Live production company cites stability, ease of use as ZEPLAY selling points
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, August 19, 2013
–
is helping
Mobile Content Providers (MCP)
shift into high gear for live, instant sports replay with
. The cost-efficient, multi-channel instant replay system helps MCP maintain its affordable rates for live sports production, while injecting fresh excitement into broadcasts and on venue display screens for professional and collegiate events.
MCP offers affordable, full-service, mobile unit alternatives to generate content instead of the typical 52-foot expanding side trucks. The ZEPLAY is integral to MCP’s workflow, delivering multiple camera angles from two compact units. It also enables the team to quickly build show opens, highlight packages, bump-ins and other high-quality video clips with rapid turnaround.
Above all, MCP counts on ZEPLAY’s rock-solid stability and ease of use.
“ZEPLAY offers stability, which is everything when a production team does a live game for a major network. You can’t have equipment crashing, ” said Ray Colaiacovo, content development and mobile technology director for MCP. “The ZEPLAY is rightly publicized as the fastest replay system, but without stability and ease of use there’s confusion. You don’t have to understand a conventional replay system to operate ZEPLAY. An online editor such as myself from outside the live sports world can learn the system very quickly because of its simple interface.”
The four-in, four-out ZEPLAY design gives MCP 16 video channels across the two units for instant replay. This gives the production team the ability to easily scale to large camera counts, or simply have an extra ZEPLAY on backup for typical productions. This occasionally comes in handy for Colaiacovo.
“We recently did a professional tennis event, and the master control center experienced a satellite dropout during the live broadcast,” he said. “We recorded the program to a ZEPLAY channel on the second machine and replayed that segment from master control. This allowed for a clean airing with no signal dropout. Occasions like this that make our workflow extra appealing.”
Elsewhere, Colaiacovo and his team rely on ZEPLAY’s flexible tagging features for highlights and other packages, allowing operators to quickly locate player data, game information and other details. The built-in multiviewer also enhances operating efficiency within MCP’s compact units, saving space in comparison to large monitors and multiviewer walls that require more real estate.
“Our units are not conventional 18 wheelers, and ZEPLAY gives us a solid machine with plenty of features and flexibility, and integrates well within our compact workflow,” said Colaiacovo, who is currently preparing to unleash ZEPLAY for college and high school football season. “We simply wouldn’t be able to achieve what we do with a large, conventional, complex replay system.”
About Tightrope Media Systems
Founded in 1997, Tightrope Media Systems is the pioneer of web-centric digital signage and broadcast automation systems. It provides station automation, video servers, internet video on demand, live streaming, the Carousel Digital Signage system, and ZEPLAY, a multi-channel instant replay machine for stadiums, arenas and Outside Broadcast vehicles. Tightrope’s award winning systems are used throughout the world. You can reach Tightrope Media Systems at (866) 866-4118 or visit them on the web at
.
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