View source for Jumbotron

{{short description|Large-screen television}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2014}}
[[File:Jumbotron Barclays Center Ellie the Elephant.jpg|thumb|The jumbotron at the [[Barclays Center]] arena in New York City during a [[New York Liberty|NY Liberty]] basketball game features box score statistics and graphics.]]

A '''jumbotron''',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jumbotron - Wall Video Screens, Custom Led Signs USA|url=https://jumbotron.com/|access-date=2021-12-04|language=en-US}}</ref> sometimes referred to as '''jumbovision''', is a video display using [[large-screen television technology]] ([[video wall]]).

The original technology was developed in the early 1980s by [[Mitsubishi Electric]]<ref name="sbnation" /> and [[Sony]], which coined '''JumboTron''' as a brand name in 1985.<ref name="Popular" /> Mitsubishi Electric sold their version of the technology as [[Diamond Vision]]. It is typically used in [[sports stadium]]s and [[concert venue]]s to show team statistics, close up shots of an event or even other sporting events occurring simultaneously.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QTkL5K3RCM0C&pg=PA119 Tailgate to Heaven: A British NFL Fan Tackles America - Adam Goldstein<!-- Bot generated title -->]. p. 119.</ref><ref name="Mercer" /> The same jumbotron technology is used in outdoor public places, often for advertising purposes (such as [[Times Square]], for example).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Elliott |first1=Stuart |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; Sony's Times Square Jumbotron has begun to attract advertisers. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/31/business/media-business-advertising-sony-s-times-square-jumbotron-has-begun-attract.html |access-date=27 September 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=31 August 1993}}</ref>

==History and development==
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| caption1          = The [[Sony]] JumboTron made its debut at [[Expo '85|World's Fair 1985]].
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| caption2          = The "Super Sign" on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s [[Times Square Studios]] facility was a very large Sony JumboTron. This unit was later replaced with a [[Mitsubishi Electric]] [[LED display]].
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The jumbotron was invented in Japan during the early 1980s, but there is a dispute between two rival Japanese companies, [[Mitsubishi Electric]] and [[Sony]], over its invention.<ref name="sbnation">{{cite web |last1=Pilon |first1=Mary |title=Twilight of the Jumbotron, the biggest invention in sports |url=https://www.sbnation.com/2015/11/11/9703912/twilight-of-the-jumbotron |website=[[SB Nation]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |access-date=27 September 2019 |date=11 November 2015}}</ref> In 1980, Mitsubishi introduced the first large-scale video board,<ref name="Nelson">{{cite book |last1=Nelson |first1=Murry R. |title=American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [4 volumes]: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas |date=2013 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=9780313397530 |page=653 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfTXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA653}}</ref> the [[Diamond Vision]], which was a large screen using [[cathode-ray tube]] technology similar to traditional tube [[television]]s.<ref name="sbnation"/> The first demonstration of the technology was during the [[1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] in [[Dodger Stadium]], [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="Nelson"/>

Panasonic had the Astro Vision which was based on Fluorescent Discharge Tubes. These were the only three players in the large-screen industry.

In 1985, the term "JumboTron" was coined by Sony for its large-scale video board.<ref name="Nelson"/> The JumboTron was the brand name for the large-scale video boards originally manufactured by Sony and is recognized as one of the largest non-projection video displays ever manufactured. Sony creative director [[Yasuo Kuroki]], who previously helped create the [[Walkman]], is credited with the development of the JumboTron.<ref name="sbnation"/> It was introduced at the [[Expo '85]] held in May 1985 at [[Tsukuba, Ibaraki]]. It had a [[display resolution]] of 450,000 [[pixels]], using a new proprietary Sony technology called the Trini-lite.<ref name="Popular">{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=Arthur |title=Science Newsfront |journal=[[Popular Science]] |date=May 1985 |volume=226 |issue=5 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iwAAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 |publisher=[[Bonnier Corporation]] |issn=0161-7370}}</ref> It was a [[microprocessor]]-based light bulb developed by one of Kuroki's colleagues, chief [[Betamax]] engineer Yuji Watanabe. Trini-lite technology allowed screen clarity and [[computer]] control, laying the foundation for the first Sony Jumbotrons.<ref name="sbnation"/>

In December 1986, the [[San Antonio Spurs]] unveiled the first indoor arena JumboTron scoreboard at the now-defunct [[HemisFair Arena]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Ken |date=2017-04-22 |title=Introduced by the Spurs, the JumboTron Marks a Sports Arena Milestone |url=http://sanantonioreport.org/introduced-by-the-spurs-the-jumbotron-marks-a-sports-arena-milestone/ |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=San Antonio Report |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Leonie Fiebich on the Jumbotron at Barclays Center.jpg|thumb|Starting lineup players are introduced on the jumbotron during a WNBA Basketball game]]
While the JumboTron and similar large-screen displays are physically large, they ranged from low to medium display resolutions. While the original Sony JumboTron in 1985 had a 450,000-pixel resolution, comparable to [[standard-definition television]]s of that era,<ref name="Popular"/> certain later models had lower resolutions. The JumboTron at the now-demolished [[Tampa Stadium]] in [[Tampa, Florida]], measured 30&nbsp;ft (9 m) diagonally, with a resolution of only 240x192 [[pixel]]s, below [[VHS]] resolution. Screen size since then varies depending on the venue. The display introduced in 1985 was 40 meters wide by 25 meters tall. Newer, [[LED display|LED-based large screens]] have resolutions that are an order of magnitude greater than the early JumboTron resolution at a fraction of the cost. For example, the much publicized center-hung video board in the [[Dallas Cowboys]]' [[AT&T Stadium]] is 72 feet tall and 160 feet wide (22 m x 49 m), displaying HDTV at 1920 x 1080 resolution, 45 times more pixels.

