What do you think of the LCD table?

[TableTennisDaily]

There has been a lot of discussion from the recent Asia vs Euro All Star Challenge, about the LCD tables used and whether they are good for table tennis or just a complete distraction.

As seen in the video below by TTLondon2012 you can see the LCD screen on the table displaying the score between Ma Long and Vladimir Samsonov. What do you all think?

It is good to see Asia experimenting with various methods to promote table tennis, for example the orange and white ball back in 2014 at the China Super League Finals.

Does the LCD table take away the attention from the sport, or can this help make the sport look and feel cooler and make table tennis more popular?

See for yourself, what are your thoughts?

What did a player think about playing on the LCD table? We asked just this to Marcos Freitas!

Marcos Freitas Opinion

Marcos Freitas represented Europe in the Asia vs Europe challenge and spoke to TableTennisDaily on his thoughts on the LCD table setup.

"Hey Daniel, thanks! I think it's nice and good to see that DHS is trying new things to improve the popularity of our sport and this was the first time i ever saw a screen table like that. Now of course the bounce was a little bit different and a bit distracting with the lights on, I think they have still to improve the table overall so that one day we professionals can play good on it. Anyway was a good experience and I was happy that we beat Asia, best regards."

 

[TarnottTT]

I think that yes, maybe it will be make the sport more exciting but personally i think it would be extremely distracting and could decrease the quality of Table tennis. Has anyone got an idea of what the quality was like with LCD tables being used?

 

[NextLevel]

Gardos commented negatively on the bounce I believe,

 

[passifid]

good improvement looks good and if the bugs are sorted will be nice.

 

[BeGo]

Well,

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/pixelsense/default.aspx

I wonder if Microsoft interested to become table tennis sponsor (look at the link, please).

But i vote for yes, many future ideas can stem from it, like:
- ball bounce and path visualization
- ball spin surrogate calculation
- edge detector
- target practice
- player selfie
- much more

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[42andbackpains]

I think it is acceptable as long as the bounce is the same and most players dont complain too much. Eventually players will get used to it. And i think the sides of the table and end of the table would work too.

1. Viewers and spectators have a better understanding of what is happening, such as scores, timeouts and warnings.

2. Ittf, TT assocition and venue will benefit from the new advertising platform.

3. Platform to get the spectators more involved. I could see the crowd counting down during timeouts or use it like a scoreboard you see at stadiums between games.

4. I can see Spin buying these for all there clubs/bars.

 

[M51]

That looks absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Greco]

It's a nonsense, i don't understand what they wanted to do.

 

[Freddie Mercury]

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen when it comes to table tennis.

This is nothing but a distraction, I was ok with just the score being displayed, but with flashing lights and changing pictures, it's just stupid.

I can't even imagine how awful this has to be for the players.

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[garbol]

no needed
nobody needs it (coaches, players, viewers, judges, spectators)

 

[Vladojica]

At last, we can watch commercials during the match...

 

[Liten]

Does it do anything other than distract the players? Is it just "projection"?
Tv should do the layout on the table in their software instead like in hockey or soccer.. Sure, a comercial between serves, but no more imo..

 

[raazzz]

I don't see the point at all. I'm there to watch TABLE TENNIS and not a table.

 

[HappySpinner]

The lcd table is as st*pid as it can get... ITTF is getting dumber and dumber...

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[Der_Echte]

BAD with a capital B and all caps.

So bad even Freddy Mercury came back from the grave to protest.

Toss this idea in the who-flung-the-chuck box and move on to the next brilliant idea.

 

[Kokain]

I heard it updates Facebook status automatically during each point and sends Tweets to 4chan! It amazes me they spend so much money on the tables but they still haven't paid enough for the camera man to film diagonal angle instead of straight top.
I want the LED flashing snickers to come back in table tennis as fashion now! And the ref to be Sony Assimo Robot

The following table has been DDOSed by Anonymous

 

[ranniely]

They should focus on improving online viewers experience too. I really miss the commentary in this China Open 2015... + those boards which emit sound when game point is being played is stupid too, score boards should go digital. Those previously mentioned boards who have commercials on it, should display the score after each point, at least for 1-3 seconds and after those 3 sec, turn back to commercials...

 

[brabhamista]

The lcd table is as st*pid as it can get... ITTF is getting dumber and dumber...

If you want to point fingers or attack and rip into somebody, it's kind of a good thing to make sure that you've got the facts right before you do. I've made that mistake myself and it made me look like damn fool.

Sure, I agree that ITTF deserves critique for plenty of silliness, but this isn't one of them as the ITTF has nothing to do with the tournament. It's jointly organised by the European (ETTU) and Asian (ATTU) table tennis associations and they are the ones responsible for the format and any novelties or tournament specific rules. So please give credit where credit is due!

In any case, I agree that the LCD table is a really silly idea. I don't see a future for it, not in terms of improving the spectacle, nor in being financially sound or particularly good for the sport. If you really want to project something on the table, you can do it live with an over-layed image much like in football and hockey, like Liten said.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Come on guys, a table that plays like garbage but looks this cool. Wouldn't everyone want to play on a table with a terrible bounce that had cool swirling colors to distract you from the ball?

The funniest thing I saw along these lines, at SPiN they had an "artist" paint the top of a table and covered the "work of art" with a thick layer of urethane. Now, the art was not that great in the first place. It basically looked like a baboon threw different colors of paint at the table. But all the colors were different shades of yellow, orange pink and white. The end result was that, when plying you absolutely could not see the ball while it was over the table. Nobody could play on the table. From people who had never played before to the pros at SPiN.

It was really funny. They kept trying to put people on that table and people would hit a few balls and say, "uh.....we can't see! Can we go to a different table?" It finally happened enough that they realized and put the table out of commission. But for a few weeks they were stubborn and wouldn't get what was wrong with the table.

I guess that is what happens when people who are more concerned with image and appearance and don't know table tennis are organizing things.


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[HappySpinner]

If you want to point fingers or attack and rip into somebody, it's kind of a good thing to make sure that you've got the facts right before you do. I've made that mistake myself and it made me look like damn fool.

Sure, I agree that ITTF deserves critique for plenty of silliness, but this isn't one of them as the ITTF has nothing to do with the tournament. It's jointly organised by the European (ETTU) and Asian (ATTU) table tennis associations and they are the ones responsible for the format and any novelties or tournament specific rules. So please give credit where credit is due!

In any case, I agree that the LCD table is a really silly idea. I don't see a future for it, not in terms of improving the spectacle, nor in being financially sound or particularly good for the sport. If you really want to project something on the table, you can do it live with an over-layed image much like in football and hockey, like Liten said.

Thanks for the enlightenment brabhamista. Maybe because I'm pretty not keen on ittf that everything silly in tt, I automatically associate it to them, wouldnt even mind looking like a damn fool, not to mention its not really in my slightest nature to care about what other people would say about me. Again, thanks for the enlightenment!