Can I use a home TV in my office? Of course you can but should you? Buying the right display for your business is not an easy decision with many factors to consider including the best location, what content you intend to show, lighting conditions and how long it will be turned on for?
Commercial-grade displays are specifically designed to meet the needs of various businesses in a variety of environments, ensuring content and information comes across as intended. Some decision makers are attracted by the retail price point of consumer TVs and end up missing out on key benefits of using digital displays in a professional setting.
Before making a decision that will impact how others will view your business, take a look at how commercial displays will help you send the right message!
1. A home TV has been designed for occasional use in the home. While it may look great, the build quality has been designed for the normal operating temperatures and usage hours in domestic homes. While home TV’s are designed to run 6 – 8 hours per day and have limited onboard cooling while commercial-grade displays are built to run from 10/7 to 24/7 hours per day, have better cooling to suit
Commercial-grade displays have been designed to a higher standard. The physical chassis and panel of the unit, as well as its components, are stronger and have been designed for use in environments where temperature, vibration and hours of use are more varied and extreme than in the average home.
2. In an office you may wish to place your display in a variety of locations in either Portrait or Landscape mode. Home TVs are designed only to be used in landscape orientation Many commercial-grade displays are designed to be used in either orientation – meaning they will cool properly regardless of which orientation they are used in.
3. Brightness levels are higher on commercial-grade displays in order to account for the variable lighting conditions in offices – between 350 and 2500 nits. Home TV’s usually fall in the range of 150-350 nits, which is fine for most viewing at home. Panels are generally more uniform which makes setting up video walls easier.
4. Home TVs typically don’t include RS232 serial or RJ45 LAN control. If it is included, it is typically limited to on/off and perhaps input switching. Commercial-grade displays have full control, enabling control panel or remote display management. It allows for greater flexibility and more precise control of a display’s features and functions without having to use a remote. Designed for easier integration into a controlled or automated system.
Home TVs don’t have IR or front panel lock out, leaving TVs vulnerable to pranksters. Commercial-grade displays have IR and remote lock out.
5. Connectivity and PC Sync – Home TV’s are usually limited to HDMI, and perhaps legacy composite and/or component video. Commercial-grade displays will usually have more types of inputs including HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, VGA, as well as component and composite video. Often times they will also include Video Loop-Output. For digital signage applications it may be possible to slot a PC module in so an external player is not required.
PC Sync – Home TV’s are usually designed to handle consumer video formats and limited PC resolutions, making image scaling and screen fit difficult or often impossible. Commercial-grade displays are designed to handle a wide range of multi-sync supported resolutions making it possible to properly size and fit the screen. They also provide cloning cia USB stick so all settings are copied across from screen to screen.
6. Warranty – Most manufacturers offer no warranty on home TV’s used in a commercial situation and require you to remove the TV and take it back to the shop that you bought it. Commercial-grade displays are sold by System Integrators with experience in what panel to put where and how to mount them. Warranty is typically 3 years on site with most commercial grade panels rated to 50,000 hours
In most cases businesses use home TV’s simply because they weren’t aware that commercial-grade panels exist, or, they didn’t know where to find them or they thought they were saving some money but as you can see it can be false economy.
In summary: if you are in need of displays for your business, school, or other commercial setting, knowing the difference between a home TV and a commercial-grade panel can save you money in the long run. The more robust build, greater control ability, and extended warranty will provide peace of mind that your message will be both seen and heard for years.
ICS Technologies is able to access commercial-grade panels and TV’s from major manufacturers along with a variety of mounting systems. Contact us through the website or call on 1300799115.
