The Chattanooga Convention Center recently added a big, bright bonus for event organizers and attendees with the installation of a huge 43’ by 5’ NanoLumens® Nixel Series™ curved LED display at the center’s north entrance. According to Mike Shuford, Executive Director of the Chattanooga Convention Center, every new perk or infrastructure improvement can be a boon for venues hoping to draw organizations to their locale for conferences, trade shows and corporate events.
“The U.S. convention center industry is highly competitive,” Shuford said, “with centers across the country constantly working to promote themselves as the best location and as having the best infrastructure for all types of events. With the installation of this unique, vibrant curved NanoLumens display, Chattanooga has stepped up to the plate to help organizations of all sizes hit it out of the park at their next conference or event.”
The installation marks the Chattanooga Convention Center’s first major foray into digital infrastructure, placing it among the nation’s most venerated convention centers in terms of technological innovation. After Shuford encountered NanoLumens displays in action at other locations, he realized that a one-of-a-kind, eye-catching digital display greatly impacts the event manager and attendee experience by providing a digital canvas for a wide range of compelling and informative content. He then set out to make the convention center an industry leader, keeping up with Chattanooga’s technological reputation centered on having the fastest broadband internet in the western hemisphere. In fact, the center provides free Wi-Fi within its walls, a testament to its drive to provide visitors with the most streamlined tech experience.
“We determined that having a large display across the entire curved wall above the north entrance would be a stunning attraction for guests, and provide a great benefit to event hosts who want to present a forward-thinking aesthetic and show off content and information in an unforgettable way,” he added. “After researching the available technologies, it became clear that NanoLumens was the best, and perhaps only, display manufacturer that could create a truly seamless, brilliant display that would conform to the curve of the wall and not require additional support infrastructure. We also love the fact that it’s a U.S. company, building its products right over in Atlanta, has the industry’s best warranty and personalized customer service, and even trained our staff to install and maintain the display for optimum performance and reliability.”
The 5mm pixel pitch display is impossible to miss for convention center visitors, residing above a main rotunda visible from all angles. Thanks to NanoLumens’ custom display building process and lightweight design, it did not require new support infrastructure or construction, and was built specifically to fit the exact curve of the existing wall.
After being installed in mid-October, the convention center has used the display to present enthralling GoPro adventure videos and other high-octane content, as a proof of the attention-grabbing nature of the technology. Soon, event organizers will be able to create their own content for the display, so they can share videos, information and digital visualizations with attendees.
According to Geoff Berkeley, NanoLumens Regional Sales Manager, the company’s unrivaled customer service and down-to-the-pixel warranty played a large role in securing the project.
“Throughout this project, Chattanooga Convention Center staff were trained to install and maintain the equipment themselves, offering a completely in-house operation that ensures consistent performance and fast issue resolution,” Berkeley said. “I don’t know of any other company that invests time and money to send training staff, for free, to effectively hand off regular maintenance to the customer. We’re happy to do so, and since our warranty covers every individual pixel for six years, if an issue does arise they can’t solve, we can quickly and efficiently replace any required parts so they don’t miss a beat.”
This project marks NanoLumens’ first installation in Chattanooga, with Shuford positing that the convention center will consider additional display installations in the coming years. Content for the extra-wide display is delivered via a BrightSign player which allows the operators to develop their own visualizations and even split the display into multiple ‘windows’ which could be very useful for presenting information and event news to visitors.
The display also fits well with the convention center’s aim to be as environmentally friendly as possible, since NanoLumens LED technology uses a fraction of the electricity that LCD or competing display technologies use for the same size screen. Other green features of the convention center include providing reusable glasses, dishes and silverware, or exclusively bio-degradable disposable options, offering convenient recycling access, and being the first convention center in the nation to incorporate sophisticated “day lighting” technology that allows natural sunlight to filter in through 30-foot ceiling openings to complement the building’s artificial light.