As with every other segment of the display industry, outdoor digital signage is experiencing significant growth. The global market for digital signage displays is currently worth more than US$1.5billion and set to reach over US$3.5billion by 2009, according to DisplaySearch.

The market for outdoor digital displays is considerably smaller than the indoor market but it is gathering increasing momentum, as outdoor digital signage expands into ‘street furniture’ and provision of passenger information in airports, train and bus stations. While the manner of deployment of the first large digital signage networks (DSN), for large retail chains such as Wal-Mart, Tesco, etc did not go as well as expected, this has had little overall impact on the requirement for and development of digital signage display technologies, especially for public and private viewing outdoors.

The outdoor display industry is not a new market in Europe. It is however an evolving market that is changing from traditional printed graphics such as the familiar billboards by the side of the road to cost effective electronic signage that gives advertisers and site owners alike the ability to manage content, and hence maximise advertising campaigns without the need for ‘a man on a ladder’ having to change the poster. Certain technologies such as electrophoretic, electrochromic, cholesteric, nano-chromic type displays are starting to appear on our roadsides, they are slow enough and low power enough to provide a cost effective solution over printed posters as well as not breaking various national laws about showing moving video to drivers.

With the introduction of high brightness and high-resolution images, static signage has been transformed into a dynamic high-tech electronic outdoor display medium. Many train stations throughout Europe now use LCD displays to show passengers train information but, with the advent of higher resolutions and improvements in networking, other information can now be presented to the public together with this basic data.

Changes in our personal life styles are also leading to new markets for the digital signage industry even if they do not seem to quite fit the traditional view of what a sign is. A good example is the growing market of TV and information displays being placed outside, an unexpected side effect of the new smoking bans that have been or are being introduced in many countries around the world.

While basic display technologies have evolved over the last few years the problems of using them in all weathers and all lighting conditions have not changed. GDS has developed an optical bonding process that improves the readability of the original display. With the acquisition of Clearview Displays (Beaverton Oregon), now known as GDS Clearview, the GDS group has added the distinctive G-BOND optical bonding process and production capability to its portfolio. The new combined capability allows the company to offer OEM bonding services as well as full display solutions using thin gap and large gap bonding techniques for display sizes from 1.8-in right the way up to a massive 65-in.

The optical bonding process combines thoroughly tested and matched siloxane based chemicals originally developed for circuit board conformal coating. When the resulting gel material is combined together with anti-reflection (AR) or low ‘sparkle’ glass, a significant reduction of ambient light reflections from the front optical stack is obtained so improving the extrinsic contrast ratio – ignore what the intrinsic contrast ratios (dark room measured – ie little or no reflection), oft quoted, as this is meaningless in the real world of diffuse and specular light reflection.

Establishing what is a meaningful extrinsic contrast ratio is a subjective and sometimes emotive issue as is the figure of a 3:1 contrast ratio in sunlight, a military benchmark to enable pilots in particular to differentiate cockpit instrumentation changes. In the world of digital signage this low figure does not give the ‘wow’ factor for advertisers, nor does it help people with less than perfect eyesight. With optical bonding, total internal reflection (TIR) is reduced to zero at the front and overall reflection drops down to less than 2percent from 12–15percent enhancing readability significantly.

Other benefits of bonding are that it provides greater protection to the display, improves glass retention in breakage situations, removes condensation, fogging and other strange optical defects and stops foreign matter intrusion so data cannot be obscured. It is particularly effective for outdoor applications such as boats, passenger information displays (PIDS), ATM screens, outdoor kiosks and petrol pumps displays.

Displays developed with this optical bonding technology have been proven to be suitable for outdoor use as the display maintains its high performance even when directly exposed to UV rays for long periods. Outdoor displays must also have a number of unique features in order to meet the application needs. For example, they need to include a thermal management system to cater for the most demanding conditions and the display’s casing must be able to protect against dust and water pressure etc.

One of the perceived downsides with using electronic outdoor signage rather than traditional static displays is often the overall cost. The majority of outdoor displays must be in operation 24 hours a day, so any downtime must be completely eliminated, significantly reducing the total cost of ownership by limiting the amount of upkeep required. With the new advancements in technology (such as optical bonding, thermal management etc.) the lifespan of digital displays is considerably increased while downtime is dramatically decreased.

Global leader in the digital display market, Global Display Solutions specialises in outdoor displays with a low total cost of ownership. GDS has installed its outdoor displays at the two sites of a leading Orlando movie and adventure theme park for customer information purposes. GDS 45-in LCD displays were added adjacent to two existing LED displays of both Orlando-based theme parks to enhance the customer experience by swiftly providing additional information, entertainment, demonstrations and directions to attractions. To meet the specific requirements of this project, GDS supplied the theme park with its ground breaking new IP65-certified Large Screen Displays with Advanced Optical Enhancement. These new displays are the first of their kind and are part of the cutting edge product line that GDS is introducing to meet the wide ranging needs of the e-Signage sector. While their new offering should meet all normal e-Signage needs, the products have also been designed to accommodate customisation as required to suit any project. As the displays for this project are to be used for outdoor applications, it was essential that they were designed to withstand very demanding conditions.

As a result of these new technologies, dynamic digital displays are increasingly becoming highly regarded and reliable for outdoor signage, rapidly overtaking the traditional static images. As a result of its efficiency, outdoor digital is becoming more and more widely recognised and significant in a variety of industries, specifically advertising and public information.

The demand for outdoor displays is increasing at a rapid pace in the US, particularly for use on billboards for advertising. The outdoor display market in Europe however, remains a relatively untapped market, but this is set to grow over the next 10 years. It is becoming almost common practice to use digital images for all flight and rail information displays. For example GDS was recently appointed by the Transport Group (GTT SpA) and Selcom Elettronica to install its 32-in displays for information purposes throughout the Turin underground rail network. GDS equipped all stations with its e-Signage range of monitors to provide timetable information and serve as advertising spots. GDS e-Signage displays were specifically chosen for the network due to their modern design, superior quality, improved reliability and, most importantly, their enhanced durability under demanding conditions. This innovative display collection provides increased protection from vandalism. The information displays utilise toughened anti-vandal glass, and are the only displays available on the market to be classified to IK10(EN50102), a standard that confirms that they can sustain knocking of 20joule and still remain safe for users.

Some niche markets have been early adopters of outdoor signage, for example advertising. European companies have found it beneficial to use video advertisements featured on electronic screens on the side of the road. It is effectively a new area in Europe and some countries have already seized the opportunity created by using digital signage for advertising, while others are expanding their use for displays from existing applications (such as petrol prices in petrol station) to new areas such as advertising. The use of digital video screens signifies a brand new stage of development in the area of outdoor advertising.

Conclusion

Emerging technologies are set to launch the expanding outdoor display industry into a new era. Previously, due to uncertainty over reliability and cost, caution has hindered widespread adoption of outdoor displays. However developments such as optical bonding ensure that this is no longer a worry. New technology has eliminated many of the perceived problems associated with outdoor displays – paving the way for more frequent use in Europe. At the moment, Europe is only beginning to experiment with the potential of the outdoor display market, but the next decade is set to see rapid adoption of the technology.

Marco Cohen, based in Cornedo, Vicenza, Italy, and Graham Williams, based in Bingley, West Yorkshire, UK, are with Global Display Systems. www.gds.com