Sound and video boards are awful

Hawkfan_08* · Sunday at 11:26 PM

Saw this brought up in another thread and wanted to just start a new one rather than hijack.

We had all off season to fix problems with sound and picture quality on boards and have failed to do so.

There were 4 guys sitting next to us that were visiting stadiums all over the nation. They couldn't get over how poor the sound quality was, that you couldn't hear any interviews and the music was always toned down or muffled. They asked if it was always this way or recently broken. I said it's been this way as long as I can remember. There is no reason we can't put in better sound systems.

Video boards have pixels out and have since last year. Looks terrible. Banners missing pixels and will misalign ads.

Scores from around the country litetally don't update anymore. 2 games in a row and it's only games already played.No update of OSU and Texas.

Anyway, end of rant and hope that some day my season ticket money can contribute.

Wifi also struggles there which is frustrating when trying to check scores.

QChawks · Monday at 5:56 AM

Iowa is a medical school

audio engineering isn’t our thing

WeBeHerkin · Monday at 6:58 AM

Flyover was awesome. All 4 pilots from Iowa and flying out of Sioux Falls.

Hawkfan_08* · Monday at 6:59 AM

WeBeHerkin said:
Flyover was awesome. All 4 pilots from Iowa and flying out of Sioux Falls.

Totally agree but that's not the video board or sound

jwgohawks · Monday at 7:00 AM

Agreed. We noticed the north endzone video board was particularly terrible last season and figured it would get addressed in the offseason, but its exactly the same. Bunch of discolored pixelated blocks make for a poor picture. Ribbon boards on that end, which granted are just for ads, are also badly pixelated and one of the sections quit working last game too. Sound quality has been an issue for years and I've pretty much given up on it being corrected. But the video boards just look terrible and you'd think it would be addressed since its tied to advertising.

Hawkfan_08* · Monday at 7:24 AM

jwgohawks said:
Agreed. We noticed the north endzone video board was particularly terrible last season and figured it would get addressed in the offseason, but its exactly the same. Bunch of discolored pixelated blocks make for a poor picture. Ribbon boards on that end, which granted are just for ads, are also badly pixelated and one of the sections quit working last game too. Sound quality has been an issue for years and I've pretty much given up on it being corrected. But the video boards just look terrible and you'd think it would be addressed since its tied to advertising.

What I don't get is that we have the money. I was noticing the press box side is also starting to rusty/ look dingy. We have a month to fix these things.

TCity Hawk · Monday at 7:46 AM

They also didn’t post any score updates during the game! They scrolled the same scores the entire game! Terrible game day experience

DukeSlater · Monday at 8:08 AM

Hawkfan_08* said:
Saw this brought up in another thread and wanted to just start a new one rather than hijack.

We had all off season to fix problems with sound and picture quality on boards and have failed to do so.

There were 4 guys sitting next to us that were visiting stadiums all over the nation. They couldn't get over how poor the sound quality was, that you couldn't hear any interviews and the music was always toned down or muffled. They asked if it was always this way or recently broken. I said it's been this way as long as I can remember. There is no reason we can't put in better sound systems.

Video boards have pixels out and have since last year. Looks terrible. Banners missing pixels and will misalign ads.

Scores from around the country litetally don't update anymore. 2 games in a row and it's only games already played.No update of OSU and Texas.

Anyway, end of rant and hope that some day my season ticket money can contribute.

Wifi also struggles there which is frustrating when trying to check scores.

Iowa hasn't had a decent sound system in Kinnick for decades, at least. And there's no excuse for it. The video boards should be the best there is with all the money they have. But even if the quality were top notch, the way they use the boards is still ridiculous. They should be embarrassed, but I guess they don't give a damn, because it's not a new problem. Gee, I wonder how every other stadium manages to get this stuff right? They must have some special knowledge and talent that can't seep across the Iowa border.

Hawkfan_08* · Monday at 8:58 PM

TCity Hawk said:
They also didn’t post any score updates during the game! They scrolled the same scores the entire game! Terrible game day experience

I put that in the OP. Super annoying as it was one of the few things that got better over the years. This year it's about as bad as not having scores.

EvilMonkeyInTheCloset · Monday at 9:23 PM

Hawkfan_08* said:
Saw this brought up in another thread and wanted to just start a new one rather than hijack.

