & D lab? If so, who are they and how might we invite them to partake in our larger dialogue?[/quote] Well of course, GV employ's real world TD's in its lab. We have a pool of TDs who we use through all phases of development: they act as consultants for up-front design - and through the development cycle they do testing and evaluation of beta releases. If you attend tradeshows such as NAB and IBC, I am sure they are familiar faces to you. I do not feel it is appropriate for me to provide a list. All these TD's are not employees per se, but freelancers who act as paid consultants for us. So many posts on this forum have come from our pool of consultants. Obviously we have some well established relationships with TDs, but our pool of talent is fluid and changes. I am surprised that it is not obvious already, that many TDs who post on editsuite, have worked extensively with us over the years. They speak for themselves: but their experience is derived both from doing shows and 'inside information' picked up directly by talking to the engineers who designed our switchers. What I have to acknowledge though, is that there appears to be some frustration that TDs are 'not being heard'. So what should we do? At NAB this year, myself, Bob Ennis, and Helge Schenk, spent the whole of NAB in a hotel room trying to elicit input from invited TDs and EICs. etc. Alas, we found that many TDs did not actually go to NAB this year - engineering and production managers went to the show, but TDs were hard at work and not 'free' to attend. We did learn a lot, and want to do the same in Europe around IBC time too. GV feels that it has been active on editsuite - since many of our 'consultant pool' have been vocal. But since they don't directly identify themselves as GV staffers (which they are not) maybe this participation is not clear. I guess Microsoft has a category of programmer they label MVP which means that this person is an independent but authoritative voice. Maybe we should give people badges as GVPs. However, although we want to freely share operational information, and find out about problem areas - we must retain some level of confidentiality regarding our future plans since we live in a highly competitive economic environment. Competition is good for us, we can never rest on our laurels, but are continuously impelled to improve and innovate. On a narrow scale we want to beat our rival competitors, but on a larger scale we are all colleagues and all contributing to mankind's progress. All the best... David Casper, Advanced Development, Live Production Solutions, Grass Valley

Bill, thank you. I'm glad that Helge has made it over here and look forward to his contributions. Perhaps he can answer my questions.

[quote="JohnHowardSC"]<<>> Ok, I've had enough of this. That's twice in only a few days that a professional, network Technical Director has been openly "reprimanded" for stating an opinion or observation in this forum. I want to remind our distinguished visitors of a couple of things: C.) Does T/GV employ real-world TD's in the R & D lab? If so, who are they and how might we invite them to partake in our larger dialogue? I could go on and on but you get the general idea. I can speak for all of us when I say that we welcome your visits. But I would strongly encourage you to use your messages to enlighten us rather than bash our colleagues for stating their opinions. Finally, no matter what your Business Model may state, don't ever forget that we are the ones with the ultimate responsibility of making your product work. I would ask that you take note of the questions and concerns posed in this forum, and of what your competitors are doing in terms of building relationships with TDs. While the ultimate decision "to purchase or not to purchase" resides above our pay grade, our influence in many cases is considerably stronger than you may think. John Howard JohnHowardSC@aol.com[/quote] John not that he needs me to explain this but Helge is regarded as one of the top TD's around the world. I am not aware of his complete resume besides doing the opening ceremonies for the World feed for the Olympics, I am quite certain it is very extensive. I met Helge last year at NAB, and spoke at length with him about switchers, his knowledge is incredible. He was very involved with the design of the DD and xtend series switchers. I do not believe he was involved at all with the Kalypso (that was designed before GVG and Philips merged). I also do not belive he is involved with management decisions like you are mentioning. I agree with most of the other points you made, anyone that designs a switcher needs to balance the ideas of everyone including real world TD's. Not those that don't TD any longer and maybe haven't for many years. Yes I agree someone from GVG should step in and let us know about what the future holds for them. thanks Bill

