5 Tips on how to choose a Digital Signage screen

The choice of the screen will not be tough if we follow a few rules. In this article, I will stress the most essential issues which will help you choose the right option.

#1 Ask yourself a few questions

Thus, specify what you want to achieve by installing a digital screen in your facility:

– Should an LCD screen only inform your client about your services or create a “WOW” effect?

– Should the digital signage draw clients’ attention or be a background for your display unit?

– Would you like to focus on a text or a picture?

It is hard to give clear answers to those questions, but the more you specify your needs, the easier it will be to choose the most adequate solution.

#2 In what conditions would you like to place your digital screen?

Depending on their destination, screens can be installed either inside or outside a building. The LCD screens differ from one another in such a way that they can be used in various ways.

The most crucial factor is the brightness of the display. If you want to install your monitor outside the building, you need to look for a screen with a brightness of 350-1000 cd. However, if the matrix is exposed to daylight (a shop window, a street totem), you ought to decide on a monitor with a brightness of at least 2500 cd.

Outdoor digital screens require also special cases, which will protect them from high and low temperatures, mechanical damage and robbery.

#3 Adequate size and resolution

Specify the distance from which you want people to see your digital display and what content you want to have. Knowing that you can choose an adequate matrix size and resolution.

a) While selecting a screen that needs to draw customers’ attention and be visible e.g. from a shopping arcade, you should take into consideration digital signage with a large diagonal size (55”- 98”). The matrix resolution is not that important, since the viewer is not going to look at the screen from a short distance. If you need a screen in a non-standard size, you may think of creating a so-called video wall, i.e. a set of a few smaller monitors composed into one big screen.
b) If the screen’s function is informative (e.g. a totem, an informative board, a map) and its main content is text and detailed textures, you should consider buying a screen of a maximum of 55’’.
c) If you are looking for a screen visible from 3-4 meters to people standing in a queue, sitting on a couch in a waiting room, etc., you should consider buying a screen of 43”-49”. These monitors have a good cost-to-inches number ratio, display a picture in Full HD and have optimal brightness parameters.

#4 Work (time) mode

We distinguish digital signage screens that may work 24/7 or 16/7, which corresponds to a standard point of sale’s opening hours. If your restaurant, shop, or petrol station is open 24/7, and you want to make sure that the monitor will display the picture non-stop, you need to choose the most durable screen. This way you may be sure you made the right investment.

#5 Screen orientation

Most Digital signage installations are based on horizontal monitors. There are, however, projects that require vertical orientation of the screen (e.g. cinema posters, fashion posters, menu boards, etc.). Unfortunately, the solution is not to turn the screen to a vertical position. You need to use a screen that is adapted to work in any orientation.

Summing up, in order to make a conscious choice of digital signage screen, you need to take various aspects into consideration. It is not worth spending money on a big matrix if you care more about resolution. It does not also make any sense to invest in a very high brightness of a monitor if you plan to place the screen outdoors.