Protection for outdoor digital signage often centers about weatherization and ensuring the screen is kept dry and in reasonable temperature ranges—highly important to ensure all-year round operation.
While weather protection is important for outdoor screens, another aspect of protection that needs thinking about, however, is physical defense. While most outdoor screens offer some sort of ruggedness by design, ensuring they can take minor knocks and impacts, quite often these can be inadequate.
Damage is a common cause of outdoor digital signage downtime but the causes and reasons for the damage are often complex and not just from one source.
Vandalism
A common problem for screens in remote or unsupervised areas is vandalism. Deliberate damage can result in a smashed screen, damaged unit or just a temporary shock that just requires a reboot of the system, but even a minor incident can leave the screen down for some time until the screen operator notices, and with a dead screen the digital sign is not generating the interest its investment intended it to do.
Accidents and Incidents
But vandalism is not the only cause of damage to an outdoor screen. Incidents and accidents happen and from all sorts of causes. Bad weather; gales, hurricanes and tornadoes can fling debris at a screen, impacting it with severe force, while car accidents can also disable the display.
Even considerations like explosions and gunshots have to be considered in some locations especially as many outdoor digital signage screens are used for emergencies.
Aspects of Protection
There are several aspects regarding the protection of an outdoor digital screen. Perhaps the most fundamental part of a screen to protect is the face itself. However, the screen face is also the most difficult aspect of an LCD to protect, as you need to view it. Glass is of course very brittle but also has safety considerations and can cause injury. Different materials can be used that prevent shatter and toughen the face. And these vary on strength, viewability, and impact resistance.
The body of the outdoor digital signage screen is far easier to protect. A steel LCD enclosure will defend against most types of impact, from vandalism to accidents and impacts. LCD enclosures can also have a wide variety of screen faces to ensure defense as well as provide measures against glare and sun damage.
Vandalised screen in a subway
