Since the rise of LCD and plasma screens, modern TVs have become a common sight out of the home. From shopping malls to airports, transport hubs to even the local pharmacy, TVs are being used as digital signage in all sorts of locations, and more and more people are taking TVs outside to watch TV programming in the open air too.

Pubs, bars and even householders find the use a TV outdoors can bring plenty of rewards. For the leisure industry, having an outdoor TV, especially since the smoking bans, helps retain customers who may otherwise stay at home if there is a big sporting event on. For householders, having a TV outside means you can enjoy the garden and back yard in the summer whilst also not missing your favourite TV programmes.

Of course, standard LCD and plasma screens are not designed for use outdoors, so any outdoor TV system needs adequate protection from the weather and variable temperatures of an outdoor environment.

Outdoor TV cabinets provide just such protection. Designed to accommodate almost any make or model of modern LCD or plasma TV, outdoor TV cabinets come in a variety of sizes, from small, compact enclosures for 24” TVs, to giant-sized 70” cabinets for big screen viewing outdoors.

An outdoor TV cabinet is not merely a waterproof enclosure fr housing TVs, they are far more sophisticated than that. An outdoor TV cabinet not only keep water out, but also fresh air in to keep the screen cool. Outdoor TV cabinets also maintain stable temperatures throughout the seasons, using thermostatically controlled cooling fans and heaters to make sure they can function throughout the colder weather in the winter and the warmer weather in the summer.

Outdoor cabinets are also highly secure. One mounted on a wall or bracket, a lockable outdoor TV cabinet enables peace of mind against theft while also providing protection against impact and vandalism.

Ideal pubs, bars and back yards, outdoor TV cabinets provide a flexible and comprehensive form of protection that enables you to watch your favourite TV programmes and the big sporting events outdoors, in any weather.

Outdoor TV Cabinet – Ideal solution for outdoor TV viewing is a post from: Armagard

 Whether it’s digital signage screens used in retail to promote brands and products, to information screens in public buildings, making sure the screen is prominent is essential to ensure its effectiveness.

Indoor Digital Signage Displays

Indoor areas are full of all sorts of things that compete for people’s attention s a badly positioned digital signage screen could easily be missed. This is never more apparent than in retail environments, where sale items and other signage can make a screen virtually invisible if it’s not in the right place.

One of the best locations to attract people’s attention with a digital signage display is near the entrance so it becomes the first thing they see when they enter a store or building. However, a screen placed too high, such as suspended from a ceiling, or positioned flat against a wall, will not be as noticeable as a screen positioned at eye-level.

But how do you position a screen at eye-level near and entrance? The key is in the digital signage enclosure. A floor-standing enclosure, often called a totem digital signage system, is a freestanding unit that stands at eye-level. This provides a prominent method of digital signage implementation, which is highly noticeable, far more so than wall-mounted digital posters and ceiling mounted displays screens.

Outdoor Digital Signage

Outdoor digital Signage has to work even harder than indoor signage to get noticed. This is because the dwell time for an outdoor screen s far lower, a few seconds at most, and outdoor environments have far more distractions.

Again, an ideal place for positioning an outdoor digital signage screen is near an entrance. Whether it’s a school or college wanting to relay important information to students and staff, or a retailer or transport hub, by placing a screen near to an entrance you can be sure to communicate with everybody that enters.

As with indoor screens, eye-level is key for an outdoor screen. Outdoor digital signage totems provide the same sort of digital signage display unit as those for indoor environments, except, obviously, an outdoor digital signage totem provides protection against the weather and variable temperatures of an outdoor environment.

Outdoor digital signage screens are often viewed from farther away than indoor screens, so larger screens are more effective at being noticed. For this reason, outdoor digital signage totems come in sizes up to 70”, which provides a large, eye-catching form of outdoor screen that is near impossible to miss.

Position Matters – effective placement of digital signage displays is a post from: Armagard

 From educational institutions to public galleries and churches, outdoor digital signage provides many advantages for communicating with the general public, congregations, students and local people.

