# Stern Goes Blue for Tron **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2013-03-15 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/bluedmd.html --- ## Analysis Stern Pinball announced in March 2013 that it would begin officially selling blue LED dot-matrix displays (DMDs) for their games, a feature previously only available as third-party aftermarket modifications. The blue DMD was designed to complement Tron: Legacy and was considered suitable for other titles including The Avengers, X-Men, and Avatar. The official kit costs $399 plus tax and shipping, featuring actual blue LEDs rather than filtered white LEDs, and became available from Stern distributors starting mid-April 2013. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Blue LED dot-matrix displays were previously only available as third-party aftermarket modifications before Stern adopted them — _Article states 'What has previously only been available as a third-party after-market mod has now been adopted by Stern Pinball'_ - [HIGH] Tron: Legacy was the first game to truly benefit from a blue DMD — _Article explicitly states 'The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD'_ - [HIGH] The Avengers - Hulk limited edition was released with a green display — _Article mentions 'recently-released limited edition The Avengers - Hulk, where the display was green'_ - [HIGH] The blue DMD display uses actual blue LEDs rather than white LEDs with a blue filter — _Article states 'The LEDs used are actually blue, and not white LEDs with a blue filter'_ - [HIGH] The blue DMD kit would cost $399 plus tax and shipping — _Article directly states 'The costs of the blue display is not cheap at $399 + tax + shipping'_ ### Notable Quotes > "What has previously only been available as a third-party after-market mod has now been adopted by Stern Pinball" > — **Article/Stern Pinball**, N/A > _Establishes the shift from aftermarket modification to official Stern product_ > "The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD" > — **Article/Source**, N/A > _Identifies which game drove the development of blue DMD technology_ > "Stern think the blue version would also look good in The Avengers, X-Men and Avatar" > — **Stern Pinball**, N/A > _Shows Stern's vision for applying blue DMD across multiple themed machines_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer officially launching blue LED DMD display upgrade | | Tron: Legacy | game | First Stern game to truly benefit from blue DMD display technology | | The Avengers - Hulk | game | Recently-released Stern limited edition with green DMD display | | X-Men | game | Stern game identified as candidate for blue DMD upgrade | | Avatar | game | Stern game identified as candidate for blue DMD upgrade | | The Avengers | game | Stern game identified as candidate for blue DMD upgrade | ### Topics - **Primary:** Color DMD technology adoption, Stern product upgrades and accessories - **Secondary:** Aftermarket modifications to official products, Display technology and LED specifications, Pricing of pinball upgrades ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) — Article is factual and informative announcement with minimal editorial commentary. One mention of pricing being 'not cheap' suggests mild criticism but remains objective overall. ### Signals - **[product_strategy]** Stern offering color DMD upgrades (blue, green) as official aftermarket products, expanding customization options for existing game installations (confidence: high) — Article mentions blue DMD for Tron: Legacy and green DMD for The Avengers - Hulk, with plans to offer blue for other titles - **[technology_signal]** Stern Pinball officially adopts blue LED DMD display technology that was previously only available as third-party aftermarket modifications, legitimizing the upgrade path for collectors and operators (confidence: high) — Article states Stern is now 'selling a blue LED dot-matrix display (DMD) for their games' and this was 'previously only available as a third-party after-market mod' - **[licensing_signal]** Color DMD display choices appear strategically aligned with game themes (blue for Tron, green for Hulk, proposed blue for Avatar) (confidence: medium) — Article states 'The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD' and 'Stern think the blue version would also look good in The Avengers, X-Men and Avatar' --- ## Transcript Date: 15 March, 2013 What has previously only been available as a third-party after-market mod has now been adopted by Stern Pinball as they begin selling a blue LED dot-matrix display (DMD) for their games. The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD but other games have also appeared sporting single colour displays, including Stern's recently-released limited edition The Avengers - Hulk, where the display was green. Stern think the blue version would also look good in The Avengers, X-Men and Avatar. The LEDs used are actually blue, and not white LEDs with a blue filter. The costs of the blue display is not cheap at $399 + tax + shipping; somewhat more than other blue DMD displays on the market. Like them, it comes with a sheet of tinted blue film to help hide the gaps between the LED blocks. The blue display kit will be available from Stern distributors or the company themselves from mid-April. The part number is: 502-6811-00. Back to the News page Like this page? Share it with your Facebook friends: Back to the front page _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 2e070c2a-3cff-4cf5-a24d-b29f6a3146f0*