TTD contestant podium question

[SamJ93]

Was watching a TTD episode and took of this unusual camera shot, which showed what look like small monitors in the contestant podiums. Any idea what they could have been used for?

(And while we're at it, why am I having so much trouble embedding an image?)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1__nDQMOXlC1BLhp7YkPlMyFi3mxN8wyq/view?usp=drivesdk

[TLEberle]

Close-up on the board to be able to read the category names. I think they were installed for the Over Eighty Tournament.

[BrandonFG]

(And while we're at it, why am I having so much trouble embedding an image?)

I think with this forum, you can only upload images using a URL. If the pic wasn’t already on a site, you can upload to a third party site like Photobucket and create a direct link.

[MSTieScott]

I'm reading "monitor" as "speaker," which is what they look like. If that's what they are, then presumably, they're there so the contestants can hear exactly what Wink is saying.

[SamJ93]

I'm reading "monitor" as "speaker," which is what they look like. If that's what they are, then presumably, they're there so the contestants can hear exactly what Wink is saying.

I was actually thinking of TV monitors, but upon closer inspection, I think you're right; the "screens" look a little too flat for early-80's video technology.

[TLEberle]

I feel more than a little silly assuming that a monitor from 1980 would look like a tiny flatscreen from the 2010s. On a serious note if those are indeed speakers how much lag time would there be from when Wink says something and when the contestants hear it? I never heard any feedback or lag, and it never seemed like the contestants waited an extra beat or two to hear something.

[NickintheATL]

I feel more than a little silly assuming that a monitor from 1980 would look like a tiny flatscreen from the 2010s. On a serious note if those are indeed speakers how much lag time would there be from when Wink says something and when the contestants hear it? I never heard any feedback or lag, and it never seemed like the contestants waited an extra beat or two to hear something.

If we are talking pure analog audio here, which this is given it is 1980, there shouldn't be any delay.

[chrisholland03]

I'll ask a former contestant, but I always assumed it was a monitor to see the board because of the staging.

[Bob Zager]

I seem to recall first seeing the devices during the first Over-Eighty Tournament, which I always assumed were speakers. 

[bossjock967]

Exactly.  They are audio monitors that were added for the Over-Eighty Tournament.  I guess they found them useful and left them in place.

[chris319]

Speakers. You wouldn't put video monitors there because you want the contestants looking across the stage at Wink or at the board, not down at monitors where the camera can't see their faces.

[Jeremy Nelson]

But keep in mind that when the contestants selected, it was always during a shot of the board. That being said, they’re still pretty close to the game board based on that image, so a speaker seems much more practical.