Jumbotron

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Expo85 sony.jpg
The Sony JumboTron made its debut at World's Fair 1985.
ABC - Good Morning America.jpg
The "Super Sign" on ABC's Times Square Studios facility was a very large Sony JumboTron. This unit was later replaced with a Mitsubishi Electric LED display.

A jumbotron, [1] sometimes referred to as jumbovision, is a video display using large-screen television technology (video wall). The original technology was developed in the early 1980s by Mitsubishi Electric [2] and Sony, which coined JumboTron as a brand name in 1985. [3] Mitsubishi Electric sold their version of the technology as Diamond Vision. It is typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close up shots of an event or even other sporting events occurring simultaneously, [4] [5] as well as outdoor public places (such as Times Square, for example). [6]

Contents

History and development

The jumbotron was invented in Japan during the early 1980s, but there is a dispute between two rival Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony, over its invention. [2] In 1980, Mitsubishi introduced the first large-scale video board, [7] the Diamond Vision, which was a large screen using cathode-ray tube technology similar to traditional tube televisions. [2] The first demonstration of the technology was during the 1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles. [7]

Panasonic had the Astro Vision which was based on Fluorescent Discharge Tubes. These were the only three players in the large-screen industry.

Ironically, it was Sony who introduced Daktronics to the pro and college sports world, as Sony would exclusively sell Daktronics scoreboards and controllers with their video board solutions. Eventually, Daktronics replaced Sony in the space completely.

In 1985, the term "JumboTron" was coined by Sony for its large-scale video board. [7] The JumboTron was the brand name for the large-scale video boards originally manufactured by Sony and is recognized as one of the largest non-projection video displays ever manufactured. Sony creative director Yasuo Kuroki, who previously helped create the Walkman, is credited with the development of the JumboTron. [2] It was introduced at the Expo '85 held in May 1985 at Tsukuba, Ibaraki. It had a display resolution of 450,000 pixels, using a new proprietary Sony technology called the Trini-lite. [3] It was a microprocessor-based light bulb developed by one of Kuroki's colleagues, chief Betamax engineer Yuji Watanabe. Trini-lite technology allowed screen clarity and computer control, laying the foundation for the first Sony Jumbotrons. [2]

In December 1986, the San Antonio Spurs unveiled the first indoor arena JumboTron scoreboard at the now-defunct HemisFair Arena. [8]

While the JumboTron and similar large-screen displays are physically large, they ranged from low to medium display resolutions. While the original Sony JumboTron in 1985 had a 450,000-pixel resolution, comparable to standard-definition televisions of that era, [3] certain later models had lower resolutions. The JumboTron at the now-demolished Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, measured 30 ft (9 m) diagonally, with a resolution of only 240x192 pixels, below VHS resolution. Screen size since then varies depending on the venue. The display introduced in 1985 was 40 meters wide by 25 meters tall. Newer, LED-based large screens have resolutions that are an order of magnitude greater than the early JumboTron resolution at a fraction of the cost. For example, the much publicized center-hung video board in the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium is 72 feet tall and 160 feet wide (22 m x 49 m), displaying HDTV at 1920 x 1080 resolution, 45 times more pixels.

The largest JumboTron in use was located at SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) in Toronto, Ontario, and measured 10 m tall by 33.5 m wide (33 ft × 110 ft), with a resolution of 672 × 200 pixels, or 134,400 pixels. [9] Its cost was US$17 million; by comparison, a similar-sized LED system sold today would cost around $3 million. The Rogers Centre JumboTron was replaced in 2005 by a Daktronics ProStar as part of a stadium revitalization project.

Sony JumboTron was the first video board ever in Times Square. It remained that way for almost ten years.

Purpose

Originally, JumboTrons solely displayed the scores of the games via numerical displays. This then evolved into instant replays being showcased for the benefit of fans within the stadiums or arena, and in modern day, social media is heavily integrated, with fans being urged to post on various social media platforms to then have their content appear on the JumboTron screen. [10]

Sony JumboTron's were the world's first mobile screens and concert screens. Big Mo was the first portable video screen and Genesis used the first portable video screens for concert tours in the mid-90's.[ citation needed ]

Specifications of production and design

An LED jumbotron display aboard a pelican barge. Pelican Barge, Darling Harbor, Sydney, NSW, AU.jpg
An LED jumbotron display aboard a pelican barge.

Originally, the JumboTron was not an LED display (light-emitting diode display), since blue LEDs were unavailable at the time, and the only green LEDs available were of the traditional yellow-green variety, which were unsuitable for an RGB display. Each display consisted of multiple modules composed of 16 or more small flood-beam CRTs (cathode ray tubes), each of which included from 2 to 16 pixels composed of red, green, and blue phosphors. Sony displayed one of the earliest versions at the Expo '85 World's Fair in Tsukuba. Eventually, JumboTron systems adopted LED technology as blue and pure green LEDs were developed. [11] LED-based systems have about ten times the lifespan of CRT-based systems, a key reason for the change.

