FREMONT STREET EXPERIENCE
How Watchfire Upgraded the Most Technologically Advanced Digital Display Worldwide
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Industry
Entertainment
Product
Custom Digital Canopy
Dimensions
27mm Pitch, 1377′ x 97′
The Largest Single Digital Display in the World
Background
The Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, NV, attracts around 22 million visitors annually. As this iconic attraction had not been updated since 2004, the canopy was ready for a long-overdue update. Watchfire was selected from 15 digital screen manufacturers to reboot this iconic attraction.
Objectives
The canopy had to shed rain, let daylight in, deliver bright and clear graphics 24/7, and fit the existing structure.
Transforming Fremont Street
In 2019, Watchfire was selected to create a digital signage solution for this project, the most ambitious undertaking in the digital signage industry to date. With a resolution of 15,104 by 1088 pixels, it’s now four times sharper than before. It is also seven times brighter, allowing for operation in broad daylight for the first time since the original canopy was created in 1995. Other Watchfire design innovations increase the contrast and color reproduction of the display, making it the most technologically advanced digital sign in the world. Watch this video to see how the iconic Fremont Street Experience canopy was made, shipped and installed.
Implementation Process
Watchfire’s module design achieves the desired transparency by using strategically placed holes that also allow air and water to pass through. Bright surface-mount LEDs and a high contrast panel design resulted in rich, vivid color capability that was further fine-tuned through a proprietary color calibration process. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the design allowed the new modules to be cut to size, without impact to the display.
Planning
New module design
Watchfire created a new 27mm module design with strategically placed holes for air and water to pass through and a design that allowed modules to be cut to fit the existing structure.
7 times brighter
Bright surface-mount LEDs and a high-contrast panel design resulted in rich, vivid color capability. For the first time, the canopy would be able to be operated in daylight.
Over 60,000 Modules Delivered
By the end of the planning process, Watchfire promised 64,000 individual modules, about 60 semi loads, to make up the full canopy.
Execution
seamless delivery
Watchfire designed a custom crating system that made installation at the job site as smooth as possible.
Efficient Transportation
60 truckloads of signage, comprised of 1,054 subframes, were shipped to Las Vegas over a six-month period.
Timely Shipment
Installation began in May, and the canopy was completed in November 2019, with its official reveal on December 31.
Deployment
Continuous Testing
As each signage section was completed, display capabilities were tested before moving on to the next section.
Staying One Step Ahead
Back in Danville, Watchfire employees worked to stay one section ahead of the Vegas crew.
No Experience Interruptions
Content was played on both new and old sections as the installation progressed throughout the summer.
Key Features and Innovations
UNIQUE FEATURES
The digital canopy is almost 1,500 feet long and is suspended 90 feet above a pedestrian mall, totaling roughly three acres of digital signage. Strategically placed holes in each module allow water and air to pass through.
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
Watchfire’s new module (created specifically for Fremont Street Experience) can be trimmed and resized into thousands of shape configurations without impacting any content displayed.
Results and Outcomes
7x
brighter screen
4x
more contrast
130k
square feet
49M
LEDS
Catch Your Customer’s Attention Like Never Before
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