NextWindow Touch Overlays - Choosing a Display Screen

When choosing a display screen to be compatible with a NextWindow's touch overlay, it is best to select a screen that has equal bezel size on all sides.

NextWindow typically manufactures overlays at 16:9 aspect ratio for professional touch screens rather than the consumer TV market.

A typical professional LCD or Plasma has an equal-width bezel all round as shown below.

                Typical commercial display

In contrast, screens designed for the consumer market often have a mantel at the bottom to house the speakers and remote sensor as shown below.

                Typical consumer display

This design increases the vertical dimension and hence changes the aspect ratio of the overall cabinet. As a result, a typical 42” consumer screen, for example, may require a touch overlay for a 57" in order to accommodate the vertical dimension, resulting in the overlay overlapping at the sides of the screen.

Note that, as long as the overlay fits over the display screen, the touch technology works perfectly. The effect of the overlap is simply a visual design issue that should be born in mind when choosing the display / touch overlay combination.

For the full list of manufacturers' displays that NextWindow's overlays are known to fit, see the NextWindow Models List (pdf file).