Did you ever watch a game at a sports bar or restaurant? How about looking at a meeting agenda on a display in a hotel lobby or a virtual directory in a hospital or shopping mall? Chances are you are looking at a commercial TV. You may be asking yourself, “Isn’t that the same TV I have in my house?” As consumer 4K TVs and commercial display products are becoming increasingly similar in design, but that does not mean they are the same. One main difference is that retail TV's have a tuner to watch television programing, Commercial digital screens do not (except for models built for Hotels and Hospitals) but that tuner still works differently then a retail TV. Here are additional differences between the two.
Which TV is Built to Last?
Commercial TVs are designed, engineered and supported for out-of-home environments for a wide range of applications including digital signage, education, collaboration and entertainment. Commercial Digital screens are engineered for continuous use, often running between 16 to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in various environments such as digital signage and built to withstand the rigors of the commercial market. As a result, commercial screens are engineered and tested to endure a longer lifecycle than consumer televisions. Commercial digital screens often have enhanced components designed for long hours of operation and are less sensitive to image retention issues. Commercial digital screens also have higher quality power supplies and advanced cooling design, which allows for longer use.
How Bright Does Your TV Need To Be?
One of the key differences between consumer and commercial TVs lies within visibility and display brightness. Consumer televisions are designed with your home in mind. Because the lighting in homes can be easily adjusted, a consumer TV does not have to be produced as bright as a commercial TV. In brightly lit or uncontrolled lightning conditions of commercial and retail spaces, a higher brightness would be necessary.
Don’t Get Burned
“Screen burn” or image retention is a really important consideration in commercial TVs or digital signage. Digital signage will likely display the same image on screen for lengthy periods of time. If displayed on a consumer TV, this high single-image usage could quickly result in screen burn. Image retention, or screen burn, is the permanent discoloration of screen pixels resulting in a ghost image of the display being “burned” into the screen. A commercial TV features advanced anti-burn features to avoid this problem.
Secure Your Content
Consumer TVs are designed for personal home use utilizing a universal remote control and/or smartphone controls. Commercial TVs usually have Public Mode lockout features, which disables the operational controls. This prevents unwanted adjustments by people in public locations such as stores and restaurants.
How Long Does the Warranty Last?
There is an important distinction when to looking to purchase either a consumer and commercial TV, and that is the warranty. Consumer TVs are warrantied specifically for residential usage. They are typically issued for one year. Commercial digital screens, are explicitly warrantied for commercial usage and is stated so in a written three-year warranty. Using a Consumer TV in a commercial environment voids that warranty. Most screens regardless if it's a consumer or commercial unit have run time monitors built in and for that if a screen needing service can be checked for over and misuse.
If you are in need of displays for your business, school or other commercial setting, knowing the difference between consumer and commercial TVs will be a big benefit. The more robust build, glass and greater control ability will provide peace of mind that your message will captivate attention with superior visual performance.
WE want to make sure you are satisfied and educated on the model you are interested in purchasing we can also set up time with a brand representative to walk through the product and features to make sure you are purchasing the unit that fit your needs.
