Northwestern University fans and alumni are known for their passion for and dedication to their sports teams—and that passion and dedication helped to drum up support for the renovation of Welsh-Ryan Arena before the 2018 college basketball season tipped off.
At the heart of the $110 million Welsh-Ryan Arena renovation is VITEC’s EZ TV IPTV & digital signage solution for sports venues. EZ TV distributes what VITEC officials call “ultra-low-latency, high-quality live game day feeds, digital signage and video wall content” and IPTV streams from multiple service providers to more than 75 screens in the facility.
NU can create eye-catching digital signage campaigns or point-of-sale menu boards at Welsh-Ryan Arena and centrally manage every content feed and IPTV stream from the same user interface.
“The Chicago area is home to many professional sports teams and spectacular entertainment venues,” said Northwestern University deputy director of athletics for capital projects and operations Brian Baptiste in the VITEC announcement.
“This environment has driven our fans to expect a similar memorable and captivating experience at our games. Now, whether fans are attending a basketball game, volleyball game, or wrestling match, screens throughout the venue are delivering all the action happening on the court to every corner of the arena,” he said.
The Welsh-Ryan Arena Experience
The VITEC EZ TV hardware-based endpoints carry the on-court action to more than 75 displays installed around the Welsh-Ryan Arena concourse, at the concession stands and within the Wilson Club over the facility’s existing network infrastructure, engaging fans while reducing the capital and operational expenses associated with legacy solutions.
Within the same centralized platform, the school’s small broadcast operations staff and sponsorship team can quickly create and manage video wall content, campaigns and point-of-sale menu boards while generating new revenue opportunities.
VITEC’s 100 percent hardware-based video processors feature ultra-low-latency native playback of IPTV streams up to 4K and support interactive content, video, and imagery transformations.
More than 50 displays can be managed from a single processor, including nonstandard layouts and resolutions of TVs.
The VITEC solution also supports scalability into the future with a mobile app, media library and a suite of modular tools that further streamline media processes from live streaming to recording, archiving and collaboration.
“Welsh-Ryan Arena is a great example of the IPTV, digital signage, and video content demands facing collegiate athletics today,” said Joe Walsh, VP of sales for sports and entertainment venues at VITEC.
“NU has created an exciting fan experience while being able to meet any future video and streaming requirements down the road. We are proud to be a part of revving up the fan energy and entertainment that will keep fans coming back for years to come,” he said.
