A new scoreboard and audio system was unveiled at Honda Center on Friday. The new system, which was a big hit with Ducks fans during an exhibition game against the Kings Friday night, produces the best picture and sound in the NHL.

Size and quality

The image below shows how the new scoreboard compares with the old. The blue-dotted line shows the old screen. The red-dotted line indicates the size of the new screens on the sides, approximately 31 feet wide by 20 feet deep. The screens on the ends of the scoreboard are approximately 20 feet by 20 feet.

The new screens are HD and have 6 millimeter line spacing, giving the images more sharpness. They also feature variable line spacing that will show a multitude of content including, live statistics, graphics and messages.

Screen comparison

The new scoreboard has the best picture quality of any in the NHL and nearly stretches from blue line to blue line of the rink. It’s larger than the Los Angeles Kings scoreboard in Staples Center. The largest screen in the NHL is in Tampa Bay.

New sound

In addition to the new screens, Honda Center has added a massive audio system. Several months ago three separate systems were tested in a “sound off” in the arena. The system that won is made by JPL and was engineered specifically for the cavernous Honda Center. The speaker racks are about 20 feet high.

Behind the scenes

Ducks owner Henry Samueli is said to be spending more than $10 million on the new scoreboard, manufactured by Daktronics. In addition to the new HD screens and sound system, the whole control room has been updated.

A team of a dozen or more people throughout the stadium will be working to keep the entertainment going when the Ducks are on and off the ice. Rich Cooley, director of production and entertainment for Honda Center, said, “When there’s a break in the game, that’s when we are really hustling.”

A show director sits high above the arena in the “700 level” and orchestrates the entertainment on the ice and screens. He will work with operators throughout the arena and mostly in the new control room.

“We pretty much have our own TV truck in this room.” said Cooley, referring to the new high-tech equipment at his disposal. The control room is on the ice level behind the stands. It’s a room with no windows tucked so far under the stands that workers can barely hear the foghorn when a goal is scored. That foghorn fans hear is all part of what’s created in the control room. The new system will have more fog, lights, cameras, replays, graphics and stats. The system is geared to give Ducks fans a better experience not just in their seats but anywhere inside and outside the arena.

At the controls

How people are working with the new scoreboard.

Screen time

Amazing screens have been a part of the Southern California sports scene since the Angels installed the 230-foot-tall Big A scoreboard in 1966. The scoreboard was moved to the parking lot in 1980.

In 1980, the Dodgers unveiled the first Diamond Vision screen for the All-Star Game that season. The 875-square foot screen was the first video screen in any ballpark. It was removed in 2013 when the stadium upgraded with two new screens.

In 2011 the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum installed the largest video screen in the state and the second largest screen in all of college football. The video screen was made by Daktronics, the same company that made the Ducks’ new screen. The Coliseum screen is about 40 feet high and 150 feet long.

Sources: Anaheim Ducks; Honda Center; Daktronics Photos: KURT SNIBBE, STAFF; The Associated Press; File photos