October 29, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
The auditorium stage at the Mike Foster Multi-Purpose Center has been upgraded with the addition of a new LED digital video wall thanks in part to a Tennessee Tourism Enhancement Grant.
Suzanne Williams, Director of the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce, who wrote the grant for the project, and Jeff Nokes, local contractor and owner of Nokes Technical Services Group (NTSG) who spearheaded the installation, unveiled the LED video wall for the county mayor and county commission Monday night.
(View demonstration of the new LED video wall by Suzanne Williams and Jeff Nokes starting 37 minutes into the video below)
Through computer technology, the video wall will enhance all future stage productions using digital videos and animations rather than conventional props and backdrops to enrich the audience entertainment experience. During Monday night’s meeting, the commissioners were treated to you tube video views of scenic places around the world shot in 4K (HD Video) along with animations of a winter snow fall and the American flag waving in the breeze all with a music background.
In addition to enhancing play productions, the video wall can be used during a variety of other special occasion, religious and holiday related events along with banquets, concerts, and meetings. The possibilities are almost limitless.
“The Chamber wrote two Tourism Enhancement Grants. The first one was for the Smithville Jamboree, and it was for $75,000. We were needing a new stage, backdrop, skirting, and all the fixings for the Jamboree stage and then we wrote another Tourism Enhancement Grant the same year for the county complex for a digital backdrop,” said Williams.
The match was $7,500 for each grant funded by the county along with cost overruns.
“It’s a 34’ x 8’ LED wall with a 16-inch hip wall above the floor. The LED wall consists of 400 panels. The way it works is that the computer goes to a processor which sends a signal over an Ethernet cable to the screen. Anything a computer can generate it can be displayed on this LED wall, ” said Nokes.
For anyone who wishes to rent the auditorium and make use of the LED screen a trained technician must be on site scheduled by the county complex staff to operate the system to coordinate the sound system, lighting, and the screen,” added Nokes.