I realize from a post that I just received that some people reading this don't really know what's going on, so I thought I'd try to expound. Also, welcome if you are linking to this blog from the Canes' website!
In a nutshell: the RBC Center is getting a new HD videoboard ("jumbotron") and is redoing the control room to be completely HD.
(note: "jumbotron" is a brand name used by Sony... saying "jumbotron" is like saying "kleenex" or "band aid"... you're equating the brand name with the product. Since Sony doesn't make Jumbotrons anymore - in fact, we got one of the last ones when the building was built - we'll refer to it as the "videoboard")
Why the change?
Even though the building is just shy of ten years old, some upgrades needed to put in place. After 7000 of broadcast hours (as noted by the videoboard controller), things were starting to either break, otherwise malfunction or simply become obsolete because of newer technologies.
But it's only been ten years!
Think of it this way: in 1999, how many of you had heard of a plasma TV? [rhetorical] Back at the turn of the millennium, large format plasmas were still in the $10K range. Now, how many of you have them in your home? [again, rhetorical] 50" plasmas are now under $2K.
So goes the world of broadcast. The world of HD has grown in leaps and bounds and has been field tested enough that we're able to make smart (or at least well informed) decisions about equipment purchase and such, and even future proof ourselves so we may get a bit more than ten years out of this room!
The new videoboard will be full-LED, with no static displays for time clock or penalty/fouls. It will be supplied by Daktronics, who furnished our current (existing and surviving through the transition) 360° ribbon board and now defunct Matrix panels. They also supplied the two videoboards in the north end of Carter Finley Stadium.
Enough for this post... pictures of our progress today will be posted shortly!
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