NAB 2020: FOR-A Processors Provide Conversion Options for Multi-Format Productions

Cypress, CA, Feb. 20, 2020 – FOR-A Corporation of America will showcase its processing solutions at the 2020 NAB Show (Booth C5016), which runs April 19-22 in Las Vegas, Nev. Designed to support today’s multi-format production environments, FOR-A’s multi-purpose signal processors and frame rate converters offer a variety of features to improve live production and newsroom workflows.

"From HD to 4K and beyond, today’s broadcasters have to juggle content in multiple formats from multiple sources in multiple locations, sometimes within the same production,” said Ken Truong, President of FOR-A Corporation of America. "At NAB, FOR-A is devoting an area of our booth to signal processing solutions, so content creators and distributors can find the right solutions for their conversion requirements.”

The versatile FA-9600 multi-purpose signal processor, which was featured at a world rugby event in October, will be used again by premiere broadcasters at the 2020 Tokyo summer games. Ideal for transmission centers, mobile production vehicles, production studios, and news stations, the compact FA-9600 simplifies all types of video conversion, and has been highly evaluated for its fully compliant HDR/SDR conversion specifications. Each of its two HD/SD inputs includes a frame synchronizer, HDR and Wide Color Gamut support, and conversion of multiple formats, including 12G, 4K (UHD), 1080p, and HD/SD. Users can switch between simultaneous 4K/HD mode with single-channel up/down conversion or dual HD mode with dual-channel up/down conversion.

Designed for live HDR broadcast production, the FA-9600 also supports 3D LUT for advanced color grading. The processor features unprecedented conversion accuracy with its built-in LUTs and support of 3D LUTs for SDR-HDR, HDR-HDR, and HDR-SDR conversions in mixed SDR and HDR production environments. The flexibility of the FA-9600 also allows user LUTs to be saved for instant recall. Several SDR/HDR log curves are supported, including SDR BT.1886, SDR BT.709, HLG BT.2100, SMPTE ST 2084 (PQ), S-Log3, Canon Log 2, and Canon Log 3.

The FA-9600 supports Sony’s SR Live workflow for the simultaneous creation of 4K HDR and HD HDR in live production. Plus, its 12G-SDI terminals provide support for 4K production (with optional software), while an optional expansion card provides four additional channels of 3G-SDI I/O or six channels of 12G-SDI distributed output.

For multi-channel routing and processing, the FA-505 multi-channel signal processor features five inputs and outputs, with support for 4K and simple HDR conversion. It supports 3G-SDI and HD/SD-SDI as standard, with aspect ratio conversion and up/down/cross conversion including 720p-to-1080i and 1080i-to-720p. Other features include frame sync, color correction, SNMP support, and eight-frame frame buffer that can be individually applied to each channel. The FA-505 also features versatile audio signal processing, with delay adjustment, remapping, and sampling rate converter.

FOR-A’s frame rate converters include the FRC-9100, which supports 3G, HD, and SD content, including interlace-to-progressive conversion. It also converts 16-channel embedded audio, as well as optional 16-channel AES/EBU and single or dual-channel Dolby E. With optional software, the affordable FRC-9100 supports 12G-SDI and 4K content. Other features include scene cut detection, scroll text detection/conversion, and front panel and web browser control.

The MCC-4K-A motion compensated converter offers frame rate and format conversion for 4K, 3G, and HD signals, with simultaneous 4K single link 12G/6G and quad link 3G-SDI output, plus auto detection of SMPTE ST425-5 and ITU-R BT.2020 colorimetry. It is ideal for live frame rate conversion applications, including international sports and breaking news, as well as upconversion of HD and 3G content into 4K programming. The MCC-4K-A also supports 16 channels of embedded PCM audio with delay matched to the video delay, as well as an optional Dolby E decoder and transcoder. Plus, the unit offers closed caption and timecode passing capability. An intuitive front panel with video screen offers control and confidence monitoring of 2SI or SQD output.