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Case Study #1 – Scorz Bar and Grill – Live Scores Scoreboard

Visit Scorz Bar and Grill in Williamsport, PA during football season and you’ll see a scoreboard on the wall.  What may seem like a simple ambiance sports bar piece is actually a technical masterpiece.

Scorz Bar and Grill is part of a larger sports complex that was renovated in 2018.  The removal of basketball courts left a couple unused scoreboards behind.

The Idea – Wouldn’t it be cool if that scoreboard could be used to display live scores during football games?

The Solution –  We reached out to the manufacturer of the score board to find out if there were alternative ways of interfacing with the scoreboard.  We located a live internet feed which provided NFL game information in real time.  We wrote a custom program which allowed the bartender to choose the game to be displayed.  The scoreboard would then update the score, possession, down, yards to go, period and time remaining every 30 seconds.   When not is use, the scoreboard can be set to generate fake scores and information, creating a sports bar ambiance when no games are active.

Technologies/Services Used:  

• Website – a front end interface allowing the bartender or manager to choose the game or set the scoreboard mode when not in use.
• Custom Programming – a custom application was written for the purpose of interacting with the NFL live scores feed, converting that information into a format that could be used by the scoreboard.
• Printed Decals – custom decals were designed and printed to convert the basketball scoreboard into one for football, covering previous text and converting it “DOWN” and “Y.T.G.” (yards to go).
• Hardware Interfacing – Interfacing a computer with a piece of hardware like this scoreboard was done via an old, but reliable technology, RS-485 Serial.
• Networking  – The computer that powers this scoreboard is actually located hundreds of feet away in a data center.  The serial connection was sent over existing network infrastructure.

We brought all of these technologies together to provide a seamless and, if we do say so, very cool and unique solution for this restaurant that you won’t find anywhere else.

* Sadly, in 2020 the NFL stopped providing their live game feed rendering our program partially useless.  The scoreboard is still used in standby mode providing random game information for the sports bar ambiance. 

Case Study #2 – Susquehanna health foundation – Interactive Donor Kiosks

One of Susquehanna Health Foundation’s initiatives is to recognize over 11,000 people who have donated to the foundation over the years.  Susquehanna Health Foundation contracted with Xtego to provide a solution for this recognition in the form of an interactive, touch screen kiosk in each of the 5 area hospitals.

The Problem:

The existing kiosks being used were decentralized.  This meant all updates required had to be performed once for each kiosk.  This created expensive management fees with the existing vendor.

The Solution:

Xtego created a centralized, web-based kiosk for the Foundation which was much easier to update and replicate as the Health System expanded.

Technologies/Services Used:  

• Website – the core technology used behind this kiosk is an internal website.
• Custom Programming – custom JavaScript was developed to make the donor recognition software user friendly.
• Networking  – Each kiosk is powered by a computer which runs 24/7.  Remote power switches enable Xtego to power cycle the kiosk remotely in the event it becomes unresponsive.
• Security – the kiosk application is locked down via software and firewall technologies to prevent tampering with the local computer and to ensure that the application can only be visited at each hospital location.