Key Considerations When Buying and Launching Outdoor Digital Signage

First and foremost, you’ll need to make sure that your outdoor digital signage is sunlight readable, especially if you’re going to place it somewhere with high sun exposure. Your display must be able to compete with the sun’s intensity. While they are relatively inexpensive, the traditional LED TVs you find at an electronics store won’t be bright enough for full sunlight. One option would be to invest in a high-brightness LCD or an LED sign. Their brightness can be enough to combat the sun’s intensity at times, but there are also some drawbacks. For example, both technologies require a lot of power to operate and produce a high thermal output. This can translate to high operating costs and a greater risk of malfunctioning if they overheat. 

The good news is, Sun Vision Display’s new digital signage solution provides excellent sunlight readability without using excessive amounts of energy. How, you ask? With reflective color LCD technology. Reflective color LCDs reflect the sunlight via a mirror-like layer that is installed behind the liquid crystal layer (instead of a backlight). The brighter the sunlight shines on the display, the brighter the display appears – turning sunlight into a solution rather than fighting against it. What’s more, the absence of a backlight reduces the power consumption of Sun Vision Display signs to less than 5 watts, which is about 95% less power than high-brightness LCDs and LED signs! 

Another huge consideration is how the outdoor digital signage will function in different weather conditions. For outdoor functionality, you’ll need something that can withstand fluctuating temperatures, humidity, wind and impact. Certain types of outdoor digital signage require a bulky thermal management system to manage the heat they produce. This issue is further compounded when you add direct sunlight into the mix. Other display technologies simply can’t handle a wide enough range of temperatures. For example, E-ink displays’ operating temperature range is between 0C to +50C. This is too limiting for some regions of the world. 

Sun Vision Display signs, which use reflective color LCD technology, are an excellent outdoor solution. They offer UV-resistance, a native operating temperature range of -20C to +70C, and there’s no backlight to cool down with a ventilator fan. They can be further ruggedized with water-proof enclosures and protective cover lenses and films for increased impact resistance, in case of hailstorms or vandalism. As a cover lens manufacturer, New Vision Display is able to help you build an all-weather signage solution.