FOR-A Corporation of America recently announced that Casablanca Online, a leading provider of satellite communications services based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has purchased a large complement of FOR-A signal processing equipment. Its order includes an FA-9500 video signal processor, FRC-8000 frame rate converter, and HVS-300HS HD/SD video production switcher. Casablanca Online provides transmission solutions for global content distribution to broadcasters, news agencies, event organizers, production houses and business corporations.
The equipment was purchased primarily to provide signal transmission, conversion, and back-haul of live telecasts, mainly for Casablanca customer Fox Sports Latin America in Rio de Janeiro, as well as other Casablanca broadcast and corporate video customers throughout South America. With one of the largest fleets of HD/SD DSNG trucks in South America, 24/7 satellite teleport facilities and other video production resources, Casablanca Online backhauls television signals for a wide range of sporting events, including more than 1400 soccer matches each year.
Video signal conversion is especially critical in South America and Central America because there are three different DTV broadcast standards in use as well as multiple formats and resolutions simultaneously. Broadcast and cable networks like Fox Sports Latin America entrust their video production needs to Casablanca Online because the company employs the latest, most advanced video signal processing equipment as part of its high-caliber production package.
With support for 3G, HD/SD-SDI and analog composite, the FOR-A FA-9500 is a multipurpose signal processor with integrated functionality as a frame synchronizer, up/down/cross/aspect converter, second converter, color corrector and automatic video optimizer, as well as Dolby E encoding and decoding.
Casablanca Online’s equipment order also included a FOR-A HVS-300HS HD/SD 1-M/E production switcher. This compact, portable 12 x 8 HD/SD video production switcher offers frame synchronizing and re-sizing on every channel, as well as integrated 3D DVE transitions, chroma key, DSK, dual picture in picture, still stores and a 16-channel multiviewer.
