Outdoor Digital Signage – Thinking in the Long Term

Anybody that invests in an outdoor digital signage system, whether it’s a single screen or a network, getting the most out of that investment is obviously important. With the price of screens, networking and hardware, any screen used for communication, advertising, marketing or information needs to last in the long term to make the initial investment, which can be fairly large, worthwhile.

The problem with digital signage is that the fundamental hardware, the LCD screen, has a limited shelf life.

LCD displays, no matter what type they are, will only last for a certain amount of time. While commercial displays tend to last a lot longer than standard displays, they still only have a finite number of hours of life before the display starts to fade.

The difficulty with outdoor digital signage is that the outdoor displays commonly used are highly expensive, and with the average screen life of only five years, this results in a heady investment when it’s time to replace the screen. This makes any outdoor digital signage project a long-term financial commitment, but there are ways to reduce the costs and get the most out of any outdoor screen.

By utilising standard commercial grade screens and housing them in outdoor TV enclosures, the screen, is not only protected throughout its life from the weather, temperature and impacts, but also the enclosure that provides all this protection is able to be reused repeatedly.

A single LCD TV enclosure can house generation after generation of LCD screen, providing comprehensive protection for years to come. And because LCD displays are continuously advancing with new improvements in screen quality such as High Definition (HD), an outdoor TV enclosures provides the flexibility to upgrade any outdoor digital signage system whilst still using the same outdoor TV enclosure.

Outdoor TV enclosures utilise generic standards that ensure no matter what the screen make or model is used, it will fit inside the enclosure, which will keep it protected from the various weather elements.

By utilising outdoor TV enclosures, which can be mounted on floors, walls, ceilings, or as standalone totem displays, any outdoor digital signage system or network has longevity, ensuring with repeated replacements the network can still function in many years to come.

Furthermore, because outdoor TV systems are generally very expensive, the combined cost of an outdoor TV enclosure and standard commercial display is usually cheaper. And considering the reusability of TV enclosures, the return on investment is far greater and any replacement screen, being as they only need to be standard devices, will cost only a fraction of replacing a specific outdoor TV.