BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—Zeplay has announced that the Rochester Red Wings Baseball organization in Rochester, New York has implemented fresh technology updates for their Zeplay instant replay servers. 

The latest hardware and software bring new technology improvements and operational efficiencies that optimize the in-venue and live streaming experience for fans, Zeplay reported. 

The Triple-A Minor League Baseball Affiliate for the Washington Nationals has been a Zeplay customer for ten seasons.

“It has served us very well for 10 years,” explained John Blotzer, who joined the team as director of video production in June 2011 and implemented the system after he arrived. “This year, it was time to invest in a system upgrade that would bring us new production capabilities and freshen our approach, which includes an expansion of our video export capabilities.”

Currently, Blotzer and his team use Zeplay to deliver content for in-venue displays, streaming broadcasts on the MiLB.tv app, and local news organizations. 

“We have four cameras in the field positioned on home plate, first base, third base and center field,” explained Blotzer. “We can take in video from any angle at any point, and show it on the live app stream, two large video boards, and closed-circuit televisions around the venue. We also provide replays to monitors that our official scorers have access to if they want to review a play to confirm if an error or wild pitch happened. Zeplay has always allowed us to cue up these different angles; with the latest upgrade, we can do it quicker and smoother, and with better precision.”

Zeplay’s current software also streamlines the ability to export files to multiple locations. “We will send game highlight clip packages to different news stations,” said Blotzer. “Our replay operator will cut the highlights of all scoring plays and other special plays, and the new software makes it easier to distribute the compressed files in the right formats to the right targets. That also makes it easier for the news organizations that need to download the content. The new software also allows us to add presets for exporting all these video files for faster content sharing.”

As for the replay operators, many learn Zeplay on the job.

“We always have new interns and operators for each season,” he said. “By the third or fourth inning of their first game, they feel ready to take control of Zeplay,” said Blotzer. “That starts with the basics of recording feeds, tagging plays and firing instant replays. Editing is less important since we don’t currently have a local broadcast TV presence, but even the more advanced Zeplay tools are quick to pick up. I have even put people from our marketing department at the controls on short notice if we are short-staffed.”

Blotzer adds that the built-in multiviewer is helpful not only to review and select angles for live replays, but also to help with production processes like color correction. “We never really expected that, but since our camera control station is right beside Zeplay and its visual content presentation is so clear, it helps our directors and producers ensure consistency across the production workflow. Zeplay is capturing all those color angles, so it gives us an excellent quality assurance platform.”

But for Blotzer, even with new advanced features and improvements and consistent ease of use, it really comes down to the fan experience. “We are getting replays on screens faster than ever with the new software,” he said. “The fans really enjoy watching the replays and how quickly we turn them around, and we even now have advertisers who sponsor the replays. And as Zeplay continues to improve the product, it will be a staple of our production workflow for years to come.”

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—In the runup to the 2023 NAB Show, Zeplay LLC has announced that it will be showing a new feature that allows broadcasters and in-venue content producers to dramatically increase the flexibility and number of inputs of their instant replay server through a simple software upgrade. 

The upgrade will allow Zeplay customers to reassign output connections as inputs, enabling Zeplay to record additional camera feeds.     

“When we introduced Zeplay in 2009, most of our customers were producing shows with two or three cameras,” said Brandon McKenzie, founder, Zeplay LLC. “Zeplay’s quick learning curve made it easy for operators with varied technical experience to manage a greater number of live camera feeds, and it wasn’t long before we had customers with two or more systems to serve productions with more than four cameras. We have now reached a point where more than four cameras are common for most of our customers. Our new software upgrade will allow Zeplay customers to leverage greater flexibility from their existing Zeplay hardware and save them the cost of having to buy an additional system.”

