The Challenge

The North Dakota State University football staff was looking to refresh its technology equipment in their department offices with projectors that could display detailed, fast-paced video to showcase highlight reels to recruits, as well as to review practice footage and game playbacks. In addition, the team was heading to their sixth NCAA Division 1 Football Championship Game in Frisco, Texas, and needed portable display solutions to equip the 12 meeting rooms the team would be using in the lead up to and during the championship game. To accommodate the different technology needs they were trying to address, NDSU Football was eager to find a brand of projectors to update their department’s technology that would guarantee excellent performance, reliability and flexibility, even when on the road. 

The Solution

Jake Otten, NDSU Football’s video coordinator, looked to Ben Stowe at NLFX Professional for brand recommendations and also conducted initial research himself to determine the best brand to incorporate into the staff’s AV equipment. After compiling Ben’s suggestions with his own research, as well as witnessing first-hand each brand’s projector performance in the Fargodome, NDSU’s indoor athletic stadium, Jake identified Optoma as the ideal brand that could best suit the team’s needs. The staff purchased and installed a variety of Optoma projectors, including the Optoma Proscene ZU510T, EH515 and Optoma EH415ST to upgrade their technology setup. The ZU510T laser projector was installed in the conference room of the athletic department, where the staff is able to leverage the projector’s amazing image quality and brightness to display detailed videos and action shots to recruits, and game playback and practice footage to athletes. Featuring 5500 lumens of brightness and 20,000 hours of virtually maintenance-free operation, with no lamps or filters to change, the ZU510T provides champion conference room performance for the staff’s needs. In addition, they also brought 12 EH415ST  projectors along with them for the team’s big championship game, putting the model’s portability and performance to the test. 

Otten comments, “We needed reliable projectors that were easy to use in order to equip our staff rooms and take on the road without compromising performance. After using Optoma projectors during the championship game and throughout our department, we know we made the best brand choice for our staff and team.”

The Results

Equipped with a variety of Optoma projectors, the NDSU Football staff was able to successfully integrate seamless display solutions for the team and throughout the athletic department. During the championship prep and game,  the Optoma EH415ST’s performance on the road exceeded the staff’s expectations. And despite not having screens in the 12 meeting rooms the staff used that week, they were able to successfully project images and videos onto the rooms’ walls with minimal compromise of image quality and brightness. “The projectors’ ability to produce large images from a short distance was really impressive and allowed our entire team and staff to view the action easily without needing to huddle around a tiny LED screen,” Otten added. Furthermore, the detailed images and action shots that the projectors produced helped the team carefully analyze their performance in preparation for the big game, assisting in the team winning their 6th national championship. As a result of the projectors' performance – including an unmatched ability to capture action and produce life-like images, light source longevity and low total cost of ownership – the staff plans on adding more Optoma laser projectors to their equipment lineup in the future. Jake notes, “When we first switched to Optoma projectors, we immediately saw the difference in quality. We’ve used several other projector brands in the past, but Optoma is far superior over the other brands and we’re eager to continue using their projectors for our staff and team.”