CHULA VISTA, California, May 29, 2012 — Youth athletes and their coaches are looking at training in a new light—literally, thanks to Joe Dellanno, president of Smart Light Sports of Arlington, MA and inventor of Ice Light, Court Light, Lane Light and Turf Light systems for hockey, basketball, volleyball, marching bands, bowling and turf sports. The new patent-pending systems use Hitachi CP-X10000 3LCD projectors to display animated graphics and images onto the playing surface where the athletes can practice in an entirely new and engaging way.
“Coaches are always looking to increase players' skills and get the most out of their practice time,” noted Dellanno. “However, there's always been a disconnect between the coaches and the display technology they use to get their points across to the players. How do you convey the feel of moving around on a 17,000-square-foot playing surface using an 8-foot projection screen?”
“With Ice Light, we wanted to show players what they could never see before, such as making shooting angles visible, watching plays develop on the ice, following animations that show how the puck travels, and displaying movement cues and explanations that show players where to skate,” Dellanno added
“In my architectural business I use projectors for presentations all the time,” Dellanno continued. “Once my children started playing sports and I started coaching, it gave me the idea: why couldn't I turn the projector 90 degrees and do the same thing on a playing surface?”
However, to make the system work for hockey, Dellanno needed a projector that was bright enough to project images onto a variety of playing surfaces.
John Bonyman of North Billerica, MA-based systems integrator Total Audio Video worked hand in hand with Dellanno in developing the system and recommended the Hitachi CP-X10000. Total Audio Video is the exclusive integrator for Ice Light.
“I knew the Hitachi projector would be a good fit for this unique application because of its brightness and its ability to achieve a big enough image size,” said Bonyman. Currently, Smart Light systems are in place in rinks in Woburn, MA and Exeter, NH, and a system is being installed at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, NY in its new rink and turf facility.
“Giving the players the ability to look at visual cues right on the surface is amazingly effective,” Bonyman continued. “Usually, hockey practices are 50 minutes and during that time you get about 30 minutes of skating time, and the rest of the time the players are doing something else – but you're still paying for the down time over the course of maybe 60 practices in a season.”
“With Ice Light, the players are spending a lot more time skating. But more importantly, they're more focused and engaged,” Dellanno pointed out. “It's pretty amazing--you can run through a drill and after just one time the players get it and are doing it themselves. Also, we can project multiple images, which allow all the players to participate in drills, not just some of them.”
“Ice Light enables better, faster and more effective skill development, and Hitachi is an essential part of the system,” Dellanno concluded.
The CP-X10000 projector offers XGA resolution, with a brightness of 7,500 ANSI lumens and a 2500:1 contrast ratio. It features inorganic LCD panels for longer projector life and dust-resistant cooling systems, allowing the filter to operate for 10,000 maintenance-free hours. The CP-X10000 also features a 3,000-hour lamp life and blackboard/whiteboard mode and daytime mode. Security features include a PIN lock, Kensington slot and transition detector.
To learn more about Smart Light Sports please visit www.smartlightsports.com
For more information about Total Audio Video go to www.totalavinc.com
For more information on Hitachi visit www.hitachi-america.us/digitalmedia
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About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2011 (ended March 31, 2012) consolidated revenues totaled 9,665 billion yen ($117.8 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.