By Fabio Varolo, Sales Manager, FOR-A Europe
The distinction between broadcast and professional AV markets continues to blur, as evidenced at this year’s ISE show in Barcelona. What was once primarily an AV-focused event has evolved into a comprehensive showcase of converging technologies, workflows and solutions that span both industries.
Innovation through collaboration
During the show, I had the opportunity to catch up with two of our key technology partners – ClassX and Cinegy – to discuss how our collaborations are helping customers navigate this evolving landscape.
FOR-A MixBoard: unlimited creative potential
On the Alfalite stand, I spoke with Giovanni Pallesi, CEO of ClassX about our award-winning FOR-A MixBoard production switcher. The partnership between FOR-A and ClassX began at an IBC show years ago, initially focused on CG integration. That collaboration has now culminated in FOR-A MixBoard, a software-defined switcher that’s breaking new ground in both broadcast and AV applications.
“MixBoard was born in the broadcast environment,” Giovanni explained, “but its software-defined architecture makes it easily adaptable for other purposes like video production.” The system’s unlimited layering capabilities and intuitive drag-and-drop interface are resonating with operators across different production environments.
What sets FOR-A MixBoard apart is its user interface, designed with particular attention to live operations. “The interface allows for smooth, intuitive production,” Giovanni noted. “We’ve introduced new concepts like drag-and-drop preparation, making it very fast and intuitive to set up complex layouts and customise effects.”
Expanding horizons with Cinegy
In another insightful conversation, I met with Yaroslav Korniyets, Product & Partnerships Manager at Cinegy to discuss how our partnership is evolving to meet changing market demands. The integration of Cinegy’s software solutions with FOR-A’s hardware expertise has proven to be a perfect match, particularly in areas like ingest, playout, and media asset management.
Our partnership with Cinegy spans the entire content lifecycle, from capture to playout, asset management to streaming. Bringing together hardware-defined and software-defined technologies allows us to offer complete solutions to our customers and integrators. This synergy has been especially valuable in enhancing our video switcher capabilities with additional ingest and playout functionality.
The conversation also highlighted Cinegy’s innovations in AI technology, which are becoming increasingly important across both broadcast and AV sectors. “We’re harnessing the power of AI and delivering it to products like archive and many more,” Yaroslav explained. “Our AI-powered subtitling service is just the beginning – we’re working on integrating these capabilities across our entire portfolio.”
Markets in Convergence
The conversations at ISE 2025 highlighted a significant shift in our industry. As I discussed with both partners, the traditional line between professional AV and broadcast markets is fading. We’re seeing increasing demand from sectors like defence, medical, hospitality and houses of worship for broadcast-quality solutions.
The conversations highlighted how the pro AV market is showing increasing demand for quality, reliability and streaming capabilities. It’s no longer about distinct markets, but rather a larger video production ecosystem where the need to produce more content, more efficiently, and with the ability to move signals reliably between locations is paramount.
This convergence is driving innovation in remote production, cloud applications and IP workflows – topics that dominated discussions throughout the show. For FOR-A and our partners, this represents an opportunity to deliver solutions that combine the best of both worlds: broadcast-grade quality with the flexibility and scalability that modern productions demand.
The transformation of ISE from a purely AV-focused event to a comprehensive technology showcase reflects the broader changes in our industry. As we look ahead, FOR-A remains committed to working with our partners to deliver solutions that meet the needs of this expanding market.
