The American University in Cairo to use Blackmagic’s ATEM

The American University in Cairo is revamping its curriculum as the country prepares for HD broadcasting. Faculty and students in the Kamal Adham Centre for Television and Digital Journalism, starting in September will have access to a broadcast grade HD television studio built around Blackmagic Design products, including the ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher and ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel.

Founded in 1919, the American University in Cairo is a liberal arts institution offering a range of undergraduate and post graduate courses. Its Masters programme in Television and Digital Journalism, offered by the Kamal Adham Centre, is a comprehensive programme that teaches hands on skills in the field of news reporting, from writing and production to camera operation and video editing.

The new studio would expose students to new HD workflows, providing them with the knowledge they’ll need for a successful career in broadcast journalism. Products integrated within the new studio were supplied by Wahsh Engineering and the upgrade program is being led by Rania Aboul Wafa, assistant director of operations and engineering services at the Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism.

Blackmagic’s ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher and ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel will be used to switch between multiple camera sources; including a total of six HD-SDI and SD-SDI studio cameras, several external campus cameras and a graphics playout system. Sources will all be monitored via eight Smartview HD rack mounted monitors.

At the heart of the upgrade is a distribution system built around Blackmagic’s OpenGear Converters. Providing conversion and cross conversion from SDI, HDMI, Analog and Audio, it will link the new facility with the universities existing SD television studio.