Producer Versa Stainless
Producer Versa Stainless
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Outdoor Digital Signage – an Overview
Digital signage has become a common sight. Many businesses now use this flexible and dynamic medium to advertise, promote and raise brand awareness, and its use has penetrated both the indoor and outdoor advertising sectors.However, indoor signage screens and outdoor digital signage are two separate entities and there is very little in the way of cross-over between the two.
Yes, both use either LCD or plasma displays out of home, but this is where the similarities between indoor digital signage and outdoor systems, differ.
Content and screen type that may work well in an indoor environment may not be suitable for outdoor digital signage and vice versa. Indoor displays, for instance, are designed for certain light conditions, temperature. Whilst an outdoor screen needs to be water proof, rugged and able to operate in various weather types and temperature.
The Challenges
The challenges that uniquely face outdoor digital signage and have to be countered before any screen is placed outside are:
• Brightness
• Weather
• Temperature
• Vandalism
• Time
Temperature is often a concern for outdoor digital signage
Brightness
The biggest enemy of an outdoor sign is the sun. The sun's brightness can counteract the brightness of the screen so the outdoor digital signage becomes faded and difficult to read. For this reason, any screen placed in an outdoor location has to be high brightness. Normally, with standard LCD screens the backlight will produce somewhere in the region of 500-800 candela, but an outdoor screen can go much brighter: 1200-2000 candela.
But the problems caused by the sun don't stop there. The sun can cause glare, reflecting off the screen making it unreadable. To counter this, anti-glare glass can be used but this will diminish the brightness of the TV. Another solution for outdoor TVs is to place them away from the sun or in a canopy, thus preventing glare. This is not always practical so a combination of high brightness screen and anti-reflective glass are used.
Weather
The most obvious challenge with placing a screen in an outdoor location is the weather. Rainfall is perhaps the common but an outdoor screen has to prevent all sorts of weather elements from damaging the screen. Snow, sleet and even airborne dust also have the potential to disable a screen so the digital signage enclosure or screen itself must be protected from the elements.
The two standards to watch out for when buying an outdoor TV or a protective LCD enclosure are the IP65 (in Europe) and (NEMA 4) in the USA. Hardware built to these standards should be protected from the weather – no matter what it throws at the screen.
Temperature
Temperature is another concern for any outdoor digital signage device. Most TV systems are designed to operate at room temperature and even commercial grade screens that have a larger operating window are not equipped for the extremes in temperature that an outdoor screen has to cope with.
In some locations temperatures can drop well below freezing in the winter and yet become stifling hot in the summer months – and the outdoor digital signage will have to be able to not only endure both of these levels, but also have to operate in them.
Insulation, cooling fans, heaters and even air conditioning has to be considered in some locations to ensure the screen is kept at the optimum or you may have to replace the screen.
Vandalism
Another problem that is not unique to outdoor digital signage but is certainly more of a problem in unmanned areas is vandalism. Smashed screens, graffiti and other forms of damage has a double whammy in that the screen is not earning money when it is disabled and if it has to be replaced the added cost will make any return on investment harder to achieve.
Time
Another factor to consider when planning an outdoor digital signage campaign is the life cycle of the LCD or plasma screen. All TVs, whether commercial or standard, will only have a finite lifespan. Keeping the screen in optimum conditions will prolong the life cycle but with the screen on permanently and in less than a perfect environment and the life cycle will be a lot less.
LCD Enclosure – The Solution
LCD enclosures are an ideal solution for protecting screens in outdoor digital signage. They are not just cabinets to house LCD screens but provide the perfect operating environment for screens, both commercial and standard. Containing all the necessary climatic systems for cooling and heating and manufactured to waterproof IP65 from stainless steel they provide the perfect environment that will protected from all the above elements. And as they provide a perfect working environment they will prolong the lifecycle of the device too.
About the Author
Richard N Williams is a technical author and a specialist in the digital signage industry helping to develop outdoor digital signage and protection for plasmas. Please visit us for more information about LCD Enclosures or other digital signage solutions.