Digital signage is now the new must-have marketing tool with its applications and uses having multiplied many-fold over the last few years with LCD and plasma screens now being seen in all manner of locations for all manner of uses.
One of the latest environments to be exploited for the purposes of digital advertising is the use of plasma and LCD screens outside.
Outdoor digital signage is one of the few niche areas left in the digital marketing industry but more and more companies have spotted the potential and are producing outdoor LCD TVs.
The major challenge of outdoor digital signage is protecting the plasma or LCD display from the elements. Many manufacturers ensure their outdoor LCD or plasma is sealed to protect from the rain which is obviously highly important when it comes to outdoor signage. However, many of these outdoor LCD screens are manufactured for mild climates and little consideration is given to the varying extremes of temperature often found in Europe and North America.
Extreme heat in the summer can be extremely damaging to an LCD. Both the screen and the electronics of the LCD need to be protected from the sun. LCD screens are easily damaged by direct sunlight while without adequate cooling exposure to high temperatures will dramatically shorten an LCD or plasma’s lifespan.
Likewise protection from the cold is highly important as most LCD’s will simply not be able to cope in temperatures below zero.
However, many manufacturers are starting to identify these outdoor hazards and are producing LCD’s designed to operate in extreme temperatures. However, most of these outdoor digital signage solutions are targeted at a particular environment such as extreme cold or extreme heat. There are very few options available that can actually deal with the heat of summer and the freezing temperatures often endured in parts of America and Europe during the winter months.
Fortunately, for those of us that live in areas where both extremes of temperatures are often experienced throughout the year a smarter more practical solution is to use standard LCD displays and house them in an outdoor LCD enclosure. LCD enclosures (and plasma enclosures) are now manufactured by some industrial computer enclosure manufacturers who use their experience of housing computers and touch screens in industrial areas to build LCD enclosures that can cope with not just the rain but all extremes of temperature and weather.
These steel LCD enclosures are also built to withstand vandalism and theft allowing the outdoor digital signage to be left unattended with full peace of mind.