<<>> Ok, I've had enough of this. That's twice in only a few days that a professional, network Technical Director has been openly "reprimanded" for stating an opinion or observation in this forum. I want to remind our distinguished visitors of a couple of things: 1. This is a forum of and for professional TDs who openly discuss issues of concern with regard to your products. Opinions, observations and facts are exchanged equally here. Trust me, we're smart enough to figure out which is which without your political grandstanding. 2. There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to your product line because, until now, no one from your camp has taken the opportunity to communicate with us in quite some time. Uncertainty leads to rumor which leads to our frustration. While I have your attention, allow me to pose a few simple questions that will hopefully clear some things up: A.) Although I have seen nothing "official," the word on the street is that Kalypso is in the early stages of being phased out. Is this true? If so, what is going to replace it? The concensus seems to lean toward the Kayak, but the opinions I've read would make it seem that this would be a huge step back in terms of operational functionality and capability. What would you say to those claims? B.) Your competitors continue to make great strides, not only with their respective product lines, but with their relationships with the TDs who will ultimately be piloting the product. One manufacturer is offering free training and a 24 hour TD hotline. Does T/GV offer this kind of free support? If not, does T/GV plan to offer this kind of support for the next generation of production switcher? C.) Does T/GV employ real-world TD's in the R & D lab? If so, who are they and how might we invite them to partake in our larger dialogue? I could go on and on but you get the general idea. I can speak for all of us when I say that we welcome your visits. But I would strongly encourage you to use your messages to enlighten us rather than bash our colleagues for stating their opinions. Finally, no matter what your Business Model may state, don't ever forget that we are the ones with the ultimate responsibility of making your product work. I would ask that you take note of the questions and concerns posed in this forum, and of what your competitors are doing in terms of building relationships with TDs. While the ultimate decision "to purchase or not to purchase" resides above our pay grade, our influence in many cases is considerably stronger than you may think. John Howard JohnHowardSC@aol.com

[quote="Helge Schenk"]Rick Tugman wrote : >>I love how the engineers are telling us how to set up a switcher. Personally I don't want to "THINK ABOUT IT & ARRANGE WHAT GOES ON WHAT KEYER BEFOREHAND." I agree with you Bob, not having a variable programmable Clean Feeds you can pick from is very limiting. Sounds like they are headed back to their Philips product line and listening more the those European engineers on this one and not the operators. Sometimes too much, is too much especially in a remote environment. ARE YOU LISTENING THOMPSON-GV??<< just for your information : The hardware design ( and the FPGA design ) is made at GV in Nevada City ! Regarding "Flexi-Key" which is first of all hardware related : As far as I know , it's going to be implemented as soon as the FPGA code is redesigned on KayakHD So please don't just write things up if you don't know the truth , that's just unprofessional and I know you can do better than this . Best Regards Helge[/quote] Hi Helge: Nice to see you around. Hope you and the family are well. I guess this sets the engineering thing straight on the design location, so I stand corrected that is not European engineers. But I was making a general statement about this in response to something Bob Ennis wrote .... I was not stating a fact, only an observation. As Matt Saplin mentioned, his Kalypso experience as a real life TD & R & D guy for Grass have helped many people greatly and alot of people respect his opinion. Hope your zipping around the Autoban in your BMW - too bad we have speed limit laws here on some of our highways other wise I'd be doing the same. Best regards, Rick.

Rick Tugman wrote : >>I love how the engineers are telling us how to set up a switcher. Personally I don't want to "THINK ABOUT IT & ARRANGE WHAT GOES ON WHAT KEYER BEFOREHAND." I agree with you Bob, not having a variable programmable Clean Feeds you can pick from is very limiting. Sounds like they are headed back to their Philips product line and listening more the those European engineers on this one and not the operators. Sometimes too much, is too much especially in a remote environment. ARE YOU LISTENING THOMPSON-GV??<< Hi Rick , just for your information : The hardware design ( and the FPGA design ) is made at GV in Nevada City ! Regarding "Flexi-Key" which is first of all hardware related : As far as I know , it's going to be implemented as soon as the FPGA code is redesigned on KayakHD So please don't just write things up if you don't know the truth , that's just unprofessional and I know you can do better than this . Best Regards Helge

