Over the last decade televisions have gone from merely devices for entertainment to being commonly used out of the home for advertising, promotion, branding and information.
Digital signage is one of the fastest growing media industries with advertising screens springing up all over the place. From pharmacies, gas stations, shopping malls and retail parks, to transport hubs, doctor’s surgeries and even along the high street as outdoor digital signage.
Outdoor screens are becoming even more popular because of the huge audience potential for advertisers in outside areas, and although there are many challenges such as protecting from the weather, ensuring they can cope with temperatures and dealing with sunlight, and prevent wind-blown dust from invading the screens; outdoor screens are an effective form of outdoor advertising.
Another difficulty with outdoor screens is there vulnerability too, not just to the weather but physically. Many screens used in outdoor locations and around concourses, underground rail systems and other places can fall victim to vandalism.
The average LCD or plasma screen is incredibly vulnerable to impacts and damage; and this has several financial implications. An outdoor screen that is disabled from vandalism can take some time to get noticed by the owners. This has several costs as not only do you have to replace the screen, which will further reduce the ability to get a return on the investment (ROI), and secondly during the time the screen is dead the display is not generating any income further limiting the ROI.
Damaged screens can also be hazardous leading to litigation if somebody is cut or injured with the responsibility more than likely resting on the screen owner so defending against vandalism is essential for any outdoor screen.
The best solution is to ensure the screen is housed in a protective outdoor digital signage enclosure. The best material to go for is steel as this will ensure the housed screen will be robustly protected.
Steel LCD enclosures are commonly fitted with shatterproof screens which are ideal as this is the most vulnerable aspect of an LCD TV.
