There has been a lot of debate amongst AV manufacturers and suppliers in recent times about the future of High Definition TV devices for use in digital advertising and outdoor digital signage.
There are some that argue it is as important to implement this new technology otherwise digital out of home media will be left behind; while there others who suggest the technology is unnecessary.
What is HD?
High definition is a video screen capable of viewing images at resolutions a lot higher that of standard TV devices. HD TVs have five times as many pixels on a screen as a standard TV device. This increased resolution gives a far better picture quality and creates a truer colour image.
Reasons to Implement HD in Digital Signage
It has been suggested that as HD will soon become the normal resolution for viewing TV programmes and that unless the digital signage industry implements HD they will get left behind.
HD can also generate more colourful and vibrant images than standard definition helping to attract attention better. His is often cited as another reason digital signage should embrace High Definition.
Reasons why HD may not be suitable for Digital Signage
There are those, however, that believe HD is an unnecessary expense for digital signage systems and is a waste of money investing in it. They suggest that people do not view out of home media in the same way as televisions so High Definition will have little effect.
Also with outdoor digital signage it is a moot point as there are other issues with the screen resolution and quality that HD doesn't address:
Brightness Matters
Outdoor digital signage requires a lot brighter TV devices than indoor systems. A standard TV device typically puts out about the same amount of back light as 500 candles (candelas) while a high brightness outdoor screen will have a power output triple that.
Brightness is far more important for outdoor digital signage than High Definition as the sun can cause glare and reduce the brightness of an image making the content hard, if not impossible to see regardless of the definition.