Anti vandal digital signage housings – outdoor protection.
Outdoor digital signage hardware are being protected by anti vandal digital signage housings to protect the hardware and ensure that there is a return on investment for the project.
Why anti-vandal digital signage housings are needed?
In this economic climate where digital signage is one of the fastest growing marketing methods organizations are deploying digital signage hardware indoors and out, but the risk increases dramatically when the hardware is placed outdoors. As any outdoor location has an element of risk when installing electronic items.
Most companies start out in digital signage with an indoor solution and then decide on pushing the campaigns outdoors, this is when the business encounters issues. A business may want to put an outdoor digital sign outside on their building and let the advertisements run, this is quite common for car dealerships especially when they are on a main road because they can then market to the passing motorists.
There are two main options, the first is to use dedicated outdoor digital signage hardware these are designed specifically for outdoor use and the components, such as the display are also water proof (but not vandal proof), the media player is a different story as these are almost never manufactured for outdoor applications.
The second option is to purchase anti vandal digital signage housings, these allow the company to use regular indoor signage hardware devices such as the screens on players and these are accommodated within the housing.
Imagine now for a second, there is a football match nearby and the visiting fans passed your digital sign, what will happen if the fans get rowdy and turn to vandalism in their frustration with their team losing the game? The vandalism can be caused easily by throwing stones, bottles and even coins at the display in an attempt for the fans to vent their anger.
Alternatively, what will protect your outdoor digital sign from the passing drunk, returning late at night? What about an envious competitor or even disgruntled employee from returning and damaging the signage when the company is closed for business?
How do anti vandal digital signage housings protect the hardware?
These protective outdoor signage housings are produced from heavy gauge steel, that is then galvanized and a top coat of outdoor powder coating is applied. These housing will provide water ingress protection for protection from the weather conditions is also covered as well as anti-vandal protection.
When designing an anti vandal digital signage housing thought has to be put into every aspect, for instance the obvious protection is the window at the front, through which the display is seen, this is made from toughened glass that will withstand the impact of a baseball bat or the equivalent of someone throwing a full house brick at the display! The display has to sit back slightly from the viewing window, because should someone throw something at the window and the display be almost touching the window, the flex in the material will almost certainly allow whatever has been thrown to come in contact with the display screen and potentially damage the display.
The door should be constructed with flush mounted high security locks, to prevent unauthorized access.
What options are on the market to protect digital signage hardware outdoors?
We have already touched on the external digital signage hardware, but the issue here is the price as these are very expensive.
The other option is digital signage housings, however many of these manufacturers have put little thought into the design of the housing to provide any anti vandal protection. Some even market their products as anti-vandal solutions when they can be opened with a penknife! Any housing solution that used the following locking systems are a major security risk as these can all be opened with very basic tools.
- Cam locks
- Compression locks
- Barrel locks
Some housing manufacturers have the display so close to the front window – it is almost touching! This will ensure that if anything is thrown at the window the display will certainly be damaged.
Other digital signage housing manufacturers supply the unit with a Lexan window as a standard; unfortunately this will limit the amount of time the display can be seen clearly due to reflections from natural daylight.