Selecting the Right Display Technology

Before making any buying decision from the technology available, you and your team should have a clear vision of how you’ll be utilizing it. Will it be used indoors or outdoors? Do you anticipate any weight or size restrictions? What is the average expected viewing distance? How much ambient light is present in the display space? The answers to these questions will make your selection easier, but there are other considerations.

HOW WILL THE TECHNOLOGY BE USED?

While most types of digital signage can be deployed in myriad and overlapping ways, some applications are designed with specific businesses in mind – especially when combined with the right software and content delivery methods – both of which will be discussed later. The technology is the same from display to display, though, and can be used as your organization sees fit.

Here are just a few.

DIGITAL POSTERS: This type of signage emulates the look of static paper and vinyl advertisements. On large corporate campuses, they display upcoming meetings and corporate announcements or serve as wayfinding /info stations. They’re used for menu boards in restaurants and show the latest clothing styles in retail outlets. An organization can put any products, services, or announcements they wish on these screens. Designed to be affixed flat on a wall or window, they often look like large digital picture frames, and, in fact, that’s what they are. DIGITAL KIOSKS: Those free-standing advertisement displays found in most places large groups gather have come of age with digital display technology. Now customers can do for themselves almost any task that previously required an employee. Use cases include finding the next transit arrival or movie showtimes and purchasing tickets for them. In the hospitality and convention sectors, smart digital kiosks have become interactive concierges. In healthcare facilities, patients can check themselves in and provide required medical history and insurance information. With the increasing advancement of touchscreen technology, a whole world has opened for businesses of all types to increase sales, reduce wait times at traditional POS counters, and generally make customers’ lives easier.

Before making any buying decision from the technology available, you and your team should have a clear vision of how you’ll be utilizing it.

DIGITAL BL ADES: This type of digital signage hangs overhead in concourses and hallways and gives patrons directions to gates, concessions, seating, restrooms, and any other destination inside or outside a facility. They also provide breaking news and information. You’ve likely seen them in transportation hubs, sports arenas, university campuses, and large corporate campuses – anywhere people need to be informed quickly or routed to locations throughout a building.

Whether you work in a specialized industry or a general corporate environment, digital signage is used primarily to communicate. What and how you communicate is limitless. Advanced tech can be used in flat frames, kiosks, on ceilings, inside, outside, or in between. It can be any size. Some can be curved and in any shape. Digital displays can be used for things such as advertising, announcements, and wayfinding. Digital signage can be art. It’s also taking the place of green screens in major Hollywood productions and the screens moviegoers watch the completed film on. If you believe the application you have in mind is impossible, you likely haven’t spoken to the right designers, manufacturers, and integrators yet. Earlier in this document, a comparison was made between advanced digital signage tech and the rectangular flat-screen TV in your living room. It’s an apt comparison for another reason, too. Savvy consumers often use the same criteria when purchasing their home theater equipment that you’ll likely use when selecting the technology for your display project. We mentioned them previously, but they can stand to be mentioned again: Indoors or outdoors, weight, size, viewing distance, and the amount of ambient light in the space.

Viewing distance and the total size a display should be for your requirements can be determined using the Display Image Size standard, and there is a free calculator for this. Likewise, the required brightness/ contrast of your digital signage can be calculated by using the ISCR standard.

If you think you can go to the digital signage equivalent of a big box store and pick one off a proverbial shelf, you are not wrong. Manufacturers today are marketing and selling mass-produced LED and LCD displays in standard sizes and resolutions, much like their consumer-grade siblings. And speaking of department store TVs, many small organizations utilize those for their business needs with good results. Both options, however, are fraught with undesirable issues you should be aware of. For example, if store-bought LCD TVs are part of a video wall – a bank of monitors tiled to form what appears to be one large screen –their picture quality will not always be consistent from one to another. Colors may vary, and eventually, one or more of them will need to be replaced – often right after their standard warranty expires. And because manufacturers discontinue models frequently, replacements will not always match the others, turning that nifty video wall into a digital Frankenstein.

Whether you work in a specialized industry or a general corporate environment, digital signage is used primarily to communicate. What and how you communicate is limitless.

Professional-grade models, on the other hand, take steps to avoid color issues through calibration, a process that measures, compares, and corrects color variations.

Of course, if you plan to use consumer-grade screens individually and placed strategically throughout your business, replacing them as the need arises is not that big of a deal. Your organization might eventually become dissatisfied with their picture quality or how they look in ambient lighting, but at least your initial investment was small. However, professional-grade mass-produced displays like LED are often bigger, more vibrant, and feature-rich. While no technology is perfect, these types are designed to be accessible to the growing number of new digital signage buyers. Usually lightweight, they can be installed quickly and often without the assistance of an AV integrator. But to attain lower price points on advanced digital technology, corners are cut somewhere, usually in the materials the components were made with and where they were sourced from.

Any investment in digital signage requires due diligence from an IT manager. After all, your department will be required to handle its maintenance, networking, and security. The display types just mentioned may be exactly what you need, and all involved will be content. Then again, you may experience buyer’s remorse sooner than later.

