This season, fans of the Dallas Cowboys have been treated to a sight that would make even the hardiest eyes turn square – a 600 ton, high definition television. The huge 60 foot long screen hangs 90 feet above the ground at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, and is used to show slow motion replays and other highlight reels from past Cowboys games. Footage of the second half of the game this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings was actually broadcast in full 3D, with each member of the crowd being issued their own pair of 3D glasses so they could appreciate the full effect. The screen cost a massive $40 million to manufacture and install, and produces a crystal clear picture for the thousands of admiring fans.
At 25,000 ft, the screen size will be too big for even the most lavish of front rooms, but there are still a whole ton of cheap Samsung TVs available at the moment, meaning if you’re looking for a bargain on a cheap LCD TV you won’t need to wait for the January sales. Fortunately for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, he had somewhere he could stash the big screen while the required modifications are being made to his lounge.
The giant screen hasn’t been without controversy though, with punter AJ Trapasso actually hitting the screen with a kick during the Titans/Cowboys game earlier in the season. Perhaps unsurprisingly there is no provision in the rules of American Football for when the ball hits a giant TV screen suspended above the pitch, but Jones was unrepentant, insinuating that the punter was aiming for the screen deliberately. The NFL themselves have taken a pragmatic approach to the situation so far, but should something similar happen again then the Cowboys could face a bill of up to $2million dollars to raise the screen a further ten feet.