The electrifying, 24/7 pulse of New York’s Times Square resulted in the city’s nickname: “The City that Never Sleeps.” And now, thanks to Samsung Prismview, the neighborhood just got a little brighter.
With 4.2 million pixels, the new Samsung Galaxy S9 board is a stunning addition to Two Times Square, the iconic building that sits squarely in the center of the hub. Now the Galaxy S9 has a display that’s as clear and technically advanced as the phone itself.
Demonstrating our worth — to Samsung
It may seem odd to enter a pitch competition to win business from your parent company, but that’s exactly what Prismview did. Up against other vendors, Prismview had a slight advantage, as a Samsung subsidiary.
“There were fewer hoops to jump through than normal pitches since the customer was Samsung,” said Ilidio Vincente, spectaculars sales manager at Prismview. “But we still had to perform and show the quality of our product over other vendors.”
The sales team proved their worth, demonstrating their second-to-none contrast and crisp image capabilities. But what really earned them the project was the nature of the job: an LED screen that can curve like the Galaxy S9 itself.
“Our company specializes in unique displays; that’s what we do,” said Steve Sluder Sr., systems integration engineer at Prismview. “Anyone can make a square box and put LEDs on it, but Prismview specializes in the unusual, the challenging.”
“When it comes down to it, we’re the only company that can do this,” says Ilidio Vincente, spectaculars sales manager at Prismview.
Solving the curve — and making up for lost time
After proving their superiority, Prismview had only eight weeks to get the display designed, built and installed. So the team hit the ground running.
The first attempt at the curved design came up a bit short, and the client wanted a bigger curve. An unanticipated redesign like this can set a project back weeks. But since Prismview has a domestic manufacturing site in Utah, they were able to go back to the drawing board, re-fabricate the board and overnight ship, all without losing significant time.
“Because of our U.S.-based shop, were able to meet the customization of the change and still meet the deadline,” said Vincente.
The design was also in their favor. With alignment pins and a standard block, they were able to custom-build the cabinets to different sections, allowing for staggered installs. While waiting for the updated curved ends of the display, the team installed the middle sections, enabling the process to go twice as fast.
Optimize your outdoor signage
White Paper
Leverage high-brightness displays to deliver clear, compelling communications in any weather. Download Now
There were also some difficulties with installing a display in such a big city — especially in a neighborhood as congested as Times Square. More than just securing the typical permits, Prismview had to account for the traffic of the area, making sure nearby subway stations weren’t open and certain roads were closed.
But in the end, everything was accounted for, and the team finished a week ahead of schedule.
“I’ve never had a job that we didn’t have challenges to overcome. But we have always gotten the job done, and that’s the difference. We’re problem-solvers,” says Steve Sluder Sr., systems integration engineer at Prismview.
An eye ahead on the Big Apple
In August 2018, Samsung launched the new Times Square display with a live broadcast from Korea on a crystal-clear, 4.2-million-pixel board. The result is astounding, and the high-quality display really shines — even in an area with such a high density of LEDs as Times Square.
The difference in quality is obvious, and when compared with surrounding boards — especially when daylight hits — the images are unbeatable, marking a huge win for Samsung’s brand recognition.
And though it’s a smaller project for Prismview’s standards, the impacts — and the benefits — for the customer are immense. “A lot of the buildings in Times Square are empty, they’re just holding up signs for advertising,” Sluder points out. “But the value of the building is not the interior, it’s for hanging a sign on the outside and bringing in tens of millions in ad revenue. That’s the unique thing about Times Square.”
As a result of the success of the project, Prismview is looking forward to more work in the Big Apple. “What Two Times Square did for Prismview was open up Times Square and NYC for us,” said Vincente. “New York prospects don’t have to go far to see the quality of our product.”
Make a mark for your brand with the latest LED technology.
