Your top five considerations for a business-ready TV

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Jacques Bentley - Southern Africa Sales Manager, Skyworth 

Times may change but even in the Digital Age, the meeting or boardroom remains a key part of doing business. And with presentations increasingly using multimedia (typically video) to wow clients, invigorate brainstorming sessions and successfully onboard new employees, it makes sense to transplant those visuals from a laptop to the biggest, best-quality screen available – courtesy of today’s sleek, high-definition TVs. What should you prioritise when buying a TV for the office, though? Are these considerations any different from those when choosing a TV for your lounge? While there is some overlap, the needs of business make a few TV features absolutely essential.

  1. Size and placement
When buying a TV, one of the primary considerations is always size. For a business meeting room, you should never look at a screen smaller than 40 inches (101 cm). Bigger is better, if you can afford it, but whatever size you choose, ensure its placement is optimised. Wall-mounted TVs are the space-saving norm for companies, and screens should be positioned so that everyone in the room can see them. Avoid spots prone to glare, and the need to run long lengths of ugly cabling for connectivity and power. 

  1. Display technologies and resolution
Dazzling visuals are a powerful selling tool, and developments in TV display technology will give you that advantage. Largely convention by now, LED screens and their technological step-up OLED ensure more vivid imagery thanks to brighter lighting and stronger contrast. At the same time, for presentation material to look especially crisp and enticing, high definition is the only way to go. Prioritise a boardroom TV that has a Full HD display of 1920 x 1080 pixels, or, better, Ultra HD (also known as UHD) with its 3840 x 2160 pixel display. Going UHD will also extend your TV’s longevity as that format becomes standard. 

  1. Inputs and connections
How many HDMI ports does the TV have? What about older VGA inputs? Is there a LAN port so you can connect to a wired network? When buying a business TV, it’s important to ensure it will align with the technology used in your office, or you’ll need to invest in adapters if available. Alternatively, if you want to move forward and escape wired connectivity, ensure the TV has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Another highly useful feature to look for is built-in Chromecast functionality. With Chromecast, you can stream the screen content of your Android smartphone or other device directly to the TV.

  1. Think smart
Businesses operate on tight budgets, so you don’t want to spend on assets that quickly lose value or become outdated. When purchasing a TV for the office, then futureproofing your investment should be top of mind. One of the easiest ways to do this is to buy an Internet-connected smart TV so it can regularly receive operating system updates to enhance performance. Even better are TVs with an Android operating system because this enables access to the Google Play store and a multitude of apps that could add real value to internal and external meetings.

  1. AI is coming 
On the topic of futureproofing your TV, you should keep an eye on the new generation of AI TVs right on the mainstream horizon. While these TVs will be able to automatically optimise display quality – so no more embarrassing “technical difficulties” mid-meeting – probably their greatest strength is their increasingly sophisticated voice command ability and integration with virtual assistants like Google Assistant. Imagine being able to ask the current Rand-Yuan exchange rate and have the meeting room TV reply instantly with the information.

Also, as more Internet-connected appliances and electronics enter the office, your AI TV will become a central control unit in this integrated smart space. For example, you’ll be able to tell your business TV to send a document to the printer or adjust the air conditioning in reception.

These Sci-Fi sounding capabilities are really not that far away, and forward-thinking businesses can take advantage by putting careful thought into their next TV purchase.

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