VCAST RELEASES BRAND NEW 3D VIRTUAL SET, LAI KING CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL TO BECOME PIONEER IN INNOVATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING USING NEW HIGH TECHNOLOGY

Category: Computer / IT, Education, Mass Media

VCAST RELEASES BRAND NEW 3D VIRTUAL SET, LAI KING CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL TO BECOME PIONEER IN INNOVATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING USING NEW HIGH TECHNOLOGY

Source: Vcast Limited

Date: Monday, 20 December 2004

Contact Person: Ellen Leung

Email: marketing@vcast.net

Web Site: www.vcast.net

Attach:

Hong Kong – December 10, 2004 –Vcast (Asia) Limited has formally announced that, in partnership with Darim Vision Co. Ltd., it will release its brand new 3D Virtual Set – VS2000 in Hong Kong. VS2000 is the latest trackless virtual system in which real-time videos, 3D objects, graphics, texts and sounds can be integrated through the application of the advanced Chromakey and rendering technology to create an unlimited number of 3D virtual and visual effects.

Vcast 3D Virtual Set – VS2000 has received the Broadcast Engineering Magazine’s Pick Hit Award at NAB 2002. It is a trackless virtual set creation system which emulates virtual camera movements. It uses a practically unlimited number of virtual cameras that can be moved within the 3D graphics environment or zoomed in/out without an effort while the physical camera remains still. VS2000 is not limited to only using simple 2D images as a background or foreground around the live video of an actor, but operates with 3D mesh objects, materials, virtual lights, cameras and animation tracks created with 3D Studio Max TM and Maya TM. This eliminates the need for users to build “hard sets” altogether and enables users to dramatically reduce the size of their studio, thus saving big on the backdrop material and lighting. The fact that VS2000 is easy to use also reduces the training time for operators, making it ideal for small to medium-sized studios of corporations and schools.

VS2000 uses multi-channel color keying hardware and software. The unique real time color keying module included performs extremely well even with non-professional video equipment (e.g. a consumer DV camera connected using an S-Video cable) and imperfect background or lighting. The keying algorithm does not get confused by translucent or ultra-fine objects, smoke or shadows. And best of all, the color keying software has been made amazingly easy to use by hiding all complex calculations behind a single “Build Key” button.

VS2000 processes live or pre-recorded videos in a 3D scene as a texture. Video feeds can be used as a special kind of material (texture) for any of the 3D objects in the scene. The target object may come in any shape and, furthermore, it may even be animated, deformed, morphed or highlighted with virtual light and a lot more. The VS2000 hardware will reflect all applicable changes to a video image in real time.

VS2000 is designed with the greatest degree of compatibility with external A/V or IT equipment. Any of the desired analog or digital video and audio outputs can be connected to a suitable A/V device, Vcast Streaming Encoder and Vcast Streaming Server to deliver compressed digital A/V content over networks including the Internet. VS2000 is fully interactive and extremely easy to use. The video production process with VS2000 is fully interactive and controllable by a single operator, who does not need to be an experienced video engineer. The operator can simply control any object of the 3D scene including virtual cameras in any fashion using a keyboard mouse or joystick.

To achieve the EMB’s second five-year strategic goals of using IT in education and to develop the 9 generic skills and IT literacy of its students, Lai King Catholic Secondary School is the first school in Hong Kong to make good use of VS2000 in teaching and learning. The Principal, Ms Louisa Lo, explaining why the system was acquired, said: “We hope our students can take full advantage of the simple operations to create and produce brilliant virtual visual effects like the broadcasting media. This can raise their interest in video production and explore their potentials. With this system, teachers can produce more lively multimedia teaching materials, while students can produce creative campus TV programmes and audio-visual assignments, thus boosting their confidence while developing their generic skills and IT literacy. Our next step is to join forces with VCAST and other tertiary institutions in producing more educational videos which can be integrated with the 3D virtual set system.”

“Lai King Catholic Secondary School is more than willing to try and innovate in the area of ‘IT in Education’. Its early deployment of Campus TV (introduced two years ago) testifies to this willingness, and leads to today’s pioneering move it has set to make in 3D virtual visual learning and teaching. Its teachers are familiar with IT, and they always encourage their students to use IT in their own learning. We’re glad to serve and partner them,” said Mr. Keith Lie, CEO of VCAST.

This year, the school has been successfully granted the Quality Education Fund (QEF) to implement ‘Learning through Videoing’. Its students of S1 to S4 will produce a total of 40 films during the current academic year. They undertake responsibilities for the whole process: deciding on issues to cover, writing scripts, filming, editing and dubbing. Through the process, their creativity, critical thinking, communication skills as well as other generic skills will be enhanced. Outstanding works will be uploaded to the Internet for sharing among schools in Hong Kong. In addition, the Film Production and Broadcast Centre has been renovated and established by VCAST to facilitate the making of films.

The 3D virtual set will be formally launched on the ‘3D Virtual Odyssey Day’ on Monday, 13 December 2004 at Lai King Catholic Secondary School. The Principal Inspector (IT in Education) of the EMB will officiate at the Opening Ceremony of both the 3D virtual set and the Film Production and Broadcast Centre. VCAST will introduce the system in detail and demonstrate how the system works with Campus TV. Lai King Catholic Secondary School will also perform a live show with the use of this system. After the Opening Ceremony, the Film Production and Broadcast Centre will be open to visitors.

For more information on the event, please call (852) 2744 1610. For enquiries about the 3D virtual set, please call (852) 2121 8899 or visit http://www.vcast.net

About VCAST:

VCAST is a leading provider of digital media and webcasting solutions that enable the convergence of Internet and media broadcasting for communication and multimedia applications anywhere at anytime. VCAST Services offers complete end-to-end Internet broadcasting services for live or on-demand events and outsourcing services; VCAST Systems provide a full range of robust turnkey systems for developing a broadcasting platform and applications; VCAST Network is a powerful intelligent digital media delivery network infrastructure. Our solid experience and sophisticated technical skills help us achieve professional video and audio quality. VCAST was the first company to develop and implement Digital Rights Management (DRM) and VCAST Conference Center (VCC) for online pay-per-view, online learning and live music concerts in Asia.

Since 1996, Vcast has undertaken over one hundred large-scale public webcasting events such as HK Handover 97 and China’s 50th Anniversary, and offered various solutions for reputable clients such as RTHK, Housing Authority and Hospital Authority. 2001, VCAST introduced ‘Campus TV’ into the education sector and successfully deployed VCAST solutions for major HK universities and tertiary institutes.

About Lai King Catholic Secondary School:

Lai King Catholic Secondary School is committed to promoting all-rounded education. Since taking office as Principal in September 2002, Ms Louisa Lo plays a key role in introducing reforms in learning and teaching under the changing circumstances of the school. These reforms have included curriculum integration, the introduction of Integrated Humanities, the promotion of life-wide learning and the development of generic skills of the students. Upon the invitation of the Education and Manpower Bureau, Ms Lo has even in the current year taken the initiative to steer the school toward Invitational Education through 5Ps, namely, PLACES, PEOPLE, PROGRAMS, POLICIES and PROCESSES. It is hoped that the students will be nurtured in an environment where people respect and trust one another and feel optimistic of the future.

To fit in with this notion of education, the school has been actively involved in a diversity of activities which enable students to realize their potentials. Among others, it collaborated last year with the Baptist University in carrying out Project Learning, one of the four key tasks covering various subject areas. This helped students to improve their self-access and problem-solving skills. Moreover, the school undertook a second key task to promote life education with the aim of providing an environment where students could learn, in a systematic manner, about the environment, healthy living and civic duties etc. This proved to benefit the physical and psychological well-being of the students. Guided by the notion of Invitational Education and with the active participation of the students, the school made a great success of its involvements in these projects and activities.

Apart from classroom teaching, the school now also encourages students to make good use of information technology (IT) in their own learning. Students are encouraged to collect information on the Internet for their projects and build up a platform for self-access learning. It is hoped that students will cultivate their creativity, improve their communication skills and develop their power of critical thinking by taking full advantage of the IT networks and installations provided by the school for the operation of Campus TV since its set-up two years ago. Under the guidance of devoted teachers, the Campus TV crew is now capable of producing a variety of programmes working on their own. Their achievements have earned them a Quality Education Fund (QEF) to establish a Film Production and Broadcasting Centre with the introduction of a 3D virtual set in the current year, making the school a pioneer in 3D-virtual-set-assisted learning and teaching in Hong Kong.