The largest JumboTron in use was located at SkyDome (now [[Rogers Centre]]) in [[Toronto]], Ontario, and measured 10 m tall by 33.5 m wide (33&nbsp;ft&nbsp;×&nbsp;110&nbsp;ft), with a resolution of 672 × 200 pixels, or 134,400 pixels.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Filey |first1=Mike |title=Like no other in the world: the story of Toronto's Skydome |date=1989 |publisher=Sun Controlled Ventures |location=Toronto |isbn=0-919233-31-7 |page=112}}</ref> Its cost was [[USD|US$]]17 million; by comparison, a similar-sized LED system sold today would cost around $3 million. The Rogers Centre JumboTron was replaced in 2005 by a [[Daktronics]] ProStar as part of a stadium revitalization project.

Sony JumboTron was the first video board ever in Times Square. It remained that way for almost ten years.

== Purpose ==
Originally, JumboTrons solely displayed the scores of the games via numerical displays. This then evolved into instant replays being shown for the benefit of fans within the stadiums or arena, and in modern day, social media is heavily integrated, with fans being urged to post on various social media platforms to then have their content appear on the JumboTron screen.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The History — And Uncertain Future — Of The Jumbotron|url=https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2015/11/28/mary-pilon-jumbotron-history-fututre|access-date=2021-04-14|website=www.wbur.org|date=28 November 2015 |language=en}}</ref>

Sony JumboTron's were the world's first mobile screens and concert screens. Big Mo was the first portable video screen and [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] used the first portable video screens for concert tours in the mid-1990s.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021|reason=Lacks any proof for this paragraph.}}

==Specifications of production and design==
[[File:Pelican Barge, Darling Harbor, Sydney, NSW, AU.jpg|thumb|An LED jumbotron display aboard a pelican barge.]]

Originally, the JumboTron was not an [[LED display]], since [[blue LED]]s were unavailable at the time, and the only green LEDs available were of the traditional yellow-green variety, which were unsuitable for an [[RGB]] display. Each display consisted of multiple modules composed of 16 or more small flood-beam [[cathode-ray tube]]s (CRTs), each of which included from 2 to 16 pixels composed of red, green, and blue [[phosphor]]s. Sony displayed one of the earliest versions at the [[Expo '85]] [[World's Fair]] in [[Tsukuba, Ibaraki|Tsukuba]].
Eventually, JumboTron systems adopted LED technology as blue and pure green LEDs were developed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=XP |first=Stellar |date=2024-01-20 |title=Jumbotron Rental For Small Business Advertising |url=https://www.stellarxp.com/blog/the-top-benefits-of-using-jumbotron-rental-for-small-business-advertising |website=Stellar XP}}</ref> LED-based systems have about ten times the lifespan of CRT-based systems, a key reason for the change.

==Genericized trademark==
Although ''JumboTron'' was a [[registered trademark]] owned by the Sony Corporation, Sony stopped manufacturing the devices under that name in 2001 and the word <u>''Jumbotron''</u> has since become a [[genericized trademark]].<ref name="Mercer">[https://books.google.com/books?id=lpDTyljqFCYC&pg=PA115 ManVentions: From Cruise Control to Cordless Drills - Inventions Men Can't Live Without - Bobby Mercer<!-- Bot generated title -->] p. 115-116.</ref> An Illinois-based company called Watchfire Signs filed for the US trademark in February 2023.

==See also==
{{portal|Technology|Television}}
*{{section link|Scoreboard|Video board animation}}
*[[LED display]]
*[[Trinitron]]

Displays similar to the JumboTron include:
* [[Barco LED Screen]]s
* [[Daktronics]] ProStar
* [[Mitsubishi Electric]] [[Diamond Vision]]
* [[Panasonic]] AstroVision
* [[Philips]] Vidiwall
* [[Toshiba]] TechnoRainbow
* [[Eidophor]] video projector

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pPuQHAAACAAJ | title=Precedents and Issues with Billboard Live's JumboTron: The First Electronic Board on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip | publisher=H. Meares | author=Meares, Harriet | year=1997}}

==External links==
* {{commons-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}

{{Sony Corp}}
{{Display technology}}

[[Category:Sony products]]
[[Category:Video]]
[[Category:Vacuum tube displays]]
[[Category:Stadiums]]
[[Category:Japanese inventions]]
[[Category:1985 introductions]]
[[Category:Audiovisual introductions in 1985]]
[[Category:Brands that became generic]]