Genericized trademark

Although JumboTron was a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, Sony stopped manufacturing the devices under that name in 2001 and the word Jumbotron has since become a genericized trademark. [5] An Illinois-based company called Watchfire Signs filed for the US trademark in February 2023.

See also

Displays similar to the JumboTron include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinitron</span> Series of CRT televisions and monitors manufactured by Sony from 1968 to 2008

Trinitron was Sony's brand name for its line of aperture-grille-based CRTs used in television sets and computer monitors, one of the first television systems to enter the market since the 1950s. Constant improvement in the basic technology and attention to overall quality allowed Sony to charge a premium for Trinitron devices into the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KeyBank Center</span> Multipurpose indoor arena in Buffalo, New York

KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League since 1996, is the largest indoor arena in Western New York, seating 19,070. It replaced the Sabres' former home, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, where the team played from 1970 to 1996. The venue is also home to the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daktronics</span> American sign company

Daktronics, Inc. is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota, that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. It was founded in 1968 by two South Dakota State University professors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scoreboard</span>

A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to display the score. When a point was made, a person would put the appropriate digits on a hook. Most modern scoreboards use electromechanical or electronic means of displaying the score. In these, digits are often composed of large dot-matrix or seven-segment displays made of incandescent bulbs, light-emitting diodes, or electromechanical flip segments. An official or neutral person will operate the scoreboard, using a control panel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Third Field (Toledo, Ohio)</span> Home venue of the Toledo Mud Hens

Fifth Third Field is a Minor League Baseball stadium in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The facility is home to the Toledo Mud Hens, an International League team and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active shutter 3D system</span> Method of displaying stereoscopic 3D images

An active shutter 3D system is a technique of displaying stereoscopic 3D images. It works by only presenting the image intended for the left eye while blocking the right eye's view, then presenting the right-eye image while blocking the left eye, and repeating this so rapidly that the interruptions do not interfere with the perceived fusion of the two images into a single 3D image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaught–Hemingway Stadium</span> Outdoor athletic stadium located in University, Mississippi

Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field is an outdoor athletic stadium located in University, Mississippi, United States. The stadium serves as the home for the University of Mississippi Rebels college football team. The stadium is named after Johnny Vaught and Judge William Hemingway. Since its expansion in 2016, it is the largest stadium in the state of Mississippi with a capacity of 64,038 and also holds the state record for attendance at 66,703.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FD Trinitron/WEGA</span> Flat version of the Trinitron picture tube

FD Trinitron/WEGA is Sony's flat version of the Trinitron picture tube. This technology was also used in computer monitors bearing the Trinitron mark. The FD Trinitron used computer-controlled feedback systems to ensure sharp focus across a flat screen. The FD Trinitron reduces the amount of glare on the screen by reflecting much less ambient light than spherical or vertically flat CRTs. Flat screens also increase total image viewing angle and have less geometric distortion in comparison to curved screens. The FD Trinitron line featured key standard improvements over prior Trinitron designs including a finer pitch aperture grille, an electron gun with a greater focal length for corner focus, and an improved deflection yoke for color convergence. Sony would go on to receive an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its development of flat screen CRT technology.

Laser color television, or laser color video display, is a type of television that utilizes two or more individually modulated optical (laser) rays of different colors to produce a combined spot that is scanned and projected across the image plane by a polygon-mirror system or less effectively by optoelectronic means to produce a color-television display. The systems work either by scanning the entire picture a dot at a time and modulating the laser directly at high frequency, much like the electron beams in a cathode ray tube, or by optically spreading and then modulating the laser and scanning a line at a time, the line itself being modulated in much the same way as with digital light processing (DLP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Video wall</span> Technique used for creating large video displays, without a video projector

A video wall is a special multi-monitor setup that consists of multiple computer monitors, video projectors, or television sets tiled together contiguously or overlapped in order to form one large screen. Typical display technologies include LCD panels, Direct View LED arrays, blended projection screens, Laser Phosphor Displays, and rear projection cubes. Jumbotron technology was also previously used. Diamond Vision was historically similar to Jumbotron in that they both used cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology, but with slight differences between the two. Early Diamond vision displays used separate flood gun CRTs, one per subpixel. Later Diamond vision displays and all Jumbotrons used field-replaceable modules containing several flood gun CRTs each, one per subpixel, that had common connections shared across all CRTs in a module; the module was connected through a single weather-sealed connector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large-screen television technology</span> Technology rapidly developed in the late 1990s and 2000s

Large-screen television technology developed rapidly in the late 1990s and 2000s. Prior to the development of thin-screen technologies, rear-projection television was standard for larger displays, and jumbotron, a non-projection video display technology, was used at stadiums and concerts. Various thin-screen technologies are being developed, but only liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display (PDP) and Digital Light Processing (DLP) have been publicly released. Recent technologies like organic light-emitting diode (OLED) as well as not-yet-released technologies like surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) or field emission display (FED) are in development to supercede earlier flat-screen technologies in picture quality.

