NY Visitors Center Transformed into Super Bowl Central Social Media Hub

For the temporary setup, VideoSonic hooks up the visitors center with touchscreen monitors running game-related content and a live TV video wall.

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The Broadway location of New York Visitors Information Center has been transformed into Super Bowl Central as thousands of football lovers converge on the New York-New Jersey area for Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks—and New York-based integrator VideoSonic Systems is a big part of it.

The interactive space—which allows tourists to use interactive maps to find discount tickets, theater information, places to shop, and sightseeing tours, free WiFi and multilingual FAQ stations—features a universal AV system that helps VideoSonic to future-proof its work and set clients up to get the best technology as it’s released.

In fact, VideoSonic recently replaced a video wall it first installed at the visitors’ center when it opened in 2008, says president Glenn Polly. The wall was on RGB and is now on DVI digital with 1920 x 1080 resolution.

“The equipment might be changing out frequently,” says Polly.

During normal times of year, visitors center staff monitors all of the social network feeds using software that analyzes the subject matter and tallies statistical information. These days, the bulk of the sharing is focused on the Big Game, of course.

VideoSonic made sure the center remains “a flexible, reconfigurable space,” says Polly. “Our infrastructure delivers Ethernet to each staff PC location.”

Photos: Glimpse the Technology Inside Super Bowl Central

The touchscreen monitors are running content related to the Super Bowl and the video wall is used for live TV, where sports channel coverage displays the social messages and they can also display the main PC with the statistic results. That’s also displayed on video screens in the window facing the street.

“It’s an example of how our infrastructure was designed to be flexible and provide a degree of future-proofing, as it can be reconfigured to support any technology,” says Polly, adding that’s “something that VideoSonic is known for doing as a standard.”

VideoSonic added new distribution amplifiers to the video wall and installed four touchscreen monitors in the store inside the center, says Polly. Super Bowl reps created the graphics about the game and events leading up to it, he says.

Although this is “the most extensive conversion” of the visitors’ center space since it opened, there have been other smaller changes from time to time, says Polly.

“They upgrade it to fit their needs,” he says. “They really transformed the space this time.” After the game, the center will return to its original use and all memories of Super Bowl week will be wiped away.

Polly is excited to have VideoSonic be part of the project, and believes it proves the company’s worth yet again.

“It’s a good testimonial to have repeat business with our clients,” he says. “When the space needs to be update, they know they can call us and we can do the job the way they want it done.”

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