What is the Grass Valley Kahuna?
The Grass Valley Kahuna is a high-end multiformat production switcher designed for large-scale live broadcast productions. It supports SD, HD, and 4K UHD formats, and is available in configurations offering up to 24 M/Es, 48 keyers, and 72 key layers. The Kahuna is paired with the Maverik modular control surface and is used by broadcasters worldwide for flagship entertainment, sports, and news productions. It supports external control protocols, which allow it to be integrated with automation systems like the Cuez Automator.
For more information about the Grass Valley Kahuna, visit the Grass Valley website.
Adding a Grass Valley Kahuna 'device' to the Automator
In the top right corner of the Automator, we see 'Devices'; this can be either in red or green depending on the status of the configured devices. Click it and select 'Add device'.
Next, select 'GV Kahuna' from the 'Device type' dropdown list, then give it a name.
Once the Grass Valley Kahuna device is selected and given a name, you will see all the fields needed to configure it for use with the Automator.
Basic device configuration
Enter the Host name of the Kahuna system on your local network (localhost if the Automator runs on the same machine as the Kahuna's control interface). The Port defaults to 51760, matching the Kahuna's actual control port.
Once the settings have been entered correctly, the device should show as 'Online' (green) instead of 'Offline' (red).
Note: Make sure the Kahuna is powered on and accessible on the same local network as the machine running the Cuez Automator.
Media handling configuration
Next, check the Handle Media box if this Kahuna device will be handling media (e.g. clips triggered as part of your rundown). More settings will appear, allowing you to configure where media needs to be downloaded and which media to download for this device.
Download folders
The Download folder is where the Automator downloads media for the Kahuna, as seen from the Automator's perspective. If the Kahuna and the Automator are on the same computer, this will be a local folder. If they're on separate devices, use an IP address on the local network, or send to an S3 bucket using the tab alongside 'Download locally'.
The Device media folder is where the Automator downloads media for the Kahuna, as seen from the Kahuna's perspective. This is typically a local folder on the same computer.
Downloading enabled / Keep filenames
Check Downloading enabled to have the Automator actually download media for this device. Automator saves files with a unique ID by default — check Keep filenames if you'd rather keep the original filenames for easier manual inspection of the download folder.
Automatically delete files
Files can be automatically deleted Never, after 24 hours, or after a week, so downloaded media doesn't accumulate once it's no longer needed.
Define Blocks with Media
Finally, configure which Blocks need their media downloaded for the Kahuna. Select your Block configuration (for example, 'Clip'), then select the media field name (usually 'Media'). Repeat this step for all Block configurations that need media downloaded by the Kahuna device you're configuring.
Configuring actions
The next step is then to configure each Item and Block configuration with the (set of) functions you want to perform on the Kahuna when triggering the Item or Block; more general information on that is available in this article.
Available functions
Run macro — Runs a saved macro on the Kahuna. Configured with Project and Macro.
💡 Default port (51760) from Automator Stable v1.36.0 (1 Sep 2026) onwards