Charlotte Motor Speedway, long considered the home of NASCAR, was looking for the next big thing when Panasonic Enterprise Solutions installed the world's largest LED display in a sports venue - all controlled by one Vista Spyder 353 video processor.
Two hundred feet across and 80 feet high, and offering unprecedented views of the action, the record-breaking 30mm full-color LED display towers 11 stories above turns 2 and 3 along the speedway's back stretch. Along the front stretch - encompassing turns 4 to 1 - fans have clear viewing angles of the board that features high-resolution visuals illuminated by over nine million LEDs.
Good Karma Pictures' Michael Rocha, integrator for the system, operates the screen for the speedway and creates content for the display, giving fans a big multimedia experience. "Rather than break up the screen into sections," said Rocha, "we layer content and treat it as one huge contiguous screen. Spyder is critical to this application."
Rocha approached Vista with the concept for the enormous display and asked if Spyder could manage it. "I knew we were going to have numerous signals and realized that the size of the display, which is larger than HD, would require the convergence of multiple sources," he added. "We needed the Spyder to manage and control every signal going to the display and, two months later, we were up and running.
"Many screens at racetracks are hard to see, but not this one. Stunning and bright, the LED display shows live coverage, interactive entertainment, leaderboard updates, replays, and sponsorship information - and we can seamlessly display any or all of the content at any time," Rocha continued. "Spyder can easily window and transition all the images on the giant screen. High-octane animations and graphics act as a background for the multi-image display. It's a very cool presentation."
Rocha said there are 16 live sources, including nine in-car POV feeds. Additional sources include numerous prerecorded video segments, race information, a live audience text-to-screen feed, and computer graphics.
"Spyder is working great, and I'm blown away by how responsive and fast it is. The speedway is very thrilled with the presentation."
About Vista Systems
Vista Systems was acquired by Christie, a global leader in visual solutions for business, entertainment and industry, to create a comprehensive source for image processing and projection solutions. The acquisition combines the power and flexibility of Vista's video switchers and real-time windowing and composition products with the power, performance and reliability of award-winning Christie projection systems. Vista Systems' switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video and data mixed signal switching. For more information on Vista Systems, visit their website at www.vistasystems.net.