We had all off season to fix problems with sound and picture quality on boards and have failed to do so.

There were 4 guys sitting next to us that were visiting stadiums all over the nation. They couldn't get over how poor the sound quality was, that you couldn't hear any interviews and the music was always toned down or muffled. They asked if it was always this way or recently broken. I said it's been this way as long as I can remember. There is no reason we can't put in better sound systems.

Video boards have pixels out and have since last year. Looks terrible. Banners missing pixels and will misalign ads.

Scores from around the country litetally don't update anymore. 2 games in a row and it's only games already played.No update of OSU and Texas.

Anyway, end of rant and hope that some day my season ticket money can contribute.

Wifi also struggles there which is frustrating when trying to check scores.

Laziness of fixing glaring technical issues aside....................whenever I hear about people complaining about the video board and the ribbons and the sound quality of the PA and the music at a sporting event I'm like:

Rambler Hawk · Monday at 10:15 PM

TCity Hawk said:
They also didn’t post any score updates during the game! They scrolled the same scores the entire game! Terrible game day experience

I was at an Ol’ Miss game not too long ago and their scoreboard was constantly showing stats/picts of their alumni who are playing in the NFL. I am sure it’s a good look for recruits at the game.

I have no idea, does Kinnick ever recognize our NFL players (past and present) on the scoreboard?

TweeterHawk · Tuesday at 4:40 AM

Hawkfan_08* said:
Saw this brought up in another thread and wanted to just start a new one rather than hijack.

We had all off season to fix problems with sound and picture quality on boards and have failed to do so.

There were 4 guys sitting next to us that were visiting stadiums all over the nation. They couldn't get over how poor the sound quality was, that you couldn't hear any interviews and the music was always toned down or muffled. They asked if it was always this way or recently broken. I said it's been this way as long as I can remember. There is no reason we can't put in better sound systems.

Video boards have pixels out and have since last year. Looks terrible. Banners missing pixels and will misalign ads.

Scores from around the country litetally don't update anymore. 2 games in a row and it's only games already played.No update of OSU and Texas.

Anyway, end of rant and hope that some day my season ticket money can contribute.

Wifi also struggles there which is frustrating when trying to check scores.

If it’s that bad — and I don’t doubt it is — have you or anyone in this thread picked up the phone and called Beth Goetz or written her an email? Do it. Don’t stop there. Get folks involved who have some suck — regents, big donors, heads of I-clubs, big wigs who might have her number in their iPhones. Contact TV reporters and sports columnists in Iowa — get them doing stories on the bad board and sound system. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Ozzie89 · Tuesday at 8:21 AM

Rambler Hawk said:
I was at an Ol’ Miss game not too long ago and their scoreboard was constantly showing stats/picts of their alumni who are playing in the NFL. I am sure it’s a good look for recruits at the game.

I have no idea, does Kinnick ever recognize our NFL players (past and present) on the scoreboard?

They use to every week when I had my tickets. I remember during TV timeouts, they would announce the player with a graphic on the scoreboard of their NFL stats the previous week, if they had a good week.

WeBeHerkin · Tuesday at 9:10 AM

Hawkfan_08* said:
Totally agree but that's not the video board or sound

We strictly stick to thread subject lines around here?

WeBeHerkin · Tuesday at 9:11 AM

DukeSlater said:
Iowa hasn't had a decent sound system in Kinnick for decades, at least. And there's no excuse for it. The video boards should be the best there is with all the money they have. But even if the quality were top notch, the way they use the boards is still ridiculous. They should be embarrassed, but I guess they don't give a damn, because it's not a new problem. Gee, I wonder how every other stadium manages to get this stuff right? They must have some special knowledge and talent that can't seep across the Iowa border.

It echoes off the north end zone now since it was enclosed like it is.

WeBeHerkin · Tuesday at 9:11 AM

Rambler Hawk said:
I was at an Ol’ Miss game not too long ago and their scoreboard was constantly showing stats/picts of their alumni who are playing in the NFL. I am sure it’s a good look for recruits at the game.

I have no idea, does Kinnick ever recognize our NFL players (past and present) on the scoreboard?

Yes they have.

Pentacrest · Tuesday at 10:42 AM

Replacement of the video, scoring, & timing system is on this month’s Regent’s agenda. Estimated cost is $4.9 M.

