Field guidance · not a standard
How Many Nits Do You Need for a Window Display?
It depends on which way the glass faces and whether anything shades it. Below is the table we use when we spec window screens: from 500 nits for a mall storefront up to 4,000 for open south and west glass. It's our field guidance from CrownTV installs, not an industry standard.
Got a window that doesn't fit the table? Call (201) 834-6412 or send a photo.
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Nits by window direction and shade
For stores in the continental US. "From" is the lowest live price among the models named in that row, at the sizes we usually use there.
| Window faces | Shade | Nits | What we'd put there | From | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mall or covered concourse | No daylight reaches the glass | 500 | Samsung QMC | $1,199 | Concourse lighting only. A window panel would spend most of its life turned down. |
| Any direction, screen set 4+ ft back, facing into the store | n/a | 500 to 700 | Samsung QMC or QHC | $1,647 | The screen faces shoppers, not the glass. Under skylights or near big windows, step up to 700. |
| North | Awning or recessed entry | 2,500 to 3,000 | Samsung OM55B | $2,750 | Never takes direct sun in the continental US. Bright sky still hits the glass. |
| North | Open glass | 3,000 | Samsung OM55B | $2,750 | Reflected light off the street and buildings opposite is the problem, not the sun. |
| East | Awning | 3,000 | Samsung OM55B | $2,750 | The awning blocks high sun; low morning sun still gets under it. |
| East | Open glass | 3,000 to 4,000 | OM55B, or OM46B / LG XS4P if you open early | $2,750 | Direct morning sun on the glass until late morning. |
| West | Awning | 3,000 to 4,000 | OM55B or a 4,000-nit model | $2,750 | Low afternoon sun gets under most awnings during peak foot traffic. |
| West | Open glass | 4,000 | OM46B, OM75A, LG XS4P | $2,795 | Afternoon sun straight onto the screen during the busiest hours. |
| South | Awning | 3,000 to 4,000 | OM55B or a 4,000-nit model | $2,750 | An awning shades high summer sun. Low winter sun comes in under it. |
| South | Open glass | 4,000 | OM46B, OM75A, LG XS4P | $2,795 | The most hours of direct sun of any face in the US. |
Prices as of October 25, 2026, live from displaydetails.com. Highlighted rows are where we'd only install a 4,000-nit panel.
Why direction matters more than city
In the continental US the sun tracks across the southern sky, so south glass gets the most hours of direct light, all year. East glass takes it in the morning, west glass in the afternoon, when the sun is low enough to shine straight onto a vertical screen. North glass almost never sees the sun directly, but it still faces a bright sky and reflections off the buildings across the street.
Awnings help less than people expect. They block the high midday sun, which is the easy case, and do little about the low morning, afternoon and winter sun that hits glass head-on. That's why we don't drop below 3,000 nits on east, west or south glass even with an awning.
The glass changes the number
Every window cuts some light, and tinted or low-E glass cuts more. The figure to ask your landlord or glazier for is visible light transmission (VLT). The math is simple: what the sidewalk sees is roughly the panel's nits times the VLT.
- 4,000 nits behind 70% VLT glass: about 2,800 from outside
- 3,000 nits behind 50% VLT glass: about 1,500
- 500 nits behind 50% VLT glass: about 250, which is TV-class
If the glass is heavily tinted, move up a row in the table. On open south glass that's already 4,000 nits, the top of what we sell, so content with big type and strong contrast does the rest.
Brightness after dark
A 4,000-nit screen at full power at 9 p.m. is a floodlight. Set a schedule in the panel or your signage software to drop brightness after sunset, and bring it back up in the morning. It's easier on the street, it cuts power draw (Samsung lists 350 W typical for an OM46B and 900 W for an OM75A), and it's kinder to the panel over years of 24/7 running.
When in doubt between two rows, buy the brighter panel. You can turn a screen down; you can't turn it up past its rating. The gap between an OM55B at $2,750 and an LG 49XS4P-B at $2,795 is small next to the cost of replacing a screen that washes out. Prices and full specs for every panel are on the high brightness price list, and window sizing and mounting is on the window display page. For mall and interior jobs, the 500 and 700-nit options are on our monitor catalog.
Need it installed? Ask for a quote with the window direction and a photo.
Nits and brightness questions
What are nits on a display?
A nit is a unit of screen brightness, one candela per square meter (cd/m²), and it is the figure Samsung and LG publish as a display's typical brightness: a TV-class panel is around 250 nits, Samsung's indoor QMC signage 500, the QHC 700, and window displays like the Samsung OM and LG XS4P 3,000 to 4,000. More nits is what keeps a screen readable in daylight.
How many nits do I need for a store window?
At least 2,500, and 3,000 to 4,000 for most street windows. Our rule: north or shaded glass takes 3,000 (the Samsung OM55B), south or west glass with no awning takes 4,000 (OM46B, OM75A or LG XS4P).
Is this table an industry standard?
No. It is the guidance we use when we spec window screens for CrownTV clients, based on which way the glass faces and whether it is shaded. Use it as a starting point and send us a photo if your window is unusual.
How does tinted or low-E glass change the number?
Divide the brightness by the glass's visible light transmission. At 50% VLT, a 3,000-nit screen reads like about 1,500 nits from the sidewalk, so move up one row in the table.
Can I just buy the brightest screen for every window?
You can, and on a mixed rollout it is often simpler. You pay for it in power more than price: a 4,000-nit LG 49XS4P-B is $2,795 against $2,750 for a 3,000-nit OM55B, but an OM75A draws 900 W typical. Dim them in the evening either way.
What happens if the screen isn't bright enough?
It doesn't go black, it goes gray. Colors flatten, dark content turns into a mirror of the street, and text becomes hard to read from more than a few feet away. That is what a regular TV in a sunny window looks like by mid-morning.