The new feature comes at a time when sports venues are bringing a wider variety of cameras into their live production workflows for content acquisition. That includes an increase of POV and robotic cameras to capture very specific action, such as dramatic scoring angles. With more cameras in the mix, customers can now reallocate Zeplay’s I/O for 5x3 or 6x2 configurations to suit their production’s needs, the company reported. 

With more content coming into Zeplay, the customer has immediate visual access to more angles as they make replay decisions inside venues or for live broadcasts. Unique to Zeplay, operators have a clear view of all camera feeds coming into the system as well as playback channels on Zeplay’s multiviewer. This means that the operator can see all playback angles simultaneously instead of having to repeatedly cue multiple angles to review each one. The result is a quicker operator reaction for a more engaging fan experience, the company explained. 

The latest Zeplay innovation continues the company’s tradition of adding new software features that are compatible with existing hardware. Rather than forcing customers to buy new hardware or expanding its hardware-based product line, Zeplay is focused on consistently improving the user experience for its enduring instant replay system. One recent example: Zeplay recently added Open Sound Control (“OSC”) to enable user-defined control of Zeplay from external systems.

Zeplay and its namesake instant replay system celebrate their 15th year at the NAB Show, where the company will exhibit at West Hall Booth W3272. 

“We have one of the few products that can truthfully claim that the first system we sold is still in operation,” said McKenizie. “Longevity of our products is a hallmark of Zeplay’s heritage, which we expect to carry into the next 15 years and beyond by providing reliable hardware, consistent performance improvements, and expanding feature sets through future software releases.”

LAS VEGAS—Zeplay is just about ready to roll out the latest version of its Zeplay instant replay software, which will become available for all Zeplay customers in March and then be on display at the 2020 NAB Show in April.

A key feature of v4.2 is the new presets for exporting video files, designed to streamline content sharing workflows. Users can define presets ahead of time and can easily send video files to different locations in different formats, as well as sending the same clip to multiple locations by storing location and codec information. Among the formats supported are Apple ProRes 422, XDCAM and Avid DXxHD.

This new export feature works with the watch folder introduced in Zeplay 4.1 software. With the watch folder, users can define a directory to be monitored, while any clips placed in the directory are automatically imported for use in things like highlight packages. An export preset can now be defined on one system, and used to export content directly to the watch folder on another system.

Zeplay has also added the ability to recall different screen layouts with a single keystroke, enabling operators to have different screens for different content.

The v4.2 software is included in all new Zeplay R7 systems, while current customers can access it in March with Zeplay’s annual update contract.

Zeplay will demonstrate the new software at its booth, SL4711, during the 2020 NAB Show, April 18-22 in Las Vegas.

For more information, visit www.zeplay.tv.  

AMHERST, MASS.—More colleges and universities are producing their own sporting events and delivering them across multiple platforms including broadcast partners, digital online sites and social media platforms.

The Zeplay system is located in UMass’ Mullen Center, home for basketball and hockey games. The University of Massachusetts now produces 80–100 NCAA Division I games each year. Currently we produce games for the Atlantic 10 Digital Network and soon will take part in the A-10’s Facebook Live initiative. Thanks to the vision of our Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford, we now offer these and a multitude of other delivery options to our fans and alumni.

To do this, during the Fall 2016 semester, we launched our new master control room, featuring a Zeplay instant replay server from Tightrope Media Systems, among other professional gear.

MAKING THE GRADE

The new broadcast infrastructure was designed to support our current initiatives, and provide external programming capabilities to current and future broadcast partners. Located on the concourse of The Mullins Center—home to UMass basketball and ice hockey programs—we will also use the control room to send a separate program feed, rich with Zeplay-driven instant replay video, to the new in-stadium displays in the Mullins Center set to open later this year.

Zeplay is a critical production element because it embellishes our programs with network-quality instant replays and highlights. Zeplay’s multichannel capability (four inputs, four outputs) provides the dexterity to accommodate simultaneous separate replay workflows, including outputs for multiple external and live stream programs.

