Multiview

Hi, today I want to give you a sneak peek at something new we’re adding to MK.IO: Multiview.

Multiview is already available in MK.IO today — it powers live streaming experiences for some of the world’s biggest broadcasters. Until now, the setup has been done through our internal APIs. What’s new is that we’re bringing Multiview into the MK.IO interface so that anyone can configure it in just a few clicks.

With Multiview you can watch several live streams on the same screen, decide which feed has the active audio, and instantly switch any stream to full screen when the action gets exciting. Soon you’ll be able to set it all up directly in the MK.IO GUI, without needing any extra software or complex steps.

Note At the time of writing, Multiview in the MK.IO GUI is still a prototype. What you see here is based on an early mockup. The final release may look slightly different, but the goal is simple: make Multiview accessible to every MK.IO user in the easiest way possible.

What is Multiview?

Multiview brings together several live video streams into a single viewing experience. Instead of jumping back and forth between channels, you can keep them all on screen at once and stay in control of what you watch.

With MK.IO Multiview you can:

Watch up to four live channels simultaneously.
Toggle audio between feeds instantly.
Switch any feed to full screen the moment you want to focus on it.
Choose different layout templates (2x2, 1+3, and more to come) depending on the type of event.

What makes MK.IO Multiview different is that it’s a server-side solution. All the heavy lifting combining multiple streams into one happens in the cloud. The viewer only receives a single optimized feed, which means:

No extra load on the end device.
Lower egress costs compared to client-side solutions.
Perfectly synchronized signals inside the multiview.

This approach is already proven in large-scale live deployments, supporting hundreds of channels and millions of viewing hours, thanks to its server-side, cloud-native architecture

How It Looks in the GUI (Prototype)

When Multiview arrives in the MK.IO interface, the goal is simple: make it work in just a few clicks. Here’s what the experience will look like based on the current prototype:

Open Multiview

From the main navigation menu, select Multiview.
You’ll land on a page where you can create and manage Multiview sessions.

Pick a Layout

Choose how you want to arrange your screen:
2x2 grid (four equal windows)
1+3 layout (one main feed plus three smaller feeds)
More layouts will be added in the future.

Add Your Streams

For each slot in the layout, select a live stream from your MK.IO account.
The preview updates instantly as you add each feed.

Associate with a Live Channel

Once your Multiview layout is ready, you link it to a Live Channel.
This step publishes the composed Multiview as a standard MK.IO output, just like any other channel.
From there, it can be delivered, monitored, and distributed through the same workflows you already use for live streaming.

Heads-up: As this is still a preview feature, the design and workflow may change before general release.

What’s Next

Multiview is already powering live streaming today, but the best part is still to come. Over the next releases you’ll see:

General availability in the GUI – so every MK.IO user can set up Multiview in just a few clicks.
Public API support – giving developers the option to configure and control Multiview programmatically via the MK.IO API Reference: https://docs.mk.io/reference/the-mediakind-api#/
More layouts and flexibility – beyond 2x2 and 1+3, new templates will be introduced to fit different types of events.
Broader use cases – while sports and news are obvious wins, Multiview is also perfect for live entertainment, e-sports, and any scenario with multiple concurrent feeds.

Remember, this is just the beginning. Multiview is designed to make streaming more flexible, more personal, and easier to manage and we hope this gives you a clear idea of where we’re heading. That’s it for now, but we’ll keep you posted as the feature matures and becomes publicly available. In the meantime, think about how you might use Multiview to give your viewers more control, more choice, and a truly personalized live experience.