Jumbotron

By Wikipedia

The Jumbotron, manufactured by the Sony Corporation, is recognized as one of the largest vacuum fluorescent displays ever manufactured. It is not an LED (Light Emitting Diode) display - each display element is composed of 3 or 6 small CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes), each of which is one color of a pixel. (Handbook of Display Technology, Joseph A. Castellano, 1992) It is typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close up shots of the action or band.

Sony displayed one of the earliest versions at the 1985 World's Fair in Tsukuba. Sony creative director Yasuo Kuroki is credited with the development of the JumboTron.

While the JumboTron and similar large-screen displays are physically large, they are often surprisingly low in resolution. The JumboTron at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, for example, while over 30 feet diagonally, was only 240x192 pixels. Screen size since then varied depending on the venue. The one introduced in 1985 was 40 meters wide by 25 meters tall. The largest Jumbotron in use was located at the SkyDome in Toronto, Canada and measured 33 feet tall by 110 feet wide at a cost of $17 million. The Rogers Centre Jumbotron was replaced in 2005 as a part of a stadium revitalization project.

Though the term "JumboTron" is a registered trademark owned by Sony, it is often used by the public to refer to any type of such device regardless of its manufacturer or brand name.

Similar devices include:

• Daktronics' ProStar
• Mitsubishi's DiamondVision
• Panasonic's AstroVision
• SACO Technologies Inc.'s SmartVision

Jumbotron! Coors Field's impressive JumboTron scoreboard. Photo by DOD (SSGT Ricky A. Bloom, USAF) with only slight modifications ;)

Share Your Memories!

What interesting stories about Jumbotrons (or similar scoreboards) do you remember? Share your stories with the world! (We print the best stories right here!)