[quote="Jay Shinn"]We at GV do listen to every point of view, users, demo, sales people, EIC,etc...always have ...alway will. Sorry that not everything gets included or in the time frame you would like to see.[/quote] I had to put in my two cents on this, guys: In my opinion, the Editsuite forum is a GREAT RESOURCE for TDs, Directors, Editors and EICs. Often running into different things in the field (with nobody to bounce questions or ideas off of), it is very handy to have a place to go where we can get almost real-time information and input. That being said, Bob Ennis' input has always been valued and respected here. As a real-life TD and an R & D guy for Grass, his experiences (and opinions) with the Kalypso have helped me greatly. If I could ask for one thing, it would be for Grass Valley to monitor these forums to help with bug work-arounds, and maybe to keep us posted on new releases of software and hardware. I am aware that GV has a forum of on their website (which is helpful), but the Editsuite information is updated much more frequently and is more easily accessible. As the first armored division would say, "Many Tanks"! Matt

<<>> Now that's pure comedy. Shame on you, Bob...for making me laugh out loud.

I don?t want to show disrespect to anyone here. Since English is not my first language, I will try to chose my words the best I can so I will not offend anyone. It is good to see that people at GVG read this forum. It would be better if from time to time these peoples would send post to tell us, users, what happen with those small bugs or those big improvements we are asking for, which is something that Mr. Ennis did very well. (btw, what is happening with that key status hold function?) Most of us like the GVG products, and we always appreciate the new software releases or new products. And it is true, Mr Shinn, that we sometimes feel frustrated when the new releases don?t come in the time frame that we expect. And we all know that there are at least two sides to every story. We don?t want to know all those stories but we would like to know if we are listened to otherwise than by a single post which says nothing. We are not the ones who buy the products, but we sometimes are the ones who can give advice to our management when it is time to choose new equipments. If we feel that the competition listens more to us, we obviously recommend the competition. And finally, I can tell that I really appreciate the commentaries and help of Mr. Ennis and from most of us in this forum. JP

I am sorry for Bob' point of view. Anyone reading this please understand there are atleast two sides to everystory. Bob is entitled to his opinion... but there is much more than Bob' view...shame on you Bob for disrespect to have for others in this public forum. We at GV do listen to every point of view, users, demo, sales people, EIC,etc...always have ...alway will. Sorry that not everything gets included or in the time frame you would like to see. I will not comment any further on this matter. GV Product Line Director, Production Switchers.

You are pretty much corect on that assumption. Before I left GVG, I tried to pass along as much as I could from opinions on this site, and I often got chastised for my responses that didn't "tow the company line". Once in a while you'll see something from a GV manager, but that ends up being more "damage control" ( eg. see following response from GVG) or Public Relations. They feel that they already have who they need to decide what needs to be done (both for now & in the future). One of their managers did post a "what would you like to see in the future?" question here a while ago, but I found it to be almost embarrasing - at one time they had a team to help design future products, and even received almost 100% validation on those designs from a survey of users. That team no longer exists - their next product is destind to be designed by salesmen and demo people, not real-life users.

[quote="Rick Tugman"]ARE YOU LISTENING THOMPSON-GV??[/quote] If GV was listening, we would get feed back from them on this site; they would ask us what improvment we would like on their products, what kind of trouble we get through, etc; I think it is something that they used to do a while back but that they forgot . Since we are not the ones whit the money, our opinion is probably not interesting. JP

[quote="Bob Ennis"]There is no way to do the Kalypso-style variable Programmable Clean Feeds (eg. BKGD + Keys 1, 2 & 4 [minus just 3]). the keyer stack is fixed & you can pick off from upstream of it, but you can't randomly pick & choose which keys you want & don't want. I personally find this terribly limiting, but I have been told that "all you do is think about it & arrange what goes on what keyer beforehand" to get around this.[/quote] I love how the engineers are telling us how to set up a switcher. Personally I don't want to "THINK ABOUT IT & ARRANGE WHAT GOES ON WHAT KEYER BEFOREHAND." I agree with you Bob, not having a variable programmable Clean Feeds you can pick from is very limiting. Sounds like they are headed back to their Philips product line and listening more the those European engineers on this one and not the operators. Sometimes too much, is too much especially in a remote environment. ARE YOU LISTENING THOMPSON-GV??

