Texas Motor Speedway’s (TMS) new Big Hoss TV debuted in September for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Playoff weekend. Sited on the backstretch of the track, and one of the largest displays in the world, it is made up of digiLED VISION ULTRA panels, measures an incredible 23,000 square feet, stands 11 storeys high and, with over 8.2 million pixels, it is the equivalent of 4,331 42in TVs.
Committed to TMS and partner and installer for the project, GoVision, digiLED custom engineered VISION ULTRA, which features specially designed cabinets to enable a 1:1 replacement of the old display.
A key criterion for the replacement screen was to reuse all of the existing steel structure, which in turn removed the need for TMS to repurchase about 15 tons of steel – the existing layout meant that the original power supplies could also be repurposed, all thanks to digiLED’s “cleverly designed” VISION ULTRA cabinets.
The screen was built, tested and shipped within 60 days of the order being placed and VISION ULTRA’s unique cabinet design helped GoVision reduce installation time to an incredibly short five weeks.
While reusing the existing steel was integral for completing the project on time and had the advantage of bringing it in under budget, digiLED was also mindful of the importance this had on reducing environmental impact. The steel industry is responsible for around 7% of CO2 emissions globally, making it one of the world’s top three highest emitting materials, and whilst the industry is working on reducing emissions during production, re-using the existing structure was also an environmental win for all concerned.
In this warm and often dry location, fans and filters had been an Achilles heel for the old system. Adding to environmental efficiency, VISION ULTRA is fan free, instead using passive cooling, and its tiles are aluminium backed to deliver enhanced thermal management. This means maintenance problems become substantially less, and the panels are recyclable at the end of the screen’s life.
Of course, visibility and durability are also key. The screen is subjected to the harsh Texas sun during the day with temperatures reaching around 104F, but the wind is also brutal at times, so it must be able to cope with the constant assault of dust. To account for this harsh environment, VISION ULTRA has a unique high-brightness design of 10,000 nits, providing incredible visuals in unforgiving high-temperatures and direct sun. And while the system was shipped in just 60 days, digiLED still put it through intense testing measures at its factory, including being ‘torture’ tested to over 160F for three hours at a time.
Finally, it was vital to provide the onsite team as much time as possible to energise the display in time for the race, but equally vital to mitigate the risk of TMS being left without a screen if anything unforeseen happened during shipping. This meant it was only possible to start removing the old screen once an absolute delivery date was confirmed and work only started on site when the final shipment arrived on the West Coast of America.
“It was great working once again with the team at digiLED on the Big Hoss TV project at Texas Motor Speedway,” said Chris Curtis, founder & chairman, GoVision. “They provided a fantastic product as always in their VISION ULTRA and were really supportive in our efforts over the design and installation process. The digiLED team was a huge part of allowing us to do a project of this magnitude in an extremely tight time window making sure the screen was in pole position for TMS’s race day.”
Graham Burgess, CEO, digiLED, concluded: “We have worked with GoVision for over a decade, and the experience is better with every project that we do. Their relationships with their customers, in this case Texas Motor Speedway, provides us with the opportunity to show all that digiLED products are capable of, and we look forward to more exciting projects together in the future. We hope the fans enjoy the latest iteration of Big Hoss TV!”
