22 SPORTS TECHNOLOGY 2 001 marked a significant the sports sector, with the introduction of Hawkeye development when it came to audio-visual technology in during coverage of a cricket Test match between Pakistan and England. The advanced camera system is used to track the trajectory of a ball and also provides real-time data for accurate decision-making. It wasn’t long before other sports such as tennis and ice hockey followed suit and implemented the technology too. AV has not only shaped how matches are officiated but also serves as a useful tool for athlete performance and fan engagement. Innovations in cameras, audio systems, LED video walls and real-time signal distribution are at the forefront of improving coverage of games – and are changing how fans experience them, both in person and at home. SUSTAINABLE PIXEL POWER At the centre of many forms of sport are the LED screens that allow fans, both present and at home, to stay close to the action. They might have been around since the sixties – and have been an integral part of the sporting world since the nineties – but they continue to play a major role in stadiums, and the tech powering them is rapidly advancing. According to Ross Noonan, technical marketing and training manager at DigiLED, the LED display world, despite its influence, has a hidden problem: standby power use. “When your crowds aren’t around, you ought to be switching those screens off completely,” he begins. “You might think, easy enough – I’ll hit the breaker switch, or a bunch of them if it’s a massive set-up. And while that’s one way to do it – shutting them down is straightforward – the real headache comes when you try to power them back up safely without any hitches.” Firing up LED screens again can cause a surge of inrush current, which might trip breakers or even damage older parts with the sudden stress. “The larger the screen, the higher the risk,” says Noonan. “That’s why, for years, most LED displays aren’t ever fully turned off. They’re just set to black or some kind of ‘pseudo standby’ mode, where they can still draw up to 17% of their maximum power while doing absolutely nothing.” DigiLED came up with Zeus, the zero-energy-use system, to combat this problem. Zeus is a power management set-up designed to drop standby power to zero and handle safe restarts for indoor and outdoor screens alike. “Sports venues have always been at the forefront of using huge, bright LED displays, so they’re perfectly placed to get the most out of something like Zeus,” he explains. “Since it launched, it’s been fitted in 85 sites worldwide (and counting), including big-name arenas like The O2 in London, the Scottish Event Campus and grounds for cricket clubs such as Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Sussex County Cricket Club. The benefits add up quickly. Take Yorkshire County Cricket, as an example.
We are always striving for better, constantly progressing with energy-saving options to become a greener stadium
Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s utilisation of the DigiLED power management system Zeus has cut costs, energy use and CO2 emissions
Since 2023, they’ve saved £28,500, cut energy use by 101,545kWh and reduced CO2 emissions by 25,792kg. We’re always striving for better, constantly progressing with energy-saving options to become a greener stadium.” SLAP SHOT AI camera tracking is significantly impacting live sports by automating and enhancing how games are filmed, analysed and experienced. Major sporting leagues, such as the Premier League, NHL and NBA, have already
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