 Visibility

 Perhaps the most obvious advantage of using an outdoor screen is visibility it offers. Moving images, traditional captions and bright, HD technology mean that outdoor screens are highly noticeable. While many people will walk past a noticeboard and not pay it much heed, an outdoor LCD or plasma screen will grab their attention, making it more likely passersby will read the messages.

 Because of the ability to use moving images, stream video and even provide sound, an outdoor digital signage screen also has the ability to provide content that is far more dynamic. Also, unlike noticeboards where notices can get ripped torn or become faded, messages on digital signage remain vibrant throughout their use.

 Ease of Communication

Unlike noticeboards that require somebody to go around and paste up new content, a screen placed outside can have messages uploaded remotely. This is really beneficial for those organisations where buildings are scattered around a city or large area. Universities for instance, which may have several campuses, can upload the same information on networked screens no matter how far apart they are.

 For religious buildings that often run appeals for donations, an outdoor screen is also able to relay progress in real time, helping congregations understand how much more fundraising is required for the church, synagogue, temple or mosque to reach its target.

 Immediacy

 Disseminating information quickly is another advantage of using an outdoor screen. Often, especially in emergency situations, getting the information out to people as quickly as possible is crucial. This was never so evident than during recent campus shootings in the United States, where students stumbled into the emergency, because the institution had no way of warning students of the impending danger. With a digital signage display, as soon as news of an emergency is received, the information can be uploaded immediately, warning anybody arriving at the site of the situation.

 This also means that public buildings can react to changes of information. If a building has to alter its opening hours, change schedules, information is able to be disseminated instantly, preventing frustrations from the service users.

Benefits of Outdoor Screens for Public Buildings is a post from: Armagard

Outdoor digital signage requires planning

Outdoor screens face many challenges that indoor screens don’t, such as overcoming the problems caused by weather, extreme temperatures and risk of vandalism, not to mention overcoming the problems caused by installation in outdoor areas.

Objectives—the first step to installing outdoor digital signage is to establish clear objectives for what you want the screen to achieve. Whether it’s advertising, increasing brand awareness or providing important information, having clear goals can affect different aspects of the project, from size of screen to the location.

Location—finding the right location for the screen is crucial. Visibility is one of the most important aspects for outdoor digital signage and the position and location of the screen should be in the most visible location possible. By taking into account the approach of the intended audience, you should place the screen as near to eye-level as possible. Screens placed too high, such as suspended from ceilings, are all too easily unnoticed, but if you have to mount a screen high up, it should be tilted towards the eyes of the intended audience.

Screen type—because visibility is important, sing the largest screen size possible can help ensure maximum exposure. Other aspects to the type of screen used affect outdoor digital signage too; screens used outdoors need a much higher brightness level than indoor screens, due to having to compete with sunlight.

Protection—outdoor digital signage needs protection from the weather, temperature and need to be physically robust to deal with accidental impacts and vandalism. Often this causes the most challenging aspect of installing an outdoor digital signage display, although outdoor LCD enclosures offer simple but comprehensive outdoor protection.

Installation—digital signage requires power and, if on a network, access to a server too. Installing screens outdoors requires feeding wires through buildings and finding access points to connect. With individual screens, where content is uploaded directly to the screen, these problems are reduced.

Content—once installed, an outdoor digital signage screen is going to need something to display. Outdoor content also differs to the type of content used indoors. Dwell times and the distance and outdoor screen differ, with the average outdoor digital signage display viewed for less time and from farther away. Content needs, therefore, to be bold, prominent and to the point.

Planning Outdoor Digital Signage is a post from: Armagard

Ruskin Gallery's digital exhibition

Wayfinding

Many museum and galleries, especially national and municipal ones, are large buildings, often in old, majestic buildings, and commonly are like labyrinths inside. The difficulty museums and galleries have with wayfinding signage is that exhibitions are continually in flux and the signage soon becomes obsolete.

Digital signage is ideal for wayfinding because of the ability to change the content when required. Digital signage is also multipurpose allowing the interlacing of other content such as important announcements, along with the signage content.

Information

Displaying exhibits is only part of the purview of museums and galleries. Providing information about exhibits is also an essential part of the whole learning experience. Here too, digital signage can play a role. Not limited by space, digital signage can relay far more information than static signs, giving visitors a more in-depth learning experience.

