The digital out of home (DOOH) market has grown exponentially year on year over the last decade. Finally, the market is slowing as a zenith of digital signage screens has been reached in our shopping malls, concourses and transport hubs. However, there is one location where the ubiquity of digital signage has not yet been reached – outdoors.

Outdoor digital signage is a growing and now makes up a substantial proportion of all outdoor adverts, but there is still plenty of room for more. Outdoor digital signage has many advantages over indoor systems too, with larger audiences being the most prominent.

One of the reasons that digital outdoor signage is trailing behind indoor DOOH is that there are more hurdles to clear in taking a screen outside than for indoor signage. The first problem that has to be countered is weather protection. Weather protection is no just about rainfall protection, either. While the rain is one of many elements that can damage a screen, permanently, there are others: snow, hail, sleet and wind blown dust can all disable an outdoor screen so the device has to be protected against all of them.

Temperature protection is also a requirement for digital outdoor signage as in many locations. Screens can overheat during the height of summer but also freezing temperatures of winter can disable a screen too – so both extremes need to be prepared for.

Sunlight too can have an effect on an outdoor screen. Direct sunlight can cause glare and overheating, so precautions need to be taken to ensure the screen is either not under direct sunlight or that the problems are countered in other ways. Bright sunlight can also make a screen unreadable so high brightness screens are recommended to ensure readability during bright sunny days.

Finally, physical protection is also something that has to be countered before a screen can be left outside. The screen has to be secured from both accidental and deliberate impacts, whilst also secure enough to prevent theft.

Smartvm have an all round method of providing digital outdoor and indoor signage protection as the steel, waterproof enclosures will provide physical protection and prevent damage from the above elements enabling peace of mind and trouble free outdoor and indoor digital signage.