History of the Jumbotron(NHL)

History of the Jumbotron(NHL)

The History of the Jumbotron is a controversial one when, in the 1980s, two competing developing companies from Japan, Mitsubishi Electric, and Sony both made claims that they were original inventors. In 1980, Mitsubishi unveiled the first large-scale video board, the Diamond Vision, a large screen implementing cathode-ray technology. They showcased the new screen at the 1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California.

It wasn’t until five years later, in 1985, that Sony, creative director Yasuo Kuroki, who previously helped create the Walkman, was acknowledged with the development of the Jumbotron. In May of 1985, Sony displayed the Jumbotron at Expo ’85 at Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. The massive screen had a display resolution of 450,000 pixels and incorporated Sony technology called the Trini-lite. Trini-lite technology enabled greater screen clarity and computer control; thus, Sony coined the term “Jumbotron,” giving the world an introduction to large-scale viewing.

History of the Jumbotron(NHL)

The largest Jumbotron in use was situated at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario; its dimensions are 10 m tall by 33.5 m wide or (33 ft x 110 ft) and costs a mere $17 million US. The center-hung video board in the Dallas Cowboys AT$T Stadium measures 72 feet tall and 160 feet wide or (22 m x 49 m) with HD resolution at 1920 x 1080; it was made by Mitsubishi and cost $40 million US.

The New Jersey Devils unveiled the largest NHL Jumbotron in 2017 at the Prudential Center; the mammoth scoreboard weighs 88,401 pounds, consumes 9,584.9 square feet, stands four stories tall, and comprises 29,610,024 SMD pixels. Considering the giant screen is equivalent to 1,300 50 inch televisions, the scoreboard contains 20 individual displays and four HD underbelly units. Previous to this, Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena claimed top honors for the giant scoreboard. Still, they held the title for only one regular-season game until the Prudential Center scoreboard surpassed it.

Check out this fascinating video about the technology that goes into creating a stunning scoreboard.

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