Regent’s agenda

WeBeHerkin · Tuesday at 11:20 AM

The drone show would have been better directly above the south scoreboard instead of right above the bright lights.

QChawks · Tuesday at 12:10 PM

Pentacrest said:
Replacement of the video, scoring, & timing system is on this month’s Regent’s agenda. Estimated cost is $4.9 M.

Regent’s agenda

That would have bought a big time QB transfer

Rusty’s Dad · Tuesday at 9:18 PM

Hawkfan_08* said:
Saw this brought up in another thread and wanted to just start a new one rather than hijack.

We had all off season to fix problems with sound and picture quality on boards and have failed to do so.

There were 4 guys sitting next to us that were visiting stadiums all over the nation. They couldn't get over how poor the sound quality was, that you couldn't hear any interviews and the music was always toned down or muffled. They asked if it was always this way or recently broken. I said it's been this way as long as I can remember. There is no reason we can't put in better sound systems.

Video boards have pixels out and have since last year. Looks terrible. Banners missing pixels and will misalign ads.

Scores from around the country litetally don't update anymore. 2 games in a row and it's only games already played.No update of OSU and Texas.

Anyway, end of rant and hope that some day my season ticket money can contribute.

Wifi also struggles there which is frustrating when trying to check scores.

Agree 100. The on field interviews are impossible to hear / understand. The video boards just seem dated in today’s world of video screens. Overall - went to opening 2 games and give overall audio a C- or a D+

Hawkfan_08* · Wednesday at 7:39 AM

TweeterHawk said:
If it’s that bad — and I don’t doubt it is — have you or anyone in this thread picked up the phone and called Beth Goetz or written her an email? Do it. Don’t stop there. Get folks involved who have some suck — regents, big donors, heads of I-clubs, big wigs who might have her number in their iPhones. Contact TV reporters and sports columnists in Iowa — get them doing stories on the bad board and sound system. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

I honestly was looking for someone to contact in charge of Kinnick gameday stuff that wasn't directly going to Goetz. I think she has plenty on her plate.

WeBeHerkin · Wednesday at 9:52 AM

But how are the Wiemers hot dogs?

unipanther1999 · Thursday at 2:15 PM

The video boards will be replaced prior to next season.

Hawkfan_08* · Thursday at 6:48 PM

unipanther1999 said:
The video boards will be replaced prior to next season.

What about sound?

St. Louis Hawk · Thursday at 8:57 PM

But at least the game day cell service is horrible.

Coasterhawk75 · Thursday at 10:32 PM

Hawkfan_08* said:
What about sound?

I know you don't want to hear it, but the Danley Jericho speakers used in Kinnick are state of the art speakers and in particular are designed to be directional. The goal is to keep the sound inside Kinnick and not bouncing off the hospital.
I've always thought the control/operation of the system was more of the problem. There do seem to be some areas in the East and West stands where the sound seems "dead " in the upper frequency range. Meanwhile straight out in the north endzone stands we're getting blasted. I assume they "retuned" the system when the new North Endzone seating was built, or I would hope so.

Hawkfan_08* · 2026-09-18T07:05:12-0500

Coasterhawk75 said:
I know you don't want to hear it, but the Danley Jericho speakers used in Kinnick are state of the art speakers and in particular are designed to be directional. The goal is to keep the sound inside Kinnick and not bouncing off the hospital.
I've always thought the control/operation of the system was more of the problem. There do seem to be some areas in the East and West stands where the sound seems "dead " in the upper frequency range. Meanwhile straight out in the north endzone stands we're getting blasted. I assume they "retuned" the system when the new North Endzone seating was built, or I would hope so.

The quality of the sound is not the problem, it's always the volume. Interviews are the absolute worst.

I've heard that others feel the volume is too loud in the south and north endzone so it's clearly an issue with where they are at. I get it, outdoor speakers are hard. I just wish they had another set, maybe atop the corners?

WeBeHerkin · 2026-09-18T08:19:36-0500

St. Louis Hawk said:
But at least the game day cell service is horrible.

Back in my day we didn't have cell phones and didn't give a ****

St. Louis Hawk · 2026-09-18T09:44:06-0500

WeBeHerkin said:
Back in my day we didn't have cell phones and didn't give a ****

WeBeHerkin · 2026-09-18T09:48:53-0500

St. Louis Hawk said:

I am that guy!

Sound and video boards are awful

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