Canadian Football League Team Adds to Fan Experience with Zeplay

ST. PAUL, MINN. On game day, Saskatchewan Roughriders fans at the 45,000-seat Mosaic Stadium in Regina view in-venue, large-screen video productions with instant replays and highlight packages from Tightrope's Zeplay slow-motion system playing a major role.

Our philosophy is that we're not simply competing with the at-home TV experience we want to improve on that experience within the stadium atmosphere, said Bill Wright, director of partnerships and game day operations for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. So we show more replays than viewers get at home, along with more close-ups and stats.

Mosaic Stadium added its first large video screen in 2005 and has since added nine cameras, multiple graphics layers and two Zeplay systems inside the stadium control room. The in-house staff incorporates instant replays from a third Zeplay unit that resides in a mobile production truck outside the venue. This enables operators to work more angles into the replays and video packages across two large screens.

This year, Mosaic Stadium transitioned to an all-HD control room, improving video quality and enhancing content distribution and sharing across the workflow.

We've progressed to the point where this has become a very full-sized production show, and we are directing everything that happens in the bowl to the fans, said Wright. By going HD, we ensure that all of the content from the cameras through to the Zeplays is produced, distributed and archived in pristine quality. This includes exporting files, and later using that content, from the third Zeplay outside the stadium after the truck drives away.

Wright notes that speed and ease of use are two Zeplay qualities that make an impact for production. This includes its built-in multiviewer for monitoring multiple camera angles and tagging options for building and playing back short clip packages during games.

Zeplay gives us the capacity to be very quick and nimble. Instant access to all playout angles allows us to be better than the broadcaster, and give our fans more of what they want, said Wright.

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