A prime example of Zeplay’s flexibility is how it supports official replay. The Zeplay operator creates replays from multiple camera angles, leveraging Zeplay’s built-in multiviewer, and uses the switching options to output any of its four outputs to the officials’ monitor at a courtside table. These official replays are done without interfering with the main program feed, which allows a smooth production workflow.

BEYOND THE COURT

Zeplay’s storage and native codec support also provide benefits post-game. Operators export 10–12 replay clips for use in highlight reels used for promotions and UMass’ athletics website and social media sites.

Beyond its technical capabilities, Zeplay was an ideal choice because it interoperates very cleanly with our acquisition and infrastructure gear. With about 20 students trained to handle all facets of live production, including producing the replays and highlights, it is easy to learn, which is important given the varying skillsets of student operators. Zeplay’s user-friendly, intuitive interface accelerates the learning curve, and operates dependably during our live events. Above all, Zeplay is a highly reliable system that never misses a beat, providing an exceptional fan experience for all.

John Sinnett can be reached atjsinnett@admin.umass.edu.

For more information, please visitwww.trms.comor call 866-866-4118.

LAKELAND, FLA.—Southeastern University has implemented several dramatic infrastructure improvements over the last two years. Upon adding football to our athletic program, we built a new stadium and transitioned the TV studio and control room that serve our communication department to an end-to-end HD production workflow.

The Zeplay slo-mo instant replay server from Tightrope Media Systems was among the finishing touches, and perhaps the most significant component to our sports production workflow. Zeplay is purpose-built to generate instant replays and highlights of game action. We purchased Zeplay specifically for football, but we’ll likely use it for basketball, wrestling and other sports as well in the future.

SEU broadcast students run the Zeplay system during live sporting events.MAXIMIZING SPACE
Zeplaybrings value to any facility, spacious or space-challenged. Since our new control room was built with spare capacity, we input a different HD camera signal into all four input channels of the Zeplay and then feed the four output channels directly into the production chain individually.

In tight spaces, Zeplay’s value is amplified through a built-in switcher and multiviewer for use as a standalone system. The built-in multiviewer, which allows the replay operator to closely monitor eight camera angles—four in, four out— for selection helps us maximize our space and eliminates the need to use a separate multiviewer for replays, while the builtin switcher frees up switcher resources when needed.

We discovered Zeplay at the NAB Show, comparing it to other instant replay systems. Zeplay was half the price with twice the functionality, a quicker learning curve and better ease of use. While I had watched demos of several leading replay systems at NAB, Zeplay had the simplest, most intuitive operation. Twenty minutes into the demo, I felt confident I could run it in a live production situation.

TRAINING TOOL
User-friendly operation and a minimal learning curve were especially important, as broadcast students run the system during live events. Running in demo mode, our professors can teach students everything they need to know about Zeplay in less than a day, and students can continue to practice using the system on their own until they are comfortable with it before going live on game day.

Once live on the systems, our students can quickly learn advanced features, including the production of highlight packages at halftime and following the game. We are just starting to tap into all of the features that Zeplay offers, such as tagging, but our operators can cleanly tag content based on players, teams and other criteria, so that in the future we can search our archives for specific clips to incorporate into highlight packages.

Producing great-looking, entertaining sportscasts is a priority for us, but giving our broadcasting students practical, handson experience is equally important. We also wanted a replay system that our students would be likely to encounter as they look for jobs in the industry upon graduation from SEU. Since Zeplay is widely installed, it fit the bill.

It is clear that for our specific criteria, Zeplay was the best fit for affordability, performance, reliability, quick setup and ongoing ease of use. All of the capital improvements we’ve made, and especially Zeplay, have enhanced the fan experience on gameday. I can’t imagine using any other system.

Ian Fritzsche is the director of media services at SEU. He can be reached atiffritzsche@seu.edu.

For more information, please contact Tightrope Media Systems at 866-866-4118 or visitwww.trms.com.