- Pre-LED Jumbotrons used CRT pixels called "Trinilite" elements. This was a proprietary Sony technology where each sub-pixel or "cell" was a miniaturized CRT assembly. Each resolved one pixel each.
- A "maximum" NTSC configuration consisting of 40 units wide would result in a horizontal resolution of just 640 dots.
- The display needed a calibration using a “Screen Alignment Unit” (the JME-SA200). This unit used a remote modem chain involving a "cellular phone" and "digital data card." This means that Jumbotron techs could dial in over 1998-era mobile networks to geometrically align a stadium-sized wall of vacuum tubes as they sat in the middle of said stadium.
I also found the format of the manual interesting, because it follows the same style of consumer-grade Sony devices from that period.
Off-topic, but this ongoing trend of brands getting TLDs is really starting to infuriate me. It's not what TLDs are for! Sony is a Japanese company, so it should use sony.com or sony.jp.
A couple of interesting takeaways:
- Pre-LED Jumbotrons used CRT pixels called "Trinilite" elements. This was a proprietary Sony technology where each sub-pixel or "cell" was a miniaturized CRT assembly. Each resolved one pixel each.
- A "maximum" NTSC configuration consisting of 40 units wide would result in a horizontal resolution of just 640 dots.
- The display needed a calibration using a “Screen Alignment Unit” (the JME-SA200). This unit used a remote modem chain involving a "cellular phone" and "digital data card." This means that Jumbotron techs could dial in over 1998-era mobile networks to geometrically align a stadium-sized wall of vacuum tubes as they sat in the middle of said stadium.
I also found the format of the manual interesting, because it follows the same style of consumer-grade Sony devices from that period.
Manual of the calibration tool: https://pro.sony/s3/cms-static-content/operation-manual/3864...
Off-topic, but this ongoing trend of brands getting TLDs is really starting to infuriate me. It's not what TLDs are for! Sony is a Japanese company, so it should use sony.com or sony.jp.
That’s not what the ICANN thinks, and this started in 2012:
https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/program