Qualities to Look Out for when Choosing an Outdoor Screen

Whatever the reason for installing an outdoor TV screen — digital signage, providing information or as an outdoor TV—choosing the right type of screen is essential. Of course, any outdoor screen requires protection from the elements, and weather you decide to use a standard display inside an outdoor LCD enclosure, or opt for a specific model of outdoor LCD, certain attributes are important to get right.

Outdoor locations differ to those indoor in various ways, not just exposure to weather elements. Brightness levels, viewing distance and the dwell time an audience spends looking at a screen all differ in outdoor and indoor environments, so the screen choice needs to account for these differences.

Picture: Outdoor screens need to be bright

With outdoor digital signage, size really does matter. When viewing an outdoor screen, an audience is often farther away in comparison to an indoor screen. While shopping malls, concourses and retail stores can get away with 32” to 36” screens, an outdoor screen needs to be larger, depending on where the sign is located.

An audience may view an outdoor screen from across the road, from on-board public transport or waiting at a bus stop. For this reason the screen size is important. Outdoor digital signage varies from giant, cinema-sized screens, to 50”, 60” and 70” screens situated on high streets and the sides of buildings. In some locations, where an audience comes close to the sign, smaller sizes can be gotten away with, but generally an outdoor screen needs to be large.

Quality and Brightness

The quality of a screen image is also an important factor for outdoor digital signage. Outdoor screens have a lot of competition when it comes to drawing an audience’s attention. Store window displays and other outdoor advertising are all designed to catch people’s attention, so for a screen to become noticed it needs to provide the best quality image possible.

Modern High Definition (HD) screens and HD quality content is essential, as is a high brightness screen. Because of the brightness levels of the sun, and the viewing distance of outdoor digital signage, standard brightness levels are inadequate in outdoor areas. Most indoor screens have a typical luminance value of 500 to 600 candela (unit of brightness often referred to as nits); however, on a bright day, the sun will easily overpower this level of brightness on an outdoor digital signage screen, making it unreadable. High brightness screens, with luminance values in excess of 1,200 candelas are essential for outdoor areas, not only to counter the effects of the sun, but also to ensure maximum readability over long distances.