519.997.2863   |   info@wetech-alliance.com   |   FRANÇAIS
Site logo
Sticky header logo
Site logo
  • Who We Are
    • Our Purpose
    • Our Team
      • WEtech Alliance Team
      • Venture Success Team
    • Our Board
    • Our Impact
    • Our Partners
  • What We Do
    • Tech Acceleration
      • Founders Night
      • i.d.e.a. Fund
      • Innovation Outposts
      • ScaleUP
      • SWO Black Entrepreneurship Network
      • Roadmap to MVP
      • Innovation Catalyst
      • Ignition Program
        • Ignition Challenges
        • Ignition Solutions
      • Digital Main Street | Future Proof
      • Women Entrepreneurship
        • Roadmap to MVP
        • Canada/US Power Panel
        • F5: Refresh and Reload
        • Women Entrepreneurs Holiday Gift Guide
        • RISE Windsor-Essex
      • MedHealth
    • Tech Talent
      • Nerd Olympics
      • FIRST Robotics
      • Hacking Health
      • Tech Connect
    • Tech Community
      • Tech Week YQG
      • Tech Awards
      • Founders Week
      • Tech Connect
      • Regional Alliance Windsor-Essex
      • Where Canada Begins
  • How We Help
    • Client Perks
    • Tech Jobs Board
    • Opportunity Alerts
    • Resources
      • Links
      • Winnovation Map
      • Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Library
      • Employer Support Programs Matrix
      • Entrepreneur Support Network
      • WEsearch
  • Get Connected
    • Tech Connect
    • Tech & Innovation News
    • Tech Events
    • Tech Blog
    • Tech Podcasts
    • TECH IT OUT! Newsletter
    • Français
    • Contact Us
  • Tech Jobs
  • Become a Client
Prev30 Days at WEtech: An Intern Perspective27 June 2012NextWindsorEssex Small Business and Entrepreneur Centre Launches 2012 Summer Company Program04 July 2012
  • Blog

The Price is Tech: The Tech-volution of Game Shows

July 2, 2012in Blog 0 Comments

By: Jacob McCourt

I have a secret to share with you: I love game shows. When I was younger and my grandmother lived with us, there was always a television with Game Show Network playing (back when GSN actually played Game Shows). Since I just saw the Price is Right Live at Caesars Windsor this week (hence the picture with Todd Newton and the cast of the show), I started to look back at the “Golden Era of Game Shows” and what has changed. This is when I realized how much game shows have changed in the last 20 years, largely due to technology.

Screens

First and foremost, display technology has come a very long in the past twenty years. At the same time, game shows present a very particular problem. With studio lighting, most screens tended to get washed out and hard to see on cameras. Games like Wheel of Fortune, used illuminated trilons that were spun in order to make the letters easy to see.

http://youtu.be/aZfCI9W2b_0

Some game shows utilized different screens to display numbers on television. The Family Feud used Flip Disc Displays for their “Fast Money” Board. This technology utilized a series of small metal discs set on a black background. Using magnets, these disc will “flip” from off (or black) to on (or yellow/white). You might still see this type of display on some older buses.

Eggcrate screens, on the other hand, used a matrix of incandescent bulbs to make numbers and some characters appear. This type of screen was widely used on the Price is Right for many games including the Card Game and Contestant’s Row.

Nowadays, most televised game shows simply use screens that aren’t affected by light like Plasma or LED. Less hassle!

IBM’s Watson

Terminator’s Skynet has arrived in the form of the Jeopardy-playing computer Watson. IBM’s Question Answering system houses 4 terabytes worth of data and uses thousands of algorithms to break down human speech to be able to answer the game show’s questions. The computer played a series of televised games featuring some of Jeopardy’s best contestants; namely Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.

http://youtu.be/YLR1byL0U8M

Watson truly shows the limitless, exciting possibilities that computers have. Watson’s next task? Making medical diagnoses.

Let’s Ask America

The final change in game show is actually to game shows themselves. Even though certain game shows do have quasi-interactive segments to them like phone-a-friend in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and audience voting in shows like American Idol, newer game shows will be taking that interactivity to a whole other level. This fall, Kevin Pereira (who you might recognize from years at G4TV) will be hosting Let’s Ask America – a game show with virtual contestants. Said participants will participant in the quiz show from their own homes using Skype. The show has already been picked up in certain U.S. markets (namely Phoenix, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Tampa and Tulsa). Take a look at a :30 preview of the show:

However you shake it, technology has forever changed a beloved genre of television programming. I mean, even Drew Carey’s Superscope-style microphone is wireless since he took over for Bob Barker…

0 Likes

Categories

  • Blog
  • CleanTech Blog
  • Client News
  • Ivy's League Blog
  • Opportunity Alerts
  • Our Impact
  • Siri Blog
  • StartUP Blog
  • Tech News

Recent Posts

Recent WECAN Event Showcases Angel Investing and Networking to Local Investors
Recent WECAN Event Showcases Angel Investing and Networking to Local Investors
When Innovation and Sustainability Collide
When Innovation and Sustainability Collide
Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce Announce Business Excellence Awards Finalists
Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce Announce Business Excellence Awards Finalists
UWindsor secures $5M partnership with TELUS to propel 5G research and innovation in agriculture, advanced manufacturing and connected and autonomous vehicles
UWindsor secures $5M partnership with TELUS to propel 5G research and innovation in agriculture, advanced manufacturing and connected and autonomous vehicles
Workforce WindsorEssex Launches Report Identifying the Benefits of Remote Work in Our Community
Workforce WindsorEssex Launches Report Identifying the Benefits of Remote Work in Our Community

Connect with Us

TECH IT OUT! Monthly Newsletter

Get the latest Tech News, Events, Talent & Tech Jobs in Windsor-Essex & Chatham-Kent delivered directly to your inbox each month.

SIGN UP

Wetech Alliance Logo

Navigation

  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • Tech & Innovation News
  • Events
  • Contact

Location

Footer Map
Click here for a detailed map.

Contact

Joyce Entrepreneurship Centre
2455 Wyandotte Street West
Located inside EPICentre, 2nd Floor
Windsor, ON N9B 0C1

Office: 519.997.2863

Connect with us:

ALL IMAGES, DESIGNS AND CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2023, WETECH ALLIANCE.