The growing use of LCD and plasma screens for digital out of home advertising (DOOH) shows no sign of letting up. One of the main areas where this growth is expanding is in the use of outdoor digital signage, helped largely to the development of LCD enclosures that allows display use in outdoor and hostile locations.
Part of the problem in using TV screens for digital advertising and information is that while the technology has fallen dramatically in cost, the fragility of the systems has previously prevented its use in outdoor and hostile areas.
LCD enclosures protect standard LCD devices by keeping out many of the hostile elements that can damage or permanently disable a TV screen. They are particularly useful for the purposes of outdoor digital signage because they prevent rain and other weather elements from penetrating through the enclosure and damaging the LCD.
Many of these LCD cabinets are built and designed under European and international guidelines the most widespread of these for outdoor digital signage is the IP 65 (EU guidelines: ingress protection) and the NEMA 4 code (National Electrical Manufacturers Association). These codes stipulate the design requirements that the enclosures are built and the hostile elements they can protect against.
Outdoor digital signage is now springing up in many locations thanks to the expanded use of these enclosures allowing display screens to be left in any area included unprotected and unmanned location.
Despite the falling cost of LCD screens, theft and vandalism have also been a deterrent for installing digital signage outdoors. LCD enclosure are often built from extremely solid steel and offer plenty of vandal proof protection most of these units have sturdy anti-tamper locks too ensuring the digital signage is protected from more than just the elements.