With touchscreens and other interactive media, museums and galleries can provide visitors with a more detailed exposure to information allowing the visitor to choose how much information they want to view, and exactly what they want to learn. Interactivity also boosts the experience of the visitor, helping them feel more involved.

News and Events

Libraries, museums and galleries are continually holding events and learning programmes. Getting the information to visitors about what’s on can be difficult, however. With digital signage, a clear massaging system provides all visitors with ready access to what’s happening. Event organisers are also able to promote their events in an engaging and appealing way, displaying images, video footage and other media to generate public interest.

Exhibits

Digital Signage in Libraries, Museums and Galleries is a post from: Armagard

Digital displays add modernity and raise profiles.

Communication is essential for all businesses and institutions. Keeping employees and visitors informed of latest news and developments is essential and many while different methods of communication are available for businesses, few hold the advantages of using digital displays.

With the immediacy, visual clarity and efficiency of a digital display, methods such as noticeboards and speaker systems become overshadowed. Unlike printed media, digital displays don’t fade or succumb to the weather, so in outdoor locations using digital displays ensure the messages are always clear and have a visual impact.

The aesthetic advantages of using digital displays enable a company to generate a better profile than with other mediums. When visitors and customers arrive at a company, seeing digital display demonstrates the company’s ability to provide efficiency and shows modernity and a better aesthetic to the building than having notices pinned to the wall.

Using digital displays to Provide messages to your actual customers, or potential customers, can make the difference whether a consumer buys products or doesn’t. For the restaurant industry, digital menuboards on outdoor digital signage provide a better profile than static menus.

A digital display adds that touch of modernity that can make all the difference to a business’s image, raising their profile and providing an efficient and effective communication system. And with the falling cost of modern flat screen devices and use of outdoor digital signage enclosures, going digital needn’t cost the earth.

Raising a Profile with a Digital Display is a post from: Armagard

LCD enclosure

Designed for indoor use, most LCD screens can’t operate in outdoor environments not just because of the varying weather elements such as rain, which are capable of disabling the screen, but other outdoor elements too.

Temperature is a problem for most LCD screens as they are designed to operate at room temperature. With seasonal changes, many outdoor temperatures can vary wildly, far in excess of a screen’s operating range.

Threat of impact and vandalism is another aspect of protection that requires thinking about before installing an outdoor screen, especially for screens left in unsupervised and public locations. A damaged screen doesn’t only cost in replacement and repair but can become a hazard in public areas so preventing tampering and risk of injury minimises risk of liability.

Floor standing LCD enclosure

LCD enclosuresprovide a method of installing a screen outdoors in almost any location. Used by businesses for outdoor digital signage, leisure industries and householders for outdoor TVs, and information screens in train stations and bus depots, LCD enclosures provide comprehensive protection.

Manufactured from steel, LCD enclosures are tough and robust, able to withstand heavy impacts, tampering and attempts at vandalism. Sealed to international IP and NEMA guidelines, LCD enclosure provide comprehensive weather protection too, keeping rain, snow, sleet and wind-blown dust and debris from getting to the screen.

Temperature is controlled inside the LCD enclosure by cooling fans, heaters and other climatic systems, which enable the outdoor screen to function throughout the year, regardless of ambient and seasonal temperatures.

Available in various sizes, including all the most common LCD and plasma screen sizes, LCD enclosures can accommodate almost any make or model TV and enable its use in almost any outdoor location.

LCD Enclosure – A Simple but Robust Solution for Outdoor Screens is a post from: Armagard

Heated printer enclosure

Recently, especially among the big name supermarkets, these chilled distribution hubs have become huge locations, in central locations, where masses of stock are stored before distribution.

Keeping track of this stock, communicating with workers and ensuring proper labelling for traceability requires the use of electronic hardware. Printers, computers, screens and digital signage, are all useful tools for distribution hubs. However, chilled and freezer environments provide difficulties in using this sort of hardware as the cold temperatures are capable of disabling them.

