Daktronics Aims To Put a Sound Peg Into a Square Screen Goal is the ultimate, large-scale integration of sound and picture By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As demand increases for ever larger video screens and ever louder sound systems, competing real-estate needs occasionally create a multimedia traffic jam in sports venues. For much of the past two decades, Daktronics, which holds a nearly 60% market share in main video displays and integrated super systems in the pro-sports venues, has been working toward mitigating that conflict by integrating sound systems into progressively larger videoboards. Putting big sound into a big picture creates a unique onsite fan experience, but it also has to deal with a few challenges.
Daktronics' John Olsen sees untapped potential for integrated audio systems in NBA- and NHL-arena videoboards.
Basically, says John Olsen, sales manager, audio systems, Daktronics, what we're doing is putting line arrays inside a huge display so that the effect is that of a point-source sound system. The goal of a point-source sound system is to create a coherent sound wave that reaches most of the seats in a stadium with minimal seat-to-seat variation. The effect feels like sound and picture are all coming from a single location.
With screens as large as Daktronics's nearly 900-sq.-ft. display at Auburn University's Jordan-Hare Stadium and integrated PA systems reaching sound-pressure levels of 120 dB and higher, one main challenge has been achieving plausible synchronization between picture and sound. The light of the video image travels at 186 million miles per second while its associated audio plugs along at a mere 700+ mph.
The solution, says Olsen, is to delay the video by about 500 ms in the video processor. In football stadiums, which have on average the largest videoboards, that's achieved by aiming at the 50-yard line as the target for the best sync for display/sound systems located at one end of the stadium.
That minimizes the effect of the delay to the point where most people won't notice it anywhere in the stadium, although it can't eliminate it completely, he says. It's a challenge with any large-venue sound system, along with loudspeakers installed for shadowed areas like concourses, concessions, suites, and other indoor or outdoor areas.
Bigger and Bigger Typical of the company's hybrid AV installations is one installed this year at Northern State University's new Dacotah Bank Stadium in Aberdeen, SD. It's 23 ft. high by 59 ft. wide within an even larger scoreboard structure measuring 42 ft. high by 76 ft. wide. A Daktronics Sportsound 2000HD audio system is integrated with the video and scoring system.
Auburn University's Jordan-Hare Stadium features a 900-ft. videoboard with integrated PA system.
Larger videoboards can accommodate the bigger sound systems needed for point-source, endfire PAs. That's good because, in an era when ever greater low-frequency energy (LFE) has become a staple of the pop and urban music genres regularly heard in large sports venues, that means room for more subwoofers - generally the largest type of speaker enclosure.
All that LFE could potentially distort the picture by rattling the superstructure, although Olsen says that any such distortions can't readily be picked up by the eye. For extremely large installations, such as the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where any number of internal or external vibration sources could create a potential image distortion, Daktronics has developed stick products: long, slender epoxy LED rods assembled with space between them but, from a distance, forming a coherent image.
Another solution is GKD MediaMesh, which Daktronics markets and installs in a partnership with GKD Metal Fabrics, with Daktronics supplying the LED portion of the product. MediaMesh is a textile-like weave of stainless steel and electronics that can be fitted over a solid fa ade or in front of windows - or a sound system - and provides image and sound while also letting the underlying architecture remain visible.
But, at such large scale, every solution also has its considerations. For instance, spacing between sticks in a display assembly has to consider not only image coherency at certain distances but also how that spacing affects the frequency response of the sound system behind it.
Depending on the size of the sound system and its orientation to the listener, the LED fa ade may attenuate certain higher frequencies, explains Olsen, who came to Daktronics with its acquisition in 2005 of Dodge Electronics, which specialized in PA systems for the collegiate and professional markets. As you move to higher frequencies, the waves become smaller, and it takes less obstruction to block or attenuate them. With our LED Audio Facade product, we have created a happy medium for sound transmission. Really, the only issue is getting as much vertical resolution as possible and then letting our eyes put it all together. It's a matter of finding the right balance between picture and sound.
Daktronics' LED solutions prevent image distortion due to LFE in the huge integrated video/audio scoreboard at Las Vegas's T-Mobile Arena.
In fact, that's part of the strategy for the future, with sports venues in all markets turning to AV to help welcome fans back to the stands: using large-scale audio and video to engage fans in ways that can't be done at home.
To further that, Daktronics in July hired Diane Gonzalez-Ferranti as executive producer in its Creative Services division, which is tasked with helping the company grow its business in the digital-content-creation space across all markets, including sports. At the same time, Olsen says, integrated audio a
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
The An Evening with Emerson, Lake and Palmer tour brings one of rock's most iconic bands back to the stage. These performances seamlessly blend live foota...
30/09/2026
Schibsted Media, one of Norways largest and most influential digital media publishers and content producers, has invested in mixers and digital signal processor...
30/09/2026
Big Blue Marble announces the addition of live multiview channels to Cloud Video Kit, its broadcast-grade video processing platform. The feature is powered by A...
30/09/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Telekom Slovenije, Slovenia's largest provider of telecommunications and TV services, is open...
30/09/2026
PODCAST EXPO 2026 Recorded Using Blackmagic Design Workflow
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Conference featuring 24 sessions over two days ...
30/09/2026
IBC2026 Show Report
David Kirk September 29, 2026
0 Comments
The International Broadcasting Convention has long been Europe's equivalent of the US...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
30/09/2026
Building on nearly a decade of co-engineering, CoreWeave has built NVIDIA compute, networking and software into a cloud purpose-built for AI that's still re...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
Daktronics Aims To Put a Sound Peg Into a Square Screen Goal is the ultimate, large-scale integration of sound and picture By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
