Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced that the company’s Diamond VisionTM series of outdoor large-scale color display systems has received the prestigious IEEE Milestone award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Diamond Vision is Mitsubishi Electric’s series of proprietary displays, of which more than 2,000 have been installed globally since the first unit was introduced at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, USA in 1980. The award recognizes the prominent role and high esteem of Diamond Vision as the world’s first outdoor largescale color display systems for creating impressive video images.
IEEE Milestone commemorative plaque
Up to 1980, electric scoreboards at stadiums conventionally only used incandescent lamps to project just letters and numbers. In response to growing demand for screens that could project images as beautiful as TV images at distances of up to 100 meters, Mitsubishi Electric successfully developed a three-color (red, blue and green) compact cathode ray tube (CRT) capable of displaying brilliant full-color video even in sunlight. Also, the company’s new software could be used to control images, music and other content, providing a tremendous boost to in-game entertainment at stadiums.
“We are deeply honored to receive the IEEE Milestone for Diamond Vision,” said Masaki Sakuyama, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric. “This is the first time our company has received this honor exclusively and it also represents the first IEEE Milestone to be received by a company in the Kyushu region of Japan. We are proud that Diamond Vision has continued to deliver highly impressive video images to spectators around the world for more than 35 years. We will continue to challenge ourselves to develop other useful technologies that truly enrich people’s lives.”
Presentation Ceremony at Hotel New Nagasaki on March 8, 2018
Since the first installation at Dodger Stadium, Diamond Vision displays have been adopted for use in a wide variety of facilities. Over time, Mitsubishi Electric’s engineering innovations have driven the evolution of light-emitting elements used in large displays, first by replacing single cathode ray tubes with flat matrix CRTs, and then replacing these CRTs with LEDs. Such changes further improved the video quality and led to the increasing use of Diamond Vision displays in diverse event facilities, not just sports stadiums. As such, Diamond Vision has played a profound role in delivering highly impressive video images to spectators around the world.
“The first Diamond Vision was born right here in Nagasaki more than 35 years ago,” said Teruaki Tanaka, Senior General Manager, Nagasaki Works, Mitsubishi Electric. “Since then, Diamond Vision has become synonymous with outdoor large-scale color display systems around the world. Becoming part of history with this award is a tribute to the contributions of everyone involved with Diamond Vision here in Nagasaki. We look forward to evolving Diamond Vision even further in the future.” In recognition of these achievements, the IEEE has now honored the world’s first technology for large, fullcolor displays useable in sunlight, noting that Mitsubishi Electric has continued to evolve and improve its proprietary imaging system more than 25 years after first introducing Diamond Vision to the world.
Major Diamond Vision Installations
More than 2,000 Diamond Vision displays have been installed in sports stadiums, racetracks, public spaces, shopping malls and other types of venues in Japan and abroad.
| Completed | Special Notes | Site | Screen Size (w) x (h) |
| July, 1980 | World’s first full color large-scale display device installed | Dodger Stadium (USA) | 8.7m x 5.8m |
| March,1981 | First installed in Japan | Korakuen Stadium (Japan) | 13.0m x 5.8m |
| August,1988 | Flat matrix type CRT installed | Kishiwada Cyclepia Stadium (Japan) | 5.12m x 4.16m |
| October, 1996 | Frist LED types installed | Iwataya Department Store (Japan) | 2.27m x 1.62m |
| April, 2003 | 3 in 1 LED types installed | Mitsubishi Motors Showroom (Japan) | 3.84m x 2.88m |
| March, 2014 | Black package LED installed | Studio Alta (Japan) | 12.8m x 7.2m |
| August, 2003 | (Then) World’s longest screen installed | Sha Tin Racecourse (Hong Kong) | 70.4m x 8.0m |
| March, 2005 | World’s biggest outdoor HD video screen installed | Atlanta Braves (USA) | 24.0m x 21.7m |
| September, 2009 | (Then) World’s biggest full HD video screen | Dallas Cowboys (USA) |
48.32m x 21.76m x 2sets 15.36m x 8.7m x 2sets 601.92m x 1.056m 253.1m x 0.88m x 2sets 10.9m x 2.3m x 4sets |
| January, 2010 | (Then) World’s longest video screen | UAE Madan horse race course (UAE) | 107.5m x 10.88m |
| November, 2014 | (Then) World’s biggest video screen for advertisement | 1535 Broadway Marriot Marquis (USA) | 100.4m x 23.6m |
About IEEE and IEEE Milestone Award
The IEEE is the world’s largest technical-profession organization in the fields of electricity, electronics, information and communications. It is headquartered in the United States and had more than 420,000 members in over 160 countries, including 14,266 members in Japan, at the end of 2017. The IEEE Milestone program, founded in 1983 to honor historical achievements at least 25 years after their development, recognizes groundbreaking innovations in the fields of electricity, electronics, information and communications.
About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
With over 90 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Embracing the spirit of its corporate statement, Changes for the Better, and its environmental statement, Eco Changes, Mitsubishi Electric endeavors to be a global, leading green company, enriching society with technology. The company recorded consolidated group sales of 4,238.6 billion yen (US$ 37.8 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. For more information visit: www.MitsubishiElectric.com
*At an exchange rate of 112 yen to the US dollar, the rate given by the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on March 31, 2017
