FOR-A Drives Virtual Studio System for UAE Ministry of Education Distance Learning

21 Jul 2021

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 13, 2021 – FOR-A Middle-East Africa, a subsidiary of FOR-A Company Limited, today announced the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education is using a HVS-1200 video switcher to drive a virtual studio system for distance learning programs. Originally designed to help the MoE build an educational channel for coverage of live lectures, the project became a top priority during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The system was installed in March 2020 at the new MoE headquarters in Ajman, UAE, with most of the crew training completed during the lockdown. Built around a Brainstorm InfinitySet Lite, with three Panasonic 4K PTZ cameras controlled from the HVS-1200 switcher, the system was designed to be very simple to operate, even by a single operator. The system is used to produce up to five hours of live video instruction daily, and can support 4K or HD production.

"The aim for this project is to let the operators be confident in using the whole system, even non-technical operators," explained Rayan Nasser, sales manager for United Broadcast. "The customer can work directly with HD and 4K requirements – whenever they want – without any complications or cabling issues. FOR-A's versatile switcher delivers excellent virtual studio imagery and positions the MoE for a 4K future."

"After all the schools closed because of the COVID-19 lockdown, the MoE turned to distance learning," added Mohammed Abu Ziyadeh, system engineering manager, FOR-A Company Limited. "With so much content to produce, they needed a system that was easy to use but could present engaging content for students across the country. United Broadcast delivered a solution that combines the flexibility of virtual set technology with the reliability of our HVS-1200 switcher. The result is high-quality productions with minimal staff."

Building on the features of FOR-A's popular HVS-100/110 and HVS-490 models, the HVS-1200 features 10 inputs and outputs in 4K mode (or 40/10 I/O in HD) , including two outputs for HDMI 2.0. Mixed inputs of 12G-SDI and quad link 3G-SDI are supported. MELite™ technology extends the switcher's 2 M/Es to 6 M/E performance, while FLEXaKEY™ technology transforms a traditional AUX bus into a functional mix effects with cuts, mix, wipes, keys, and DVE including full preview. The switcher also includes two multi viewer outputs, each supporting up to a 16-split display, one color corrector and one still/clip store in 4K (four each in HD mode), and built-in web server for setup on a PC or tablet.