Printers for instance, are unable to operate in cold temperatures as it begins thickening and eventually freezes and conditions approach zero degrees. Other hardware is also susceptible to colder temperatures, with display screens and computer hard drives failing when temperatures get too low.

Providing IT and digital signage in chillers, and indeed freezers, is possible, however, by providing the right form of cold protection.

Computers, screens and printers, housed in enclosures that provide insulation or internal heaters, enable hardware to operate even in temperatures way beyond sub-zero.

LCD enclosures containing heater systems enable standard screen operation is all sorts of cold locations with digital signage displays in chillers, deep freezes and ski resorts common applications for them.

PC enclosures too provide cold protection for using standard computer systems, and even printers can operate at sub-zero temperatures with heated printer enclosures. Printer enclosures are a unique product, as they have to accommodate the removal of printed material, which obviously allows the heat to escape from the enclosure. These specialist enclosures, however, are designed to allow access, whilst still keeping heat inside the enclosure.

PC, printer, display and LCD enclosures provide simple but effective solutions for providing all the benefits of computing and digital signage in chilled and freezer locations.

Computer Hardware Problems in the Chiller and Freezer is a post from: Armagard

Royal Caribbean are installing digital signs for wayfinding, which will also provide details of onboard activities, real-time updates, and customised directions and routing, while LED Video Walls installed across the pool decks will provide cruise ship entertainment programmes.

Digital signage is an ideal medium for modern cruise ships, which are like floating cities containing hundreds of passengers, multiple decks, shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities, so finding an effective method of communicating with passengers is essential.

Digital signage has many advantages, especially in such a scheduled environment like a cruise ship where programmes and arrival times become subject to changes, the screens enabling real time updates and providing passengers with the latest news and schedule changes.

Using digital signage on board a boat, particularly outdoors, can pose problems for the technology, though. While all outdoor digital signage requires comprehensive protection, ensuring weather elements can’t get at the screen, on an ocean-going cruise ship protection against salt-water needs considering.

Salt-water provides some serious challenges for outdoor digital signage; not only can the water itself cause problems, damaging the screen if allowed to penetrate, but salt-water also causes corrosion.

Any screen located in or near an ocean environment needs protecting against salt-water, even if the screen is quite far inland, as sea-spray, and therefore salt-water, can travel on the breeze.

Another problem in ocean locations is the threat of wind-blown dust and debris. As oceans are flat, with no topographical features, the areas tend to be windier than locations inland.

Wind-blown dust is just as damaging as water if allowed to penetrate and outdoor digital signage enclosure as dust can constitute all sorts of materials, including conductive elements that can short-circuit electronics.

Dust also causes overheating by blocking vents and clogging up fans, so outdoor digital signage enclosures need dust proofing as well as waterproofing.

Digital Signage on the High Seas is a post from: Armagard

Once a successful brand I established customers begin showing brand loyalty, returning time and time again trusting the brand even though they may not have tried their products. Think of Apple Inc, Nike, Coca Cola and McDonalds and the customer loyalty these companies have generated though brand generation alone!

Brand Marketing

A brand needs to establish who it is aimed at—the target audience—if it is to be successful. Once the audience is established, the brand should speak to them; satisfy their needs and requirements so that the customers begin to trust the brand.

The most important aspects to generating a brand are the brand name, the logo and any strap line that accompanies the brand logo. These need to be simple and easy to remember as brand marketing works essentially by repetition, as repetition generates remembrance.

Digital Signage

Digital signage is an ideal tool for generating brand awareness. Unlike static media, moving images, and transitions are far more engaging and noticeable with a digital signage display; however, because the dwell time for a digital signage screen is so brief—especially outdoor digital signage or screens without a captive audience—detailed advertising content such as television adverts are not suitable; however, showing logos, brand names and straplines.

Digital signage can be sued to generate brand awareness almost anywhere. In front of stores, on screens around shopping malls and even outdoor digital signage–the more chances people have in noticing a brand name, the more likely the brand will begin to stick in their memory.

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*Armagard’s personal branded digital sign enables branding on not just the digital display but on the retail totem itself—helping to promote brand awareness even further.

Branded retail totem

Brand Building with Digital Signage is a post from: Armagard