City of El Cajon

Located approximately 17 miles east of San Diego, California, is the City of El Cajon with a population of nearly 104,000 residents. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department manages El Cajon’s 17 parks and seven recreation centers and is dedicated to supporting the community’s youth and families by providing safe, affordable and quality recreation programs.

Each month, tens of thousands of people utilize the city’s parks and recreation facilities and participate in organized activities. Additionally, Parks and Recreation organizes several community events throughout the year. “A big part of our mission is to create community by providing opportunities for families and residents to come together,” said City of El Cajon Parks and Recreation Manager Julie Alon.

To support their mission, the city decided to purchase a large outdoor LED video wall from Planar, which, according to Alon, was sure to infuse a new and exciting element into their public festivities. “Every year, we host several large gatherings like America on Main Street and HauntFest, as well as special events like our Movies in the Park series over the summer,” she said. “We started to realize the benefits that a big and bright LED display could bring to these events.”

Specifically, the city selected a Planar® Luminate™ Pro Series outdoor LED video wall in a 13-foot-wide by 9-foot-high (8x5) array and a 2.9mm pixel pitch (LPO2.9). Featuring deployment versatility, the Planar Luminate Pro Series is designed to meet the fast-paced needs of temporary event applications.

As part of the city’s investment in the LED video wall, Planar technicians came onsite to train the Parks and Recreation Department on setting up and dismantling the video wall system and supporting truss. “We did some test runs and with about five or six of our staff, we could build the truss and video wall in just a few hours,” Alon said. “Taking it down took about an hour. The Planar representatives were phenomenal. They were so helpful and patient.”

Brightness in the Sun

The planned uses for the Planar Luminate Pro Series LED video wall include showing movies and live streaming entertainment and performances. “At our America on Main Street event, we will feature three stages of live entertainment and intend to set up the display centrally to live stream portions of the acts,” Alon said. “When showing movies, the brightness of the display eliminates the need to wait for darkness.”

Parks and Recreation debuted the LED video wall at El Cajon’s annual Winter Wonderland celebration, playing Christmas movies and cartoons on the display. “It was a sunny day and the picture was still very bright and clear,” Alon said. “It’s also very easy to use-I am not a techie and I had no problem figuring it out. During the event, we heard a lot of very positive comments from our community. Many of the families who live in our area don’t have a lot of disposable income for going to the movies, so it’s really great to provide this opportunity. The overall experience with the video wall has been tremendous-it has far exceeded our expectations.”