The Daktronics Experience

Ahead of baseball season, Justin and Matt are joined by Dustin Culhane, Daktronics account service manager, to talk about getting everything ready for the season. He talks about preparations from a team’s perspective as well as from Daktronics' perspective, the checks our services team performs, display washing, preparing content and more. He even shares what happens when he attends a baseball game as a fan. (Hint: a Daktronics employee always notices the video displays.)

• Texas Rangers project: https://www.daktronics.com/news/Pages/Texas-Rangers-Introducing-Nine-LED-Displays.aspx
• Cincinnati Reds project: https://blog.daktronics.com/2019/12/04/cincinnati-reds-first-to-install-all-hdr-system/
• Chicago Cubs display washing video: https://www.facebook.com/Daktronics/videos/10154157074024434/ 
• MySupport - set up an account and request display washing: www.daktronics.com/mysupport  

What’s going on behind the scenes of professional baseball? During our Baseball User Group in Brookings, SD, Matt sat down with Tim Gunkel, Executive Director of Ballpark Technology and Procurement for the New York Mets, to find out. He shared his experience in baseball, how his team is focusing on the fan experience and what activities they employ, and his thoughts on the user group where teams are actively sharing ideas and learning from one another.

• New York Mets project photo: https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/photos/details?pn=WP-19900&cid=137135
• What’s new in baseball blog: https://blog.daktronics.com/2020/03/06/6-things-to-know-for-the-2020-mlb-season/

As Daktronics prepares to exhibit at Integrated Systems Europe 2020 in Amsterdam, Jason Melby joins Justin and Matt to talk about the show. Jason works in International Marketing for Daktronics and covers our presence at the show, what we’re bringing to our stand, his favorite parts of the show and more, including interesting technology that he’s seen in recent years.

• Daktronics Webpage for ISE: daktronics.com/ise
• Daktronics ISE News Release: https://www.daktronics.com/news/Pages/Daktronics-Showing-New-High-Brightness-Chip-On-Board-Product-at-ISE-2020.aspx

To talk about the lifetime of LEDs, Shannon Mutschelknaus, engineering manager of Daktronics Laboratory Services Group, joins Matt and Justin to share his knowledge on the topic. The conversation goes into the 100,000-hour expectation, how LEDs are tested, what causes LEDs to fail and even the longest-lasting light bulb that’s still lighting up a fire station in California.

• 100,000-hour myth article: https://www.machinedesign.com/news/article/21815599/100000hour-leds-just-not-true
• The Centennial Light in California: https://www.centennialbulb.org/

The Daktronics Experience Podcast has reached its one-year anniversary! So, for this episode, Executive Producer Jesa Pace interviews Justin and Matt to find out what they do here at Daktronics. The conversation goes into their experiences starting the podcast and sharing some of their favorite moments from the past year.

Links:

• Lane Munson Podcast: http://podcast.daktronics.com/e/38-the-difference-between-4k-and-hdr-with-lane-munson/
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium Podcast: http://podcast.daktronics.com/e/6-preparing-for-the-big-game-a-talk-with-scott-jenkins-gm-of-mercedes-benz-stadium/
• Safety Dance Podcast: http://podcast.daktronics.com/e/32-the-safety-dance-with-safety-team-members-albert-joel-and-scott/
• Mike Dewsnap Podcast: http://podcast.daktronics.com/e/11-a-career-in-event-production-with-mike-dewsnap/

Event production has some differences from MiLB to MLB. Justin and Matt sit down with Garret Young, production manager for the Houston Astros, to hear his journey into event production, some of the fun things he’s been able to create for his game days and his exciting first season with the Houston Astros.

Links:

• Astros content reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krIIgOwWK-w
• RoughRiders blog post 1: https://blog.daktronics.com/2018/05/03/roughriders-are-rockin-the-fan-races/
• RoughRiders blog post 2: https://blog.daktronics.com/2018/05/31/where-my-teddy-at-a-roughriders-original/

Usually when the lights go out at a sporting event, it’s a bad thing. But at the University of Georgia, it’s a critical part of the show. Justin and Matt sit down with Video Board Event Producer Anna Pence to hear more about their production, especially at Sanford Stadium for football games. Anna also shares details of how she triggers venue lighting, video boards and music from Daktronics Show Control.

Links:

• UGA Highlight Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44SGFsXIeU8&t=1s
• UGA Lighting Blog Post - https://blog.daktronics.com/2019/12/06/a-light-show-on-campus-at-the-university-of-georgia-a-qa-with-event-producer-anna-pence/
• UGA Project Photos - https://www.daktronics.com/en-us/photos/details?pn=WP-16353&cid=UGAAGA

To talk more about our Show Control system for live events, Justin and Matt welcome Mark Eisenstadt back to the podcast for the third time. Mark shares the basic overview of the system including the main building blocks, what they provide for our Studio Product Family and for our new Live Product Family, and how they work together.

• Daktronics Show Control website: daktronics.com/show
• Fuzzy man video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB_43zaXFH4
• AJT Systems podcast: http://podcast.daktronics.com/e/15-building-broadcast-features-with-ajt-systems/
• Professional Services Contact: professional.services@daktronics.com

There are many layers to the services offered by Daktronics, so Justin and Matt sit down with Sarah Rose, Vice President of Global Services, to get a higher level of understanding of those services and the variety of customers we work with. Sarah also shares her journey through her years at Daktronics and some interesting stories along the way.

• Daktronics Services and Support: daktronics.com/support
• Daktronics Professional Services: daktronics.com/professionalservices
• Daktronics Creative Services: daktronics.com/creativeservices
• Daktronics Technical & Software Training: daktronics.com/training