Choosing a display for a digital signage display is a daunting prospect. There are a huge number of display types and sizes, ranging from under 2″ to over 100″. Each has different attributes such as brightness, contrast ratio, aspect ratio, black levels, viewing angle, connections, mounting options, display technology and, of course, price.

In general you want the biggest, brightest display you can afford. You want it to have the widest possible viewing angle and excellent contrast and black levels. But often you can’t find everything in one display and you have to choose which criteria matter the most to you. This page discusses each attribute and helps you decide what to purchase.

Although bigger is normally better, sometimes a smaller display may fit better in a particular location like counter top in a doctor’s office, pole-mounted mounted next to a cash register or attached to a shelf in an aisle. Sometimes it can be more effective to put multiple smaller displays closer to the products they are promoting rather than having one larger display trying to promote multiple products.

In the following pages we’ll discuss the other key factors in choosing a display including aspect ratio, brightness, contrast, black levels and viewing angles.

Having chosen your display you need to decide where to mount it and what kind of player to use to drive it.

References: Samsung article on commercial grade signage

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