A client of mine is a sports bar. Every display I’ve set up for them is HD, and they all have multiple HD sources - really great place. This year, the state has made it illegal to smoke indoors (yay!). This means they have a “smoking patio”. They put up awning walls - basically a three sided tent - for the winter so the smoking wretches can avoid freezing to death. So they go out there to smoke and drink. There is a gas heater out there on the patio as well.
So they want to be able to carry an HD flat screen out there for a game. I’m worried about thermal shock to the glass, condensation, etc. But the set will be a source of heat as well. If a set is warmed up before being carried out there, then plugged back in before it has a chance to get cold again, how great a risk is there to the set? Obviously, it’s not going to be used when there is any chance of precipitation. But tonight, the K-State/KU game is on, and it’s going to be 29 degrees. With the heater, it might be as warm as 50 degrees on the patio.
The acceptable operating temperature range varies slightly from television to television, but I would say anything below freezing is usually outside that range. You might want to check with the manufacturer.
ETA: Quick Google search seems to bring up a lot of ranges of 5C~35C, for Sony sets.]
AETA: The manual for the TV should also give this range. If the manual is long gone, you can look up the specs online.
Acceptable Operating Temperature is not for ambient, rather it is for internal, so if it is a little below the minimum operating temperature you should be fine.
I would be really wary about using it at any temperature below the minimum nonoperating temperature, but I’m sure anything around 20°F is within that.
Well, I’m figuring the manufacturer is going to have an ass-covering fudge factor figured into any minimum acceptable range. I was looking for real-world examples, and if anyone had comparisons of LCD versus plasma. For instance, many people use laptops with LCD displays in temperatures far outside of the manufacturer’s recommended ranges.
Some bars around here have a TV mounted inside, right against a window that opens onto the patio. So the nicotine addicts out on the patio can see it just fine, and the sound is sent to some outdoor speakers out on the patio.
Seems to work fine.
50 degrees seems fine for operating, but I’d be careful about bringing it back inside. The temperature range will almost certainly call for a non-condensing environment. Bringing the cold TV into the warm bar is going to make condensation on the screen and internal components. Make sure you let the set warm up to room temperature inside and out before you turn it back on.