By Jonah Morgan
Japanese electronics firms were hard at work on advancements in display technology throughout the 1980's that were to set the stage for a revolution in the way one can transmit high resolution video on a truly large pallet to large number of observers. These displays began deployment in several Japanese cities in the 1990's and were constantly being retrofited to stay on par with the state of the art. While for the first examples, displaying 3 color combinations was enough the latest continue to hone improved picture clarity and depth,
brightness, durability and efficiency. Composite materials went to lightweight, thin structures and easy
maintenance making them ideal for unconventional outdoor installations. 
After plans were revealed several years back to turn the now hyper-cosmopolitan Tokyo district, Shibuya, into a shopping and people hotspot, giant display after whopping giant display seemed to affix itself to surrounding buildings. Behind the scenes, oftentimes heated negotiations were waged as manufacturers, building owners/leasers, and video content providers vied for the chicest advertisement site in the city.
When I visited Tokyo in 2001 and walked out of the JR Train station into the square for the very first time I thought I had landed in some future city at some future time. Pictures can't do real justice to the pure sea of elecromagnetic energy that is Shibuya. Beyond countless auditory streams of pop music, news, sports and financial reports, neon lighted signs, LED tickers and printed advertisements that plastered the sides of entire buildings, three gigantic video displays drew the attention of virtually every pedestrian and passerby at some point throught their Shibuya trek. From the guy who took his lunch break in the small park in front of the Tokyu building checking out the top 10 music video countdown to the ocassional footbound shopper who would glance up at the weather rundown, you could expect to see virtually any number of programming types on the walls.
From left to right Akami's Super LISA Shibuya features a curved screen attached to the Taiseido Building, folks can see music video programming on this one throughout the day. LISA dominated the Shibuya videoscape with almost exclusive visual access to the estimated 3 million passengers a day for most of the 90's until the even more gargantuan Q's Eye was realized. LISA Size: 6,480mm (Height) x 8,640mm (Width)
In 1998 the largest video screen in Japan, Q's Eye flickered on attached to the QFRONT building at 23.5x19 meters. The master control for QFRONT lies beneath the square of Shibuya in the tunnelways, explore about some and you can easily find it. The images above were captured by ANS and are QFRONT and the master control on New Year's Eve.
From the American perspective who has not seen the giant video screen that dominated the Times Square commercial imagery morass before there even was one? That screen was developed by Sony until Panasonic placed their Astrovision unit there in 1997. The screen was dubbed "the Visual Centerpiece of Times Square" upon debut and this quote goes along way to revealing the implication of this type of technology. Panasonic Astrovision uses Light Emitting Diodes to produce a display almost three stories high and four stories wide. Capable of more than a billion shades of color and containing 1.5 million LED’s, the very same screen is in place world-wide at major entertainment and sports venues, including the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Pacific Bell Bark, San Francisco and Universal Studios CityWalk, Hollywood.
Now you can come and see the giant video screen capitial yourself as part of the Pop Japan Travel tour coming up in April, go to the link to find out more! Be sure to mention ANS when signing up!
Super Lisa Shibuya Image (C) Akami
All Stories, Graphics And Material © Jonah Morgan - Anime News Service Unless Otherwise Cited
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