Simple Outdoor Protection for Flat Screens

Flat screen TVs and displays are now ubiquitous in our homes and offices. Thinner, light and now with High Definition (HD) modern flat screen TVs have better picture quality than their predecessors did.

Steel waterproof LCD enclosure

Their use is not just restricted to around the home and office either. Increasingly, flat screen devices are used out of the home for purposes of advertising and information. Digital signage is now a popular form of out of home advertising and is a common sight around shopping malls, airports and other high footfall areas.

And digital signage is not just restricted to indoor areas, either. More and more flat screens are being installed in outdoor locations too, with the high audience numbers and incentive for advertisers and companies who want to reach a wider audience.

Flat screens are not normally designed for outdoor locations, however, with weather elements, temperature and risk of vandalism among factors that can lead to screens failing.

Outdoor Protection for Flat Screens can prove complicated. The screens need waterproofing, need to be rugged enough to protect against impacts and need to cope with the variable temperatures of an outdoor environment.

Often this leads to users installing expensive waterproof outdoor screen, housed in a rugged digital signage enclosure containing climatic systems to keep the screen at the desired temperature.

An outdoor digital signage install can cost many times that of a similar indoor screen, but protecting flat screens for use outdoors, whether for digital signage, information or even watching TV, needn’t be complicated or expensive.

The key to making things simple is to use standard flat screen technology and let the digital signage housing do all the protective work. A steel enclosure, containing cooling fans and heaters (if required) can provide the waterproofing if designed to NEMA 4 (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) or Europe’s IP65 rating.

Being steel, this type of flat screen enclosure is tough enough to withstand impacts, especially if fitted with a shatterproof screen and because the enclosure provides complete protection from weather, temperature and impact, a standard LCD or plasma can be used.