To answer your questions: The side panel on most every switcher is a duplicate extension of the menu system. On Kayak, there is a LOT more in the side panel application than is accessable on the panel or in the imbedded menu. The side panel is almost mandatory if you want to "unleash" the power of the Kayak...without it, it's a nice product for churches, colleges, & small cable facilities, but not much more. The still store is a function of the RAM recorder - it uses separate memory locatins, but the two are pretty much tied together. Chroma Keyers are a license option, available in groups of (I think) 2. The clean feeds are ExtenDD-style. You can have BKGD + Keys 1-4, BKGD + Keys 1-3 (it may be 2-4), BKGD + Keys 1-2 (it may be 3-4), BKGD + Key 1 (it may be 4), or BKGD Only. There is no way to do the Kalypso-style variable Programmable Clean Feeds (eg. BKGD + Keys 1, 2 & 4 [minus just 3]). the keyer stack is fixed & you can pick off from upstream of it, but you can't randomly pick & choose which keys you want & don't want. I personally find this terribly limiting, but I have been told that "all you do is think about it & arrange what goes on what keyer beforehand" to get around this.

Any updated thoughts or experience's with the Kayak? What about still store, chroma keyers, clean feed options? Any input is appreciated. Thanks, Mark Schumaker

Why would the Kayak replace the Kalypso? The Kayak is a decent switcher, I could even imagine seeing one in a cheap regional truck, but it simply doesn't have the features to do a top-level show. I just don't see it happening. As for sidepanel being a kludge, Sony does the same thing, only their sidepanel runs on Linux. It also offers a little bit of redundancy to have the menu be in a separate box, if the sidepanel crashes the switcher isn't affected.

No Rick the Kayak WILL NOT replace the Kalypso and NO the Kalypso is not being discontinued

[quote="sahonen"]The sidepanel is a windows PC running the sidepanel software and is connected via ethernet to the switcher frame. Thomson makes a piece of hardware specially for running sidepanel which includes a touch screen LCD and digipots which you may have seen if you've ever run a DD35 or XTenDD, but the software can be run on any windows PC. If you go to and download the latest software file for the switcher you're running, the sidepanel installer is somewhere in the zipfile. I remember when I got the Kayak software it was buried under 5 levels of directories that looked like they were named by someone banging their head on the keyboard.[/quote] That seems like kind of a kludge to me (just my opinion). Since the rumors are rampent in the industry that Kayak will replace Kalypso when it's discontinued this year, it seems odd they think that will be enought to get people to switch. There have been several high-end users that claim they have been told, very quietly, that Kalypso will be going away within a year and will be replaced with a 4 ME Kayak. RE

The sidepanel is a windows PC running the sidepanel software and is connected via ethernet to the switcher frame. Thomson makes a piece of hardware specially for running sidepanel which includes a touch screen LCD and digipots which you may have seen if you've ever run a DD35 or XTenDD, but the software can be run on any windows PC. If you go to and download the latest software file for the switcher you're running, the sidepanel installer is somewhere in the zipfile. I remember when I got the Kayak software it was buried under 5 levels of directories that looked like they were named by someone banging their head on the keyboard.

What is sidepanel? I can't find anything about on Thomson's web site. RE

[quote="Carl Johansson"]Mike, did you run the Sidepanel software? Many of the features you desire are available there. You could run it on your laptop and hook it up to the Kayak. /Carl[/quote] SWEET!! I tried for an hour to install the sidepanel program and the install program kept freezing so I gave up. Thats good to hear.

Mike - The Kayak actually does support PBus and macros in timelines, but you have to go into the sidepanel to get at them. One complaint I had about the switcher at first was that features were advertised but the switcher didn't deliver, until I came here and found out the built-in menu screen only gives you access to the most basic switcher options. After you get a sidepanel (a laptop running the software will do) and start navigating it you'll find a lot of your problems going away. As for your issues with the Media Player, I haven't really fooled around with it enough. Personally, if I'm running a tape deck or DDR I'd rather have something like a Lance or a DNF next to me than run it through the switcher. I agree with Rick, if you're on a truck that's rented by lots of different clients, get something everybody knows. The Kayak is a good choice for in-house video production such as a TV/news station or sports venue, something where your equipment isn't the product for a client, but rather the show itself, and you have a relatively small pool of operators who work there on a regular basis, as opposed to freelancers.

