Screens In Direct Sunlight

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

Orion MPDP

Supporting ambient daylight is a different proposition to being able to work in direct sunlight. We would argue that no screens can ably support full-on, direct sunlight aimed at them but if you are working in street furniture or windows that face out onto the street you can make your life a bit easier by following a couple of rules and rule one would definitely be “don’t use Plasma screens”.

This picture shows the Orion MPDP Plasma Large Screen Display System which we took last week in London – I think you will agree, it simply doesn’t work!


2 Responses to “Screens In Direct Sunlight”

  1. Bryan Crotaz Says:

    If you’re working in direct sunlight then you should be looking at iTrans – the only technology other than LED that can really win the lumens battle against the nuclear explosion in the sky!

    Additionally if you’re using LCD, which can work with very bright backlights, look carefully at your warrantee. Some manufacturers will not warrant screens installed in windows as they will overheat in direct sunlight.

  2. David Fearnley Says:

    You cannot fight the sun…you have to USE it! Our new German made Avistec transflective SUNLIGHT LCDs do just this. The stronger the sunlight, the brighter the picture…with normal LCD backlighting. The difference to a standard transmissive LCD in bright sunlight is stunning.
    And yes, they are designed to withstand long-term 24/7 usage in full-on direct sunlight, thanks to the state-of-the-art UV/IR filtering in the protection glass and our own internal auto-cooling-system (which kicks in, before critical panel temperatures are reached, even if the actual display is turned off, but connected to the mains).
    What would be the point of a sunlight display you can’t put in direct sunlight?!
    The units are available from 32” to 52” for indoor or outdoor usage, the outdoor version incorporating full airconditioning.
    This technology has various advantages over high backlighting: far more energy efficient, general picture quality, less internal component heating= better longetivity, automatic adjustment to ambient lighting levels.

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