WHAT TECHNOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE?

So far, we’ve mentioned two types of digital signage tech – LCD and LED – and we’ll explore them more in-depth later. You’re familiar with those acronyms because they’re the same technologies available for your home theater. But unlike what you have in your home, professional-grade models are more advanced - especially LED. Along with those, state-of-the-art projection systems are available and ideal for many scenarios. All of these can be used in myriad applications. So, Let’s dive in.

1. VIDEO PROJECTION: Likely your least expensive option if you’re going with a commercial application, this type of digital signage generally takes two forms: Rear projection, in which content is projected onto the backside of a screen, and front projection, in which content is projected onto the front of the screen. Movie theaters are the best example of the latter, although that application of the technology may soon be phased out in favor of direct-view LED screens at your favorite cineplex. The standard knock against both types of traditional projection systems is they require darkened rooms and an unencumbered distance between the projector and the screen. In other words, conditions must be conducive for shadow puppets. Cute, yes, but annoying to those who want to see the content.

In recent years, however, projector manufacturers have introduced some amazingly bright technology that performs much better in ambient light. If you’re skeptical they can compete with LED and LCD screens, you can compare all three technology’s performance in lighted rooms using the AVIXA Image System Contrast Ratio standard.

You may have also heard of digital projectors, introduced in the late 1990s as a replacement for standard film projectors that had been the dominant projection technology for almost a century. Even though this new-ish technology projects crisper and more stable content, it still has the inherent weaknesses projectors have always had. That isn’t to say the technology isn’t ideal for many applications. It continues to advance with the rollout of 4K digital projectors featuring resolution four times greater than a full 16:9 HD screen.

According to Dupont’s Electronics Solutions division, LCD manufacturers are increasing the format’s dynamic range by harnessing high-speed drives to process bright images first and dark images later to improve contrast. Larger screens with higher resolutions are now possible thanks to recent TFT (thin-film transistor) technology developments.

Another very cool advancement in projection technology is projection mapping. Also known as spatial augmented reality, this dynamic tech can turn just about anything into a surface suitable for video projection. Using advanced software, an object is spatially mapped, mimicking the physical environment it is to be projected on. The results are stunning, wowing spectators in sporting arenas, celebrations in the world’s greatest cities, and music concerts.

At this point, you’ve realized if projectors are the digital technology your organization needs. They’re still a practical option in boardrooms and are still the best choice for large auditoriums. Still, unless you’re selling tickets to the next Hollywood blockbuster or championship game, an explanation of other technologies will make your decision easier. 2. LCD AND VIDEO WALLS: Liquid Crystal Displays use the same technology found in TVs and computer monitors, as well as mobile devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Long story short: LCD is everywhere. Since its introduction a few decades ago, largeformat LCD’s performance has continuously improved, increasing demand. Compared to the cathode ray tube, the primary nonprojection video display technology for decades, LCD was revolutionary because its price point and picture quality led to an industry-wide transformation.

LCD continues to lead the large-scale visualization space for several reasons – its price compared to rival formats like LED and its evolving technology. According to Dupont’s Electronics Solutions division, LCD manufacturers are increasing the format’s dynamic range by harnessing high-speed drives to process bright images first and dark images later to improve contrast. Larger screens with higher resolutions are now possible thanks to recent TF T (thin-film transistor) technology developments.

LCDs are generally confined to a 16:9 resolution which isn’t necessarily limiting, but when used in tandem with other displays in a video wall, bezels – lines separating each screen – become a negative aesthetic factor.

LCD displays perform reasonably well in ambient lighting, are energy efficient, and have a lifespan of about 60,000 hours. For the budget-minded organization, LCD is a solid choice.

3. LED: While spacious, open venues with large audiences and high ambient light levels present challenges for LCD and projection technologies, LED displays were developed to address those. Though generally heavier than their LCD counterparts, they’re also brighter in ambient lighting, consume less energy, and have a life span decidedly higher. When researching LED displays, you’ll hear a lot about pixel pitch. This is important because it determines the display’s resolution and optimal viewing distance. The smaller the distance between the LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that make up the display surface, the better the resolution and optimal viewing distance. In plain terms, the lower the pixel pitch, the closer a viewer can stand to your display and still experience high resolution. If we compare apples to apples, advanced LED displays offer a brighter and clearer picture than LCD. LED screens are also more versatile in size, shape, and curvature, making them far more flexible for custom projects. Organizations with special projects requiring both functionality and aweinspiring aesthetics usually turn to LED, but these advantages come literally at a price. LED displays are typically more expensive than other visualization formats, although manufacturers will argue that their total cost of ownership is lower, thereby making LED a better investment. And LED prices are becoming more affordable.

SUMMARY

So far, we’ve discussed the pros and cons of the three leading digital signage technologies at a high level, along with several examples of how they’re used. Takeaways include price and quality vs. functionality and the premise that even displays designed for specific industries can be used for infinitely more applications. But we’ve barely scratched the surface! It is highly recommended you get advice and guidance from qualified AV professionals before making a final buying decision.