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Choose Digital Signage Wisely

Anyone who has done even the slightest research when choosing a screen for digital signage knows that not all displays are created equally. There are many factors that need to be considered carefully when making your choice. Sure, price is an important one, but it’s how you spend your money, not how much money you spend, that really counts. Here are a few things to think about when shopping for a display for your business.

Buy Cheap Buy Twice

Your grandmother knew what she was talking about on this one, and the same applies to digital signage. Some cheap displays are perfectly fine when used for a couple of hours a day at home. Try that in a commercial or retail setting and it’s a totally different ball game. Use a cheap screen for ten hours a day, every day, and they simply won’t last. You may even void your warranty, and that’s without the inevitable damage from knocks and bumps they’ll get in a busy store.

Commercial Warranty and Certification

Spend a little more for a screen that comes with a commercial warranty and Australian certification and you’ll be covered for anything between 16 and 24/7 use. This is especially important in a heavy duty location like a quick service restaurant where high temperatures and industrial grime can also take its toll.

Orientation

It’s important to know that domestic screens aren’t made to be put on their side. If you want to run portrait content on a landscape display (which all domestic models are), turning it on its side may void the warranty. It will probably shorten the life of the screen as well. A commercial grade display is built for mounting in both orientations.

screen brightness

Brightness

This is the big one. Think very carefully about how people are going to view your display, and don’t under estimate the importance of making it easy – customers are not going to squint at your screen just to see your content. Check if there is any ambient light where you’re planning to mount the screen. Will it be in a window, facing the footpath? Are your windows tinted? Do they get a lot of direct sunlight? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you’ll need more than a standard screen.

NIT is a measure of brightness and a standard domestic model is around 300nit. If you want your message to jump out on an indoor display, you’ll need at least 450nit. If the screen is facing a window, make that 700nit. If it is in high ambient light, you’ll need upward of 2000nit. Not surprisingly, the brighter a screen is, the more expensive it becomes. This is especially true for larger format displays, those upward of 55” are noticeably pricier than the cheap domestic model we first spoke about. But remember, even if you spend just a few hundred dollars on a display but no one can read it, it’s still a waste of money.

The benefits of a commercial graded high-bright display speaks for itself. You won’t be wasting money on a display that hasn’t been designed to do the job and isn’t going to last. You’ll have the confidence that comes with a commercial warranty and above all, your digital signage will cut through for everyone to see. Which is the point, right?

datmedia partners with VUNO to supply clients who need well priced, high-bright screens. Their displays are excellent value for situations where high ambient light is an issue. Contact us for more information.