At least your asking TD's before buying this. That is the smartest thing you could have done. On the other side of the coin, why on earth would you even think of buying something that is not user friendly? I have seen switchers purchased with all different configurations. Each one varies from truck to truck. When the 3 & 4 K first came out - producers said they wanted to do this or that, but we couldn't because someone cheaped out and didn't buy secondary wipes or borderline - there was always something holding you back from doing something the switcher could do. The same goes for the Kalypso - yeah you purchase the switcher and advertise you have a Kalypso on board - but then the TD has to work around all the things you didn't purchase like Double Take and Transform Engines and what makes the switcher THE SWITCHER! I would say depending on your application it maybe fine if your application is master control or a small cable outlet where your operators won't change. The problem with putting this on a truck is that TD's around the country can't run them. There is too much of a learning curve to go in and set up and cut a show in one day especially when you take into consideration the many levels of menus to do simple tasks. There isn't enough time today because a TD is now also a tape operator in addition to their other responsibilities. It's just too much and once you have to begin interfacing other equipment and make automated transitions, you begin to run into a problem. It for these reasons why the SONY 7000 and DD35 never made it mainstream into the truck market. Truck companies had problems finding people who could operate them. No matter how much you saved on the switcher - the general sense was the truck was too much trouble not too mention the expense used to fly in competent operators time after time. I don't think it's a brillant idea to force some of these switchers on your clients because you want to save money... it just doesn't make much business sense if your truck is not marketable. Most people know Grass Valley's 3K, 4K & Kalypso and as I mentioned, depending on your application you might want to re-think using the Kayak or using something else like a Kalypso which is more straight forward and much faster to program. If your thinking about a truck, then you also have to think about the people who will operate it and will make your company look good having a piece of equipment they are more familiar with. But then again that is the decision you have to make based upon your application and needs.

Mike, did you run the Sidepanel software? Many of the features you desire are available there. You could run it on your laptop and hook it up to the Kayak. /Carl

What's missing? As of the superbowl- PBUS! And the machine control only worked via macros. The interface is horrible. A lot of button pushing to do simple things and with some minor tweaking could be made a lot better. For example- In the media player menu, you have to go into a sub menu to delegate which machine you control, then hit "OK" (another button push)- when there is pleny of room on the main interface to put 4 MP buttons that you can select/deselect on the fly. So you're constantly going back and forth in and out of this menu when you're trying to cue stuff and sync fill/matte channels. And you can't unselect a MP when you only have 1 MP delegated- one always has to be lit. So if you have MP 1 delegated and you wanted MP 2 only- you first must delegate MP 2 then undelegate MP 1. It kinda goes against the way everything else works in the interface where you can simply press a button on the touchscreen to highlight it and press it again to unhighlight it. (4 button pushes to delegate from VTR1 to VTR2 when it should only be 2) Overall, most of my complaints are minor things that might seem trival to a programmer but as an operator can be frustrating when you're under the gun and your fingers are tired before even going on air. It looks like it was built on the XtenDD software- it at least thinks more like a DD switcher than a legacy GVG switcher. It looks like they plan on including many of the things that make the DD so powerful- like inserting commands in timelines- I just hope they expand what they have to include absolute and relative commands instead of keyframe based mentality. Mike Tiffee

I think the Kayak is an excellent choice for anyone who's on a budget that keeps them from springing for something like a Kalypso or an 8k. Anyone who's cut on an XTenDD or a DD35 will feel right at home, except for the DPM system, which is more like a Kalypso's TEs than XTenDD or DD35's internal DVE. One major downside about the DPMs, though. A big selling point is that it's capable of putting a DPM on every single keyer in the switcher if you have the licenses to do it. However, if you don't buy all the licenses, DPMs will only float within the M/E they have been purchased for. You don't buy X amount of DPMs for the entire switcher like a Kalypso, you have to decide which M/Es you want to put them on. You also don't have features like doubletake and layered mode that some operators may be used to on higher-end switchers. Overall, though, I think it feels more like the Kayak isn't giving you less power, it's that a higher end switcher is just giving you more.