Southeastern University Boosts Fan Experience with ZEPLAY
By: Ian F. Fritzsche for TV Technology 2016 User Report
Director of Media Services
Southeastern University
LAKELAND, Florida - Southeastern University (SEU)-a Christ-centered institution of higher learning in Lakeland-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.
ZEPLAY is the most significant component to our sports production workflow.
As part of this upgrade, we swapped out our SD cameras for new HD fiber-backed cameras and ran fiber cabling from our studio to the new stadium a half-mile away. We now produce our SEU Fire football games in house in full HD, which stream live at http://fire.seu.edu.
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. The ZEPLAY is purpose-built to generate instant replays and highlights of game action. We purchased ZEPLAY specifically for football, but well likely use it for basketball, wrestling and other sports as well in the future.
ZEPLAY brings 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. Our broadcast replays are also shown on the stadiums large LED video display during games, which has been a great enhancement to the fan experience at the stadium.
In tight spaces, ZEPLAYs value is amplified through a built-in switcher and multiviewer for use as a stand-alone 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 built-in switcher frees up switcher resources when needed.
We discovered ZEPLAY at NAB, comparing it to other instant replay systems including EVS. 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.
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 gameday.
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, hands-on 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 weve made, and especially ZEPLAY, have enhanced the fan experience on gameday. I cant imagine using any other system.
Ian Fritzsche can be reached at iffritzsche@seu.edu. For more information, please contact Tightrope Media Systems at 866-866-4118 or visit the companys website at www.trms.com
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
21/10/2025
Kokusai Denki Electric America will mark the U.S. debut of a new 4K camera at the 2025 NAB New York, Oct. 22-23. Now available, the Z-HD6500-S1 UHD/HD productio...
21/10/2025
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, will showcase its entire NEXTGEN TV ...
21/10/2025
Radio Azzurra FM, longest-running radio station in the province of Novara, northwest Italy, has invested in an DHD SX2 audio routing and mixing console for inte...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
21/10/2025
Visual Data announces the appointment of Maz Al-Jumaili as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Localization, to advance client engagement, strategic partnerships, ...
21/10/2025
As Amazon's Prime Video prepares to launch its coverage of NBA basketball under a major new deal, Grup Mediapro has announced that it is working with the st...
21/10/2025
ATLANTA Good news for consumers using an Atlanta DTH receiver to watch ATSC 3.0: with a new software update, they will be able to blanket their homes with Wi-Fi...
21/10/2025
While recent news has been heavily focused on Hispanic migration into the U.S., The 2025 Hispanic Market Report from Claritas highlights the fact that this gr...
21/10/2025
MAIDENHEAD, UK RWS has hired Michael Wayne as its head of media and entertainment in Los Angeles where he will lead the company's media localization busines...
21/10/2025
Imagine Communications and Rohde & Schwarz today announced a definitive agreement under which Imagine will acquire Pixel Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiar...
21/10/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) today announced a major update that will expand the functionality of its NEXTGEN TV receiver by enabling gateway capabilities allowing viewer...
21/10/2025
Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration, consulting, and expert ATSC 3.0 implementation firm announces that it has partnered wi...
Southeastern University Boosts Fan Experience with ZEPLAY 
