NAB Show: Zeplay Introducing Reconfigurable Connectors For Instant Replay Systems

Zeplay comes to NAB Show (April 16-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth W3272) with 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.

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 5×3 or 6×2 configurations to suit their production’s needs.

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 multiviewers, according to the company. “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.”

“When we introduced Zeplay in 2009, most of our customers were producing shows with two or three cameras,” said Brandon McKenzie, Zeplay founder. “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 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 says it 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. “We have one of the few products that can truthfully claim that the first system we sold is still in operation,” McKenizie said. “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.”