In March 2016, the construction of a virtual (panoramic) studio at Bingtuan Radio and Television University (Bingtuan RTVU), the first of its kind in this RTVU, and the construction of which was aided by the Open University of China (OUC), was completed and is awaiting final inspection by the OUC before being put into use.

In 2012, the OUC signed an Agreement on Counterpart Support for Bingtuan RTVU in Xinjiang during the 'Twelfth Five Year Plan' with Bingtuan RTVU, according to which the OUC offered financial aid for the construction of Bingtuan RTVU's virtual studio. In December 2014, the OUC appropriated an equipment expenditure of 1.1 million yuan to assist Bingtuan RTVU. Recently, Bingtuan RTVU has completed their equipment procurement, studio decoration, equipment installation and commissioning, etc.

The virtual (panoramic) studio of Bingtuan RTVU covers a total of 75 square meters and is divided into a virtual studio area and an equipment control area. In the studio area, acoustically treated walls and floors, digital tricolor cold light lamp equipment, an 80 inch 4K high-definition teaching TV set, a teleprompter, and a teacher monitor were installed to create a perfect space for recording high-quality presentations via two professional HD video cameras. While in the equipment control area, based on the teaching content, tutors can use the virtual graphic packaging system to synthesize a 3D scene and then integrate the teachers’ live in-studio lecture with the virtual setting via the virtual graphic rendering server in real-time. This will integrate the teachers’ lectures with the virtual background or setting and make possible the live integration of the teacher with the virtual environment via special technology.

According to the introduction given by officials from Bingtuan RTVU, by way of the virtual studio technology, they can design a virtual background to attract students, which will improve their teaching resource production level, make the teaching content more realistic and appropriate, and provide students with visual presentation of the teaching contents. The virtual studio system will cut costs and can be easily adapted to any subject. Whether it is used for art, science, or medical courses, the technology can be adopted to give a vivid explanation to students and help them to more easily accept and grasp new information.

By An Xiaolin, Bingtuan RTVU