Play Incorporated Partners with BBC Resources to Introduce Next Generation Chroma Keying

Las Vegas - Today at the National Association of Broadcasters convention, Play Incorporated unveiled HoloSet, a breakthrough technology designed to dramatically improve any chroma keyer system. Play's HoloSet represents a new approach to creating the many kinds of chroma key effects that have become essential to broadcasting, motion picture production and visual effects. The HoloSet system consists of a specially designed synthetic reflective background and a HoloRing optical emitter which attaches to the camera lens.

HoloSet was developed by Play in cooperation with experts at the British Broadcasting Corporation. Several years of intense research and development went into creating the HoloSet technology. The result of this effort elevates keying to a new level of quality and eliminates the creative limitations and technical difficulties previously associated with blue and green screen effects. HoloSet and Trinity's high-quality virtual set capability combine to create a low-cost solution destined to expand the use of virtual sets into many new markets.

"Perfect keying has been the 'Holy Grail' of video engineers and producers for decades" said Mark Randall, Play's Vice President of Creative Development.

"It takes a lot of time and a large space to uniformly light a blue or green screen backdrop. This is because traditional chroma keying required bright and even lighting which is not only costly, but also limits the kind of environments that can be simulated to those that are very bright." said John Wollner, Head of Studio Services at the BBC "HoloSet makes it possible to do chroma keying with almost any scene, even those with minimal lighting such as a scene illuminated solely by candlelight."

While HoloSet's special reflective background appears gray to the naked eye, a camera fitted with the HoloRing sees vibrant blue light waves reflected off the background. The HoloRing allows the camera to see a broadcast-quality key source without chroma-spill or the tell-tale color "fringes" around the talent. HoloSet is designed to work with any chromakeyer device from Play's own Trinity system to Ultimatte to software-rendered keyers.

HoloSet comes in complete studio, portable and office configurations starting at $995 and will be available in the Summer of 1999. Play Incorporated was founded in 1994 by computer and video industry pioneers with the goal of melding high-end video and graphics capabilities to personal computers for distribution over the Internet.

Among its award winning products are Snappy Video Snapshot, the all time best-selling computer video add-on, Trinity, which revolutionized TV production and graphics throughout the world and GlobeCaster, the world's first Internet TV station-in-a-box. For more information call 800.306.PLAY or visit www.play.com

BBC Resources Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, is the largest broadcast facilities operation in Europe. It provides the complete range of facilities and associated services to the BBC, other program makers and broadcasters, and to a growing list of customers in other marketplaces.

Web Site: http://www.play.com