Introduction
The commercial televisions you see in public places look fairly similar to your domestic televisions at home, and without the technical know-how, trying to set up your first professional display for your business can be difficult. We understand the biggest barriers to entry users face are largely based on the complexity of the equipment. Knowing the difference between consumer and professional displays can save you a lot of time and money down the road.
Please note: Some of the suggested models may be out of date or no longer manufactured. Please first and foremost refer to the hardware that we recommend on our hardware page. Our product and hardware team will soon be updating the selection of hardware for this guide.
1. Introduction to Professional Displays
Digital Signage is one of the most customizable forms of advertising and can be used to communicate information quickly. If you are considering using digital signage for your business, school, or even as a silent ad display in a store, a display can offer the eye-catching content needed to grab the attention of your audience.
That being said, let's dive into the two types of screens in the digital signage world - Professional displays and consumer displays. Professional displays have a much wider range of uses than consumer displays as they can operate three times as long and are far more durable. Whereas consumer displays are designed for home use, for instance watching a movie or playing video games. These professional displays are mainly used in business environments such as menu boards in restaurants, wayfinding kiosks, retail stores, and most commonly flight information boards in Airports.
As display technology evolves, viewers are setting higher expectations. Therefore businesses need to deliver exceptional picture quality for their customers. So keep reading below to see why you should purchase a professional display for your business, the important features a professional display has, and which hardware and display combos we recommend for you to purchase.
2. Why Should You Choose a Professional Display Over a Standard Consumer Display?
There are a handful of benefits when choosing to use a professional display for your digital signage. Below we've highlighted some of the key insights during your search for a hardware option:
I) Hour of Operation
Professional displays are designed to operate for long periods without damaging any components within the display or dropping image quality. They are far more robust and can stand extensive use in the toughest conditions, whereas the average consumer TV you’d purchase at your local electronic store is designed for minimal use in residential environments. While consumer TVs are great for watching movies they are not designed for continuous use and should typically stop using them after 8 hours as they are at risk of severe internal damage or overheating.
These commercial displays are built with an internal fan or components that allow for heat dissipation. This means that your displays can run for 16/7 hours or even up to 24/7 hours 365 days a year. Professional displays are great for digital signage as they provide peace of mind that your display will last long and won’t fail while you are in the process of using it. So the first rule of thumb is to make sure to check the operational hours of your display (this should be listed in the specifications).
ii) Brightness
Brightness is a very important feature to consider when choosing a display for your digital signage. Professional displays are equipped with very high brightness such as 400-3000 nits, mainly to account for outdoor or inconsistent lighting caused by uncontrolled environments. In addition, most professional displays come with anti-glare and local dimming capabilities. This allows for these displays to adapt to various locations and still produce consistent picture quality. Whereas consumer TVs operate best in controlled lighting and usually have about 150-300 nits.
iii) Cost of Ownership
Some businesses may favor the use of a consumer display for their digital signage as they are much cheaper, but this may present many issues down the road. Buying a consumer display rather than a professional display may seem like the best choice for your wallet, but professional displays offer a significantly better return on investment.
Cost plays an important role in the decision-making process. Oftentimes, many businesses would purchase consumer displays under the assumption that professional displays would cost them an arm and a leg, or simply because they just aren't aware of their options. But with a bit of information, they would come to learn that even though these displays have a high initial investment, they come with an array of features that consumer TVs do not have. If you are planning to purchase a display for long-term investment, a commercial display is most likely to outlast a consumer display and save you more money in the long term. Using standard televisions for professional signage applications will result in constant maintenance and adjustments.
iv) Anti-Theft Precautions (Vandalism)
It is very important to secure your displays and take anti-theft precautions to prevent unauthorized personnel from making adjustments to your screens as this could be detrimental to the messages you are trying to get across.
With consumer displays, it is easy for someone to change a channel or connect via HDMI and upload an inappropriate piece of content. And accidents do happen. Many professional displays already provide these protective measures that block individuals from tampering with the power, volume, or any other controls that are easily accessible to the public.
v) Durability
Professional signage displays are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of business applications such as advertisement displays, menu information, wayfinding kiosks, or even display company messages. Regardless of your digital signage purpose, professional displays are built for demanding environments.
The physical chassis are designed much stronger to withstand any environment that has vibrations, dust, smoke, or even grease. Environments with high pollutants such as fast-food restaurants, bus terminals, factories, ski resorts, hot weather, cold weather, you name it these displays can handle it. For example, menu boards can get hot but can also get very greasy and dusty so you need that extra coat of protection that professional displays provide. Even the display panels are commercial-grade screens to reduce the possibility of burn-in and image retention.
vi) Warranty
Not all screens are made equal, so what may be good for your restaurant isn't necessarily good for your lobby. If you use a display in a scenario it is not built for, for example, exceeding the daily operational hour limit or exceeding the temperature limit, the manufacturer may no longer honor the warranty.
3. Expandable Features
There are also several expandable features that you can use or benefit from with a professional display for your digital signage. Some of the notable features are:
i) Open Pluggable Specification (OPS)
The key dividing feature between professional displays and consumer displays is their variety of expandable features. Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) is an industry-wide standard for commuting system solutions, in simpler words, it is a set of criteria for external PCs allowing these modules to easily be inserted, serviced, or replaced with any display having this capability. Having this standardized slot in your professional display allows users to constantly keep up to date with the latest technology. Users can upgrade their processing power whenever new and faster software enters the market. No need to go out and purchase a whole new display just simply purchase an OPS module with the latest software and plug it in!
Appearance is so important these days, especially in retail shops. Have you ever walked into a shop and were immediately turned off by the lack of organization? Purchasing a professional display with an OPS slot can give viewers a good impression, and it sets the tone of the store or any application of your choice.
These pluggable media players allow for easy installation and maintenance. These OPS modules can push rigorous video formats, ideal for the digital signage market. This solution makes it possible to integrate digital signage media players into commercial displays seamlessly, effectively turning your display into an All-in-One PC solution.
ii) Touch Screen Capability
Professional displays can add touchscreen overlays, allowing for any professional display to gain the ability of a touch screen. This can dramatically enhance the way customers look for information at information kiosks.
4. Our recommended professional displays for digital signage
Review the ScreenCloud Hardware page for the latest professional display recommendations from our hardware team, hand-picked for the details we've mentioned above.