Some Digital Signs Are Up So High They Should Be Basketball Backboards, But This Screen Really Is A Backboard

October 6, 2022 by Dave Haynes

I have jokingly written a few times that some displays hung from ceilings in stores and workplaces are mounted so high, above normal sightlines, that the flat panel screens attached to poles were better suited to being backboards for pickup basketball.

Now there’s a product on the market that is actually using flat panel displays – ruggedized and equipped with a camera – as digital basketball backboards. Huupe is described as the world’s first smart basketball hoop.

The units are rated for outdoor use though the specs are limited, so who knows how bright these are. What is clearly spelled out is that the things cost $4,000 USD, which kinda limits the buying audience. Then again, a lot of people have paid big money for Peleton spin bikes with screens, and fitness mirrors are at least trying to be a thing.

I mention this because these units work very much like smart TVs, with the displays having built-in computing and the ability to run apps, from basketball training to Netflix. If they can do that, they can run many digital signage apps. I don’t see that happening in private homes, but if these catch on and get used in for-profit and community gyms, then there’s an angle to use the screens for messaging and marketing when not being used actively for play.

Then again, the screens are up kinda high … :-]

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