TV Vs Wall Mount

Digital signage kiosk

The digital signage is becoming more and more of an integral part of our lives today. It supports customer purchases, displays ads that are relevant to the customer's interests, and provides directions to specific locations. A digital signage can be an excellent asset that allows dealers and consumers to connect in the most meaningful and personalized ways.

What are the primary differences between digital signage and TVs?

Digital signages are nothing but Kiosks with bright screens have the capability to display active motion, which draws people’s attention much more as it is attractive and easily recognizable from further away. Using TVs can be more expensive in the long run, as they require a great deal of power to operate; often considerably more than digital signage displays, generally as a result of their added features such as increased brightness and sound. Moreover, the greater power draw can ultimately require more maintenance and result in a shorter lifespan.

Being controlled by software, it is easier to change the content in Kiosk screens as compared to traditional posters or other conventional alternatives. Traditional TVs can only hold one ad or other content at a time, meaning they have to be changed continually. Digital Signage allows you to store multiple pieces of content and display them all in a rotating sequence, giving more flexibility and better returns on investment to businesses that use them.

In the long term, digital signage displays can offer excellent returns on investment, as they offer more flexibility and opportunities to connect with companies' intended customer bases. While TVs have many more entertainment functions, most of them are redundant when the TVs are used as signage displays, without the addition of specialized software.

Digital signage displays contain a lot more information and activity on the screen, making it easy for them to pay attention to any one thing. Digital displays saves so much resources, since there’s virtually no billboards and posters used, so no paper goes to waste.

Televisions are designed for relatively normal use as they run for just a few hours daily in households typically. Hence, they are not well suited to run more than 16 hours a day, much less 24/7.

Being built for home use, TVs have audio/video connectors designed to hook up with cable TV or streaming services. So unfortunately, they don't come with the connectors that allow for remote management. Commercial digital signage displays, in comparison, come with connectors that allow technical customer service teams to remotely access, monitor and troubleshoot issues.

Since TVs are designed for homes, they don't need or have the brightness levels required to cut through the bright ambient light and glare of commercial environments. While some entry-level digital signage displays can have the same brightness as TVs, some higher-end/ specialized models can be as much as 8X brighter, depending on the need, based on factors such as lighting conditions, window installations or even for outdoor usage.

The old adage about using the right tool for the job definitely is what the digital signage is all about - business displays are a smarter choice for most jobs than TVs that look the same but are very different on the inside. Using flat panel TVs for commercial purposes saves almost no upfront costs, and in the long run, will need higher maintenance and repairs along the way.

Kiosks presents the customer with a more immersive environment with more dynamic and rich user interface, which makes for a more engaging and interactive user experience. In general, TVs have a limited number of interactive features, predicated by a 'playlist'. In contrast, a kiosk is better able to handle open-ended queries or conduct physical transactions. For instance, while a customer can view a promo video on a digital sign on a TV, the same customer at a kiosk can find product sourcing information, view and order similar products, pay for, and even ship the product to their home and more. Of course, to take full advantage of the level of interaction possible via a kiosk, a business needs to have first populated the kiosk environment with a high volume of content.

The first and foremost thing that a company needs to do, is find their 'why.' Companies that have clarity on the ultimate objectives for in-store digital engagement are far better qualified and prepared to weigh the pros and cons of kiosks and TVs. For instance, if a business is trying to merge an online shopping experience with their in-store environment, kiosks are quite well suited to fulfill their needs. For instance, if a customer is unable to find a specific pair of shoes in a store, but the business wants to encourage that shopper to find the proper size elsewhere for immediate purchase and ship-to-store or at-home-delivery, using a kiosk is the better choice, as it can show the shoe model’s size and availability at various outlets and may even allow them to order a pair and complete the purchase or request a restock at a particular retail outlet if it’s unavailable.

Once companies have clarity of these objectives, they can test the usage and implementation of technologies like kiosks to see what works best — evaluating factors such as levels of customer engagement, training aptitude of managerial staff, expectations of floor staff and more.

Another factor that companies should consider is their networking partner. In-store technologies are only as effective as the networks they are on. A sophisticated networking partner with experience deploying a variety of technologies and optimizing the network on which they operate can ensure that the piece of technology delivers as expectations.

The bottom-line is that digital signages can do a much better job than TVs for the specific use case of business and commercial applications, and consequently will yield higher returns for the business owners. On the flip side, while they are well suited to perform these functions, TVs still shine as the go to option for the mainstream consumer market, for everyday domestic use cases.