The Technology of "The Pyramid"

[ITSBRY]

As someone who finds the technical aspects of producing game shows fascinating, although I understand very little about how any of it actually works, I was hoping the board might have an answer or an educated guess on how the boards on "The Pyramid" work.

I'm assuming that this is some sort of rear projection technology and that pyramid shaped monitors akin to the Dunder Mifflin "Pyramid" tablet aren't at play here.

 The clarity and quality of the images as well as the way they perfectly "fit" into a Pyramid shaped screen without looking projected made me wonder:

A) Is this a fairly new technology? I know PYL and TJW both used rear-projection for their game boards, but it's obviously very low resolution slide type projectors. If this type of thing would have worked ten years ago, it seems odd to me that Donny's Pyramid didn't go that route...or Whammy! for that matter. I'd think it would be more economical than building a physical board with monitors, but who knows? Maybe it was just a design choice.

B) Any guesses as to whether the contestant back drop (the grid of golden pyramids) is also a rear projection? The image doesn't look like a physical picture to me, but I don't understand why they'd bother with rear projection back drops that don't "do" anything either. The pyramids holding up the arches over the winner's circle also have that grid of golden pyramids on them, but they appear to change to blue when the lights are dimmed for the round.

Any thoughts or guesses are appreciated.

[clemon79]

I'm assuming that this is some sort of rear projection technology and that pyramid shaped monitors akin to the Dunder Mifflin "Pyramid" tablet aren't at play here.

Safe bet.

A) Is this a fairly new technology?

Basing a guess on when large-scale HD video became common on shows like American Idol or America's Got Talent (they jobbed some of the best comic timing this side of Johnny Carson out to a dog act? Really?) I'd say mid-2000s.

B) Any guesses as to whether the contestant back drop (the grid of golden pyramids) is also a rear projection? The image doesn't look like a physical picture to me,

I doubt it. Prolly a Duratrans. Shame, too, because a couple of cheap TV screens and they could have an on-screen display of each player's Winner's Circle jackpot. And I'm going to guess they paid at least as much for the Duratrans as a 47" monitor goes for these days.

but they appear to change to blue when the lights are dimmed for the round.

Lights do wonderful (and cheap!) effects.

[Jay Temple]

Shame, too, because a couple of cheap TV screens and they could have an on-screen display of each player's Winner's Circle jackpot.

This is the only thing I wish they had done differently on this version. (Other than actually teaching celebs how to play, of course.)

[chris319]

I'm going to hazard a guess that they used CBS Electronics, who do wonderful work with rear projection for game shows. Some of us attended one of the many pilot tapings of "On the Cover" just days before September 11, 2001 at Tribune Studios (formerly KTLA). The board was reminiscent of Joker in its appearance and was done with laptop computers and an LCD/LED projector from the rear. They had really done a good job with it. The breakthrough was high-intensity solid-state projectors which accepted a VGA signal.