Display motion blur, also called HDTV blur and LCD motion blur, refers to several visual artifacts that are frequently found on modern consumer high-definition television sets and flat panel displays for computers.

ANC is a sports multimedia and signage integration company based in Purchase, New York.

Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Display (FLCD) is a display technology based on the ferroelectric properties of chiral smectic liquid crystals as proposed in 1980 by Clark and Lagerwall. Reportedly discovered in 1975, several companies pursued the development of FLCD technologies, notably Canon and Central Research Laboratories (CRL), along with others including Seiko, Sharp, Mitsubishi and GEC. Canon and CRL pursued different technological approaches with regard to the switching of display cells, these providing the individual pixels or subpixels, and the production of intermediate pixel intensities between full transparency and full opacity, these differing approaches being adopted by other companies seeking to develop FLCD products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retina display</span> High-resolution display brand by Apple

Retina display is a branded series of IPS LCDs and OLED displays by Apple Inc. that have a higher pixel density than traditional displays. Apple has registered the term "Retina" as a trademark with regard to computers and mobile devices with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and Canadian Intellectual Property Office. The applications were approved in 2012 and 2014 respectively. The Canadian application cited a 2010 application in Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphics display resolution</span> Width and height of an electronic visual display device, such as a computer monitor, in pixels

The graphics display resolution is the width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain combinations of width and height are standardized and typically given a name and an initialism which is descriptive of its dimensions. A graphics display resolution can be used in tandem with the size of the graphics display to calculate pixel density. An increase in the pixel density often correlates with a decrease in the size of individual pixels on a display.

ColosseoEAS is an international company based in Bratislava, Slovakia that specializes in LED design, multimedia and statistics for sport venues. The integrated system approach, introduced in 2010, allows stadium and arena owners to input all data from any source into one platform. It automates tasks, reduces redundant operations and distributes native information to a variety of devices like LED screens, IPTVs, advertising fasciae, mobile applications and even wearable devices. Founded in 2005 by four Bratislava entrepreneurs, Colosseo in 2007 entered an exciting field that combines the latest LED lighting technologies with sports, advertising and stadium entertainment. Additionally, Colosseo is the only company in the world to have implemented five, real-time biometric facial recognition systems to enhance stadium security; first at O. Nepela Arena in Bratislava and the other in Spis Arena (Slovakia), TAURON Arena Krakow (Poland), Petrovsky stadium (Russia) and Yubileyny Sports Palace (Russia)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Vision</span> Large-scale video walls

Diamond Vision displays are large-scale video walls for indoor and outdoor sports venues and commercial applications, produced by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Diamond Vision Systems is a division of Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. and is headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, where certain products are designed and assembled for the North American market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultra-high-definition television</span> Television formats beyond HDTV

Ultra-high-definition television today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9. These were first proposed by NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories and later defined and approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

References

  1. ↑ "Jumbotron - Wall Video Screens, Custom Led Signs USA" . Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Pilon, Mary (11 November 2015). "Twilight of the Jumbotron, the biggest invention in sports". SB Nation . Vox Media . Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  3. ↑ Tailgate to Heaven: A British NFL Fan Tackles America - Adam Goldstein. p. 119.
  4. 1 2 ManVentions: From Cruise Control to Cordless Drills - Inventions Men Can't Live Without - Bobby Mercer p. 115-116.
  5. ↑ Elliott, Stuart (31 August 1993). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; Sony's Times Square Jumbotron has begun to attract advertisers". The New York Times . Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 Nelson, Murry R. (2013). American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [4 volumes]: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. p. 653. ISBN   9780313397530.
  7. ↑ Rodriguez, Ken (2017-04-22). "Introduced by the Spurs, the JumboTron Marks a Sports Arena Milestone". San Antonio Report. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  8. ↑ Filey, Mike (1989). Like no other in the world: the story of Toronto's Skydome. Toronto: Sun Controlled Ventures. p. 112. ISBN   0-919233-31-7.
  9. ↑ "The History — And Uncertain Future — Of The Jumbotron". www.wbur.org. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  10. ↑ XP, Stellar (2024-01-20). "Jumbotron Rental For Small Business Advertising". Stellar XP.

Further reading

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