Frequently Asked Questions

Taxi digital advertising refers to using screen signs on top of and inside the taxi to deliver ads in stream media in image, text, and video formats.

Geofenced and time-fenced advertising are location-based and time-based targeted advertising. When combined they are known as Geotargeting-Time with Advertising (GTWA). GTWA can be highly effective digital marketing tools. It allows companies to serve ads to people based on their exact physical location, the places that they go, and the exact day and time when the ads are to be shown.

The enRoute View Media DigiStream GTWA intelligent advertising platform uses a high-resolution 41 satellite channel Global Positioning System (GPS) to build virtual boundaries around specific locations. The ads can be displayed anywhere in the world with a location precision of less than 1 metre from the intended target.

Imagine if you could serve a potential customer one of your ads as soon as they get within walking distance of your business. Or, imagine serving ads to potential customers when they are near a competitor’s business. The enRoute View Media DigiStream GTWA technology is able to serve your ads to customers effectively.

An LED taxi top display (also known as: LED taxi topper, LED taxi screen, taxi LED display, taxi roof LED screen, taxi roof LED screen digital display, taxi top advertising unit, taxi top digital advertising, taxi top advertising sign, taxi roof LED video screen) is a dual-side flat panel display, which uses an array of true RGB color high brightness light-emitting diodes as pixels for a digital or video display. The LED screen unit is installed on top of a taxi rooftop and is powered by the vehicle battery.

The LED screen can display both static images and videos and it can be controlled remotely through a high bandwidth mobile wireless network. The high brightness of the LED pixels allows the LED taxi top display to be used outdoors where they are visible in direct sun exposure. In recent years, they have become a very effective platform for on-the-move-digital advertising.

An inside taxi advertising display is a digital display tablet screen or monitor used to play ads to the taxi passengers. The display is securely attached to the rear of the vehicle’s front seat headrest and is used to display ads. Passengers can interact with the ads and visit specific sites for more information or to participate in an interactive way with the ads.

Yes, it is. An LCD taxi top screen is basically similar to an indoor TV or a computer monitor. It used liquid crystal pixels to display an image or a video. LCD taxi tops displays are high resolution displays, but are not very bright. The low brightness makes them difficult to see during the day. This is why many advertising businesses prefer the LED taxi top screens. Any display brightness is (or luminance) generally expressed by a numerical value of nits. A nit is a unit of measurement of luminance, or the intensity of visible light, where one nit is equal to the equivalent of light from one candela per square meter (CD/m2). The higher number of nits, the brighter the display screen. Determining the right brightness for your application is extremely important. Common brightness requirements are 800 to 1,500 nits for indoor displays, and 1,500 to 2,500 nits for indoor displays in low intensity sunlight. For taxi top screens which are displaying outdoors in direct or indirect sunlight, >4000 nits is recommended.

For an LCD taxi top screen, the brightness is around 2000 nits, whereas for an LED taxi top screen it can be more than 5000 nits. Clearly, an image displayed on LED taxi top screen is much brighter than when the same image is displayed on an LCD taxi top screen.

Liquid crystal displays are just like their name suggests because they contain a liquid that is housed between two layers of glass. In warm climates, continuous direct sunlight exposure of the LCD taxi top screen can cause the liquid crystal to boil and result in black blotching on the display, a phenomenon called solar clearing. As such, an LCD taxi top screen needs to remain below this boiling point, which requires some complex cooling mechanism. In a cold climate, low temperature exposure of the LCD taxi top screen can cause the screens to freeze and rupture the LCD screen.

The current trend of the taxi digital advertising industry is to use LED taxi top screens since they are more robust.

There are several things you need to think about when you are deciding between LED and LCD displays, namely viewing distance, physical location of the display, environment, and content to be shown. Some key factors and differences are listed here:

All LED digital taxi screens are defined by pixel pitch. This metric defines how coarse or fine the image will be and how close a viewer can stand to the display. The pixel pitch is the physical distance between two pixels of a display. The distance is measured from the center of one pixel to the center of the next pixel.

A narrow pixel pitch (NPP) is classified as less than 3 millimeters spacing while a small pixel pitch (SPP) is considered anything between 3-6 millimeters spacing. NPP LED is becoming an ever more significant sector in the outdoor video display space.

A lot of space between pixels will create black space and a low resolution, but the fill factor offers ways to enable closer viewing distances of the LED display. Tight pixel pitches combined with larger diodes create a high fill factor, resulting in clearer visuals. The higher the fill factor, the closer the viewing distance.

The most important thing to consider when determining the appropriate pixel pitch is noting how close the viewing distance will be (i.e. where the image appears smooth). As a quick trick, there are two simple formulas that tell you what size your pixel pitch should be, based on distance:

Closest Viewing Distance (in meters) = 1 X pitch
Optimal Viewing Distance (in meters) = 2.5 X pitch

There are many different options to choose from and you will need to consider the LED’s pixel pitch to determine which is best suited for your taxi fleet for the best viewing environment. However, the P2.5 LED taxi top screen is the most widely used by our customers since it provides very bright high resolution video and static images. If you are still undecided on the package type (P2.5, or P3, or P3.3, or P5) for your LED taxi top screen, enRoute View Media experts would be happy to assist you.

P2.5 is the most recommended option.

All our LED taxi top displays are double-sided and they play the same ads (image or video) at the same time on each screen.

Yes, our taxi top displays are very versatile units. The ads displayed can be either images, videos, or text messages, or can be a combination of all formats. The ads can be uploaded through our DigiStream View ad management platform.

Our taxi top LED display units can be installed on all vehicle models.

A taxi top LED display is connected to the vehicle battery and is powered by the vehicle’s battery. There is a power switch which allows the user to turn the units on and off. Our taxi top LED display screens are equipped with a built-in intelligent power monitor module which senses the battery voltage. To protect the vehicle’s battery when the engine is turned off, the intelligent power monitor module is designed to