These days, every form of television and video playback screen consists of Flat Panel Displays. The old cathode-ray tube and bulky receiver set is now as much a part of the distant past as vacuum-tube radios. However, while the ordinary big-screen TV is good enough for the home theater or apartment, Commercial Audiovisual systems have a different set of requirements.

Commercial-grade flat panel TV monitors are designed for full connectivity to the office A/V infrastructure. Because professional presentations such as graphs and interactive data charts are among the items displayed upon such monitors, screen resolution is much sharper than even with a standard HD set. It has to be by necessity given the needs of executives attending a business conference or seminar. And there are other critical differences to consider when making comparisons of Consumer vs Commercial Flat Panel Displays.

Because of the far heavier duty use commercial flatscreens are put to, they are engineered to withstand far longer operating hours than any home HDTV. Internal design architecture combined with additional fans built into the set allow for faster, more efficient heat dissipation. By contrast, consumer TVs are not built to withstand continuous operation and are supposed to have long off-times to allow the components to adequately cool down. A consumer TV is not designed to run 24 hours in one day, while a commercial display unit can withstand operation over an entire day’s worth of conference sessions lasting into the late night hours. They are also suitable for continual operation in public commercial areas such as restaurants. Also, commercial sets by necessity have extensive anti burn-in and image retention features to protect the durability of the screen which ordinary consumer TVs aren’t equipped with.

When it comes to quality of display, a commercial monitor is capable of the full grayscale range through the spectrum. Also, color tracking through over 250 levels of luminosity is available, as is a far wider range of resolutions than consumer TVs are capable of. This is because a commercial monitor is designed also to function with full PC connectivity and the resolution range required for various display modes. By contrast, a consumer HDTV can support PC connectivity but to a more limited degree. Also, the grayscale ranges tend to skew more towards the brighter end of the scale which is good enough for the color-saturated display of normal TV/video viewing.

Commercial video display monitors have a greater variety of connector interfaces than consumer TVs. Commercial models will usually not come equipped with external control/connector receptacles, nor offer multi-configuration PC/video loop-through connection capability, and will not be equipped with industrial BNC locking connectors. And the one feature which consumer TVs lack is a security lock-out to prevent unauthorized persons from altering the controls or the settings.

Why all this extra engineering? Consider the uses a TV or even group of TVs are put to even in an ordinary setting such as a bar or restaurant, or a truck stop. Sets are run constantly, in some settings 24/7. Often, they are switched between different channels, between TV and PC display whenever the menu is put up on screen. In the realm of Professional AV Design and Engineering, robust systems with multiple connectivity are required even in mundane environments.Whether the client is a major corporation or a doctor’s office, TV/video hookup is a complex undertaking to combine all monitors into an integrated network.

CCS Presentation Systems is a provider of full commercial A/V installation and engineering services. They are an authorized dealer and service outlet. And they undertake system design and integration, repair, and professional training services.

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