Panasonic Taps Astucemedia on ‘Big Hoss TV’

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA—Panasonic enlisted the help of Astucemedia—a Montreal-based provider of live broadcast graphics services with an office in Dubai, UAE—to provide visually rich graphics design with real-time data integration services to “Big Hoss TV,” Astucemedia said.

Said to be recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest high-definition LED video board, “Big Hoss TV” enhances the fan experience for those attending NASCAR and other motor sports events at the Texas Motor Speedway in Dallas.

The screen—which measures 218 feet wide by 94.5 feet high—delivers broadcast-quality coverage of racing events as they take place, including field interviews with drivers and their pit crews, 1080p HD camera footage, instant replays of high-speed race action and interactive features and games for the fans at Texas Motor Speedway. The big board also displays live tweets and real-time graphics depicting the drivers’ MPH, RPMs, speed, leaderboards and other vital racing stats.

“Big Hoss TV” is also the first instance where uncompressed 4K-resolution video renders directly out of a Viz Engine—Vizrt’s 3D live graphics/video compositing rendering engine—to the HD LED display, the vendor said. The HD LED drivers extract a 3K center-cut from the 4K Vizrt video output to generate an impactful display without quality compromise. This installation also utilized another Vizrt live graphics system—the Viz Trio CG—that complements the Viz Engine for rendering. The solution is controlled by Panasonic’s new stadium controller designed for complete Vizrt Integration.

Texas Motor Speedway commissioned Panasonic to build the display. Panasonic also provided systems integration services for a in-stadium production control room used to produce “Big Hoss TV” shows.