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WGBH can't stand the heat
By adamg on Fri, 07/18/2008 - 10:32am
More specifically, its Jumbotronish display next to the turnpike, which is going dark until cooler weather returns or the station installs a new cooling system to keep the LEDs from overheating.
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Comments
What next? Thermal runaway?
Ouch! LED thermal sensitivity is a known problem. Somebody, somewhere, had a major disconnect between requirements and specifications.
Good
I'm rather amazed that thing hasn't caused a major crash yet. Keep it dark permanently.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
We have billboards and wall
We have billboards and wall art on the sides of highways (BTW anyone know when that Ugly Ipod ad will removed from the aquamarine/whale mural building on the expressway?) so its not like its anything new. Its not video and Im sure the refresh rate is abysmal when they do change images.
No, It Is Something New
Anon -
Not to be insulting, but have you actually seen the thing? Your wording - "Im sure the refresh rate is abysmal when they do change images" - leads me to believe you haven't.
It is not a static image, as billboards and wall art are. It moves, it flashes, it changes. It is closer to video than it is not.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Who cares? Why the hell
Who cares? Why the hell should it be removed?
Why?
It presents what is known as "an attractive nuisance." But, then again, so am I.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
If that's the case, we
If that's the case, we should 86 the mural on the SE expressway. I think your position is extreme and a bit too nanny-state for my taste. Agree to disagree, good sir.
Nuisance?
I'll agree that it is attractive. Who considers it a nuisance? If the people who live around it don't mind it, why should any of us?
See Above
As I stated at the beginning of this, I think it is a dangerous thing to have overhanging a portion of high speed roadway. Obviously, not too many folks agree with me on that. So, perhaps I'm wrong.
My worry is that it presents the danger of attracting the driver's eye off of the road. As anon pointed out, so do billboards and murals. This thing presents the additional factor of a changing view, thus presenting the additional danger of attracting the driver's eye off of the road to observe the change, a process that involves the driver's attention for a longer time period than that of a static image.
If I'm overly-concerned - if I'm the only one concerned, as it appears - my bad, I guess.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
I'm concerned, also.
It's a totally valid point.
Digital billboards on the
Digital billboards on the side of roads are common in various forms, just not so much around here. There are a few going down 84/95 towards NY, but they are mostly static.
In any case most studies on the subject are inconclusive if these types of signs are distracting to drivers. Generally a good driver wont be distracted by something like this for more than a glace (the same as looking at the radio or environmental controls in the car.) While a bad driver may completely lose focus on the road causing an accident (same could be said for phones or ipods in the car or other visual stimuli on the side of the road. Ever try to get a good look at a full moon, sunset, or landmark while driving?) I think driver discipline is really the question here.
The time I saw it
A few days after it launched, it wasn't just a "changing display" - it was a freaking LED real-time "watch the music rock you" spectrum-analyzer bar graph.
Was that only for the first few days? Because if not, I can't imagine how it could NOT be distracting. Sure, it's like a billboard or a landmark - if that billboard or landmark is dancing and on fire. It's more like Vegas or Times Square, only on the highway.
I'd love to see many more of these
provided that they can be done in a manner that does not use large amounts of energy. (I'm concerned about the need for "enhancing the cooling system".) They can enliven otherwise blank walls and give people something variable to look forward to seeing each day.
The New Garden wanted to put one of these on the back of their building, facing the North Station tracks. I don't know why someone objected, but it didn't happen.
I imagine the objection was
I imagine the objection was something along the lines of "This is Boston, not New York."
Thank you for conserving energy, WGBH!
Many businesses conserve energy and save money by turning off excess lighting and equipment during hot peak consumption days like today. This has a double payoff indoors because it reduces the amount of waste heat air conditioning systems have to remove. I hope WGBH turns off their LED display any time it gets too hot to operate properly and that they do not install a cooling system. If so, I think many of us would regard that darkened sign as common sense, environmental awareness, and fiscal responsibility.