Schools are installing new cost-effective LED displays to replace both projectors and scoreboards in gymnasiums and other sports venues. Video Scoreboard by Dimensional Communications has complete solutions to help realize this new opportunity.
If you’ve been to a high school basketball game, you have probably seen a purpose-built scoreboard used solely for basketball. Usually it’s built from a lot of folded sheet metal and silk-screened graphics with some specific lights – certainly not a flexible solution for when the volleyball or wrestling team shows up for their games. And, if you’ve attended a presentation in that same gym, you will also likely be seeing big projection screens illuminated by expensive and delicate video projectors, which under daytime lighting conditions look washed out, or even un-viewable.
Convergence of technologies like scoreboards and video screens is just another example how previously separate and seemingly unallied devices can benefit from sharing a common platform. The common new platforms in gymnasiums are big, bright and colorful high-resolution LED screens and application-based content serving. Think of how Apple took the functions of a phone, music player and computer, combining them into a more elegant solution that successfully challenged and eventually replaced the separate devices. Converging an application-based multi-sport scorekeeping system with more capable display technologies simply provides for more flexible, capable and elegant results.
Like with the smartphone, an initial convergence to LED screens in schools is just the tip of the iceberg. Once a new platform of technology equipment and initial applications are established, other uses rapidly follow. Scorekeeping and presentations are just the beginning of possible uses for LED displays and creative people will use them to enable further meaningful connections between students, faculty, staff, internal organizations like ASB and external stake holders such as booster clubs, PTA’s and even local businesses.
One immediate leverage point of large LED displays – especially large venue displays that support HD sources and content – is a marriage with video production for both live events and pre-made video content stored for playback. In a live event, multiple fixed and wireless cameras, slow-motion and instant replay add-ons provide more features and functions to existing events, and the costs of such system options are coming down rapidly. Beginning with an appliance and associated scorekeeping applications as an initial solution to underpin the investment, additional functions can easily follow to make use of the display for other needs.
It’s said that “Video is King” and having a system in a school gym with advanced video and application display abilities that solves the nagging issues of older technology like purpose-built scoreboards and light-challenged projectors makes sense. This modern approach creates a more exciting and dynamic sports experience for the school and its fans, while expanding opportunities for system integrators.
