AJA Video has completed the sale of 60 AJA FS1 universal HD and SD, audio and video frame synchroniser and converter units to NEP.
“As an outsourced service provider, it’s important for us to purchase assets that get used a lot,” explained George Hoover, CTO, NEP. “What’s great about the FS1 is that one week it could be an up-converter, the next week it could be a down-converter and the following week we might use a few units to embed audio. So, instead of buying a $50k box that might get used once or twice a year to handle one of these tasks, I now have a reasonably-priced box that is highly adaptable for a variety of uses.”
NEP first came across the AJA FS1 when it was looking for a solution to help the company take live programme feeds at the Super Bowl from 720p to 1080i in realtime for transmission to multiple international networks. After testing one of the units, Hoover realised it was an ideal solution for addressing many of the on-the-fly video and audio demands that mobile truck engineers are faced with when covering live broadcast events.
“We just took 40 of our FS1s out to the Super Bowl to facilitate realtime video format conversions for the international broadcast feed, and we’ll also be putting them to use at the Hollywood Award Shows and for NASCAR racing,” said Hoover. “Our engineers look at the FS1 as the video equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife – it’s just a very powerful, multi-purpose and cost effective tool to have in your arsenal.”
NEP was also drawn to the fact that the FS1 is a freestanding unit. The devices can be used alone, bundled together or grouped in towers, and they’re very easy to operate and move around. “With some card-based solutions, if you don’t invest in all of the remote devices, they aren’t that user-friendly. There’s nothing special required to operate the FS1, it’s very easy to use and integrate on the fly,” concluded Hoover.
