International. The Christie Spyder X80 multi-window processor is helping to deliver an amazing new experience for fans of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. As part of a massive renovation of its entire stadium (Phoenix Suns Arena), the new lobby area has been equipped with 650 square meters of LED screens, with the Spyder X80 processing content to capture the attention of fans as they enter the building.
The 29-year-old stadium underwent a significant $230 million modernization with state-of-the-art upgrades that allow the Suns to deliver a first-class experience for visitors. The transformation included enhanced amenities for followers, technology and more. Stranger Production, a company that specializes in broadcast processing and automation in the sports field, prescribed the Christie Spyder X80 processors that are used to bring content to the LED murals in the new lobby area.
Two custom curved LED screens welcome fans to the stadium inside the renovated Phoenix Suns Arena. One screen measures 8 meters high by 61 meters long and the other 8 meters high by 34 meters long, producing a total of 64.8 million pixels. Two Christie Spyder X80 processors (one used as the main processor and the other as part of a backup system) were installed to deliver content to the displays.
Eric Howell, owner of Stranger Production, commented: "The system is designed to make the Spyder X80 the central processor of the pavilion's LED displays. The video is sent from the computers and media processors to the Spyder. The screen is fully customizable, including advertising, video streams and pre-game content, and different types of content can be overlaid with the Spyder." In addition, content can be synchronized across screens throughout the stadium.
The system uses 12 of the 16 outputs available on the Spyder X80 and all 20 inputs. Howell said, "We're using a lot of pixels (the Spyder manages 64.8 million pixels) and there's still room for one more screen."
