Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred, both shot and broadcast live.
After being shown live, the video is replayed so viewers can see it again and analyze what just happened.
Sports—such as American football, association football, badminton, cricket, and tennis—allow officiating calls to be overturned after a play review. Instant replay is most commonly used in sports but is also used in other fields of live TV.
While the first near-instant replay system was developed and used in Canada, the first instant replay was developed and deployed in the United States.
Apart from live-action sports, instant replay is also used to cover large pageants or processions involving prominent dignitaries, political debates, legal proceedings (e.g., the O. J. Simpson murder case), royal weddings, high-profile entertainment events, or acts of terrorism in progress.
Instant replay is used because the events are too large to cover from a single camera angle or too fast-moving to capture all the nuance on the first viewing.
In media studies, the timing and length of the replay clips as well as the selection of camera angles, are forms of editorial content that have a large impact on how the audience perceives the events covered.
Because of the origin of television as a broadcast technology, a "channel" of coverage is traditionally a single video feed consumed in the same way by all viewers. In the age of streaming media, live current events can be accessed by the final viewer with multiple streams of the same content playing concurrently in different windows or on various devices, often with direct end-user control over rewinding to a past moment, as well as an ability to select accelerated, slow-motion or stop-action replay speed.
History During a 1955 Hockey Night in Canada broadcast on CBC Television, producer George Retzlaff used a "wet-film" (kinescope) replay, which aired several minutes later. Videotape was introduced in 1956 with the Ampex Quadruplex system. However, it could not display slow motion, instant replay, or freeze-frames, and it wasn't easy to rewind and set index points.
The end of the March 24, 1962, boxing match between Benny Paret and Emile Griffith was reviewed a few minutes after the bout ended, in slow motion, by Griffith and commentator Don Dunphy. In hindsight, this has been cited as the first known use of slow-motion replay in television history.
CBS Sports Director Tony Verna invented a system to enable the standard videotape machine to instantly replay on December 7, 1963, for the network's coverage of the US military's Army–Navy Game. The instant replay machine weighed . After technical hitches, the only replay broadcast was Rollie Stichweh's touchdown. It was replayed at the original speed, with commentator Lindsey Nelson advising viewers, "Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again!" The problem with older technology was finding the desired starting point; Verna's system activated audio tones as the exciting events unfolded, which technicians could hear during the rewinding process.
CBS tried out the replay from analog disk storage in 1965, and the Ampex HS-100, which had a 30-second capacity and freeze frame capability, was commercialized in 1967.
Instant replay has been credited as a primary factor in the rise of televised American football, although it was popular on television even before then. In contrast, one camera was set up to show the overall "live" action; other cameras, linked to a separate videotape machine, framed close-ups of key players. Within a few seconds of a crucial play, the videotape machine would replay the action from various close-up angles in slow motion.Barnouw, E. (1990). Tube of plenty : the evolution of American television / Erik Barnouw. New York : Oxford University Press, 1990.
Before instant replay, it was almost impossible to portray the essence of an American football game on television. Viewers struggled to assimilate the action from a wide shot of the field on a small black-and-white television screen. However, as Erik Barnouw says in his book Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television," With replay technology, brutal collisions became ballets, and end runs and forward passes became miracles of human coordination." Thanks largely to instant replay, televised football became evening entertainment. ABC-TV's Monday Night Football perfected it and was enjoyed by a wide audience.
Marshall McLuhan, the noted communication theorist, famously said that any new medium contains all prior media. McLuhan gave Tony Verna's invention of instant replay as a good example. "Until the advent of the instant replay, televised football had served simply as a substitute for physically attending the game; the advent of instant replay – which is possible only with the television – marks a post-convergent moment in the medium of television."
In sports production for television During the live television transmission of sports events, instant replay is often used to show again a passage of play that was especially important or remarkable, or that was unclear at first viewing.
Replays are typically shown during a break or lull in the action; in modern broadcasts, it will be at the next break in play, although older systems were sometimes less instant. The replay may be slow-motion or feature shots from multiple camera angles.
With their advanced technology, video servers, have allowed for more complex replays, such as freeze frame, frame-by-frame review, replay at variable speeds, overlaying of virtual graphics, and instant analysis tools such as ball speed or immediate distance calculation. Sports commentators analyze the replay footage when it is being played rather than describing the concurrent live action.
Instant replays are used today in broadcasting extreme sports, where the speed of the action is too high to be easily interpreted by the naked eye. They use combinations of advanced technologies such as video servers and high-speed cameras recording at up to several thousand frames per second.
Sports production facilities often dedicate one or more cameras to cover star players or key players likely to make a big play in a specific context (e.g., on last down and long in North American football, production crews will often isolate a wide receiver with sure hands in a crowd and/or superior foot speed). These cameras are sometimes called isolation, isolated, or iso-cams for short.
Production equipment
EVS Broadcast Equipment is a leading manufacturer of replay production servers used by major broadcasters for large events such as the FIFA World Cup, Olympics, Super Bowl, MLB Playoffs, and NBA Playoffs. A 2019 Sports Video Group survey revealed that 213 of 257 HD mobile production trucks were using some form of EVS replay gear.
Evertz Microsystems' DreamCatcher DreamCatcher Replay Systems, Evertz Microsystems Ltd. replay system is also widely used by college and pro sports clubs, including teams in the NBA, MLB, and NHL.
Use by officials Some sports organizations allow referees or other officials to consult replay footage before making or revising a decision about an unclear or dubious play; this is variously called video-assisted referee (VAR), video referee, video umpire, instant replay official, television match official, third umpire, or challenge. Other organizations allow video evidence only after the end of the contest, for example, to penalize a player for misconduct or fouls not noticed by the officials during play.
The role of the video referee differs; often, they can only be called upon to adjudicate on specific events. When instant replay does not provide conclusive proof, rules may say whether the original call stands or whether a particular call must be done (most usually no score).
Leagues using instant replay in official decision-making include the National Hockey League, National Football League, Canadian Football League, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, National Basketball Association, Women's National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball. It is also used internationally in field hockey and rugby union. Since 2017, some association football competitions have employed a "Video Assistant Referee" (aka "VAR").
Due to the cost of television cameras and other equipment needed for a video referee to function, most sports only employ them in professional or top-class level play.
Baseball
In Major League Baseball, instant replay has been introduced to address "boundary calls," which including questions on whether a hit should be considered a home run (HR). Among reviewable plays are Fair Ball-HR, Foul Ball, Ball Clearing Wall-HR, Ball Staying in Play-Live Ball, Ball Leaving Field of Play-HR, and Ball or Player interfered with by spectators (called Spectator Interference). The latest MLB collective bargaining agreement expands instant replay to include Fair Ball Foul Ball along foul lines or Ball Caught for Out Ball Trapped Against Ground or Wall. It expands interference calls to all walls regardless of whether they are "boundary calls" or not.
In Little League Baseball, instant replay was initially adopted for the Little League World Series only but later expanded to include the qualifying regional tournaments. It consists of all "boundary call" plays reviewable at the Major League Level and adding review to plays involving force outs, tag plays on the base paths, hit batters, and defensive appeals regarding whether a runner missed touching a base.
Basketball
In NBA basketball, the officials must watch an instant replay of a potential buzzer beater to determine if the shot was released before time expired. Since 2002, the NBA has mandated the installation of LED light strips on both the backboard and the scorer's table that illuminate when time expires, to assist with any potential review.
Instant replay first came to the NBA in the 2002–03 season. In Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, Los Angeles Lakers forward Samaki Walker made a three-point field goal from half-court at the end of the second quarter. However, the replay showed that Walker's shot was late and the ball was still in his hand when the clock expired. The use of instant replay was instituted afterward.
Beginning with the 2007–08 season, replay can also determine players being ejected from contests involving brawls or flagrant fouls. In the 2008–09 season, replay may also be used to correctly determine whether a scored field goal is worth two or three points. It may also choose the correct number of free throws awarded for a missed field goal. It may also be used in cases where the game clock malfunctions and play continues to decide how much time to take off the clock. In 2014, the NBA consolidated its replay work in a remote instant replay center to support officials in multiple games.
In college basketball, the same procedure may also be used to determine if a shot was released before time expired in either half or an overtime period. In addition, NCAA rules allow the officials to use instant replay to determine if a field goal is worth two or three points, which is to take a free throw, whether a fight occurred, and who participated in a fight. The officials may also check if the shot was made before the expiration of the shot clock, but only when such a situation occurs at the end of a half or an overtime period. Such rules have required the NCAA to write new rules stating that, when looking at instant replay video, the zeros on the clock, not the horn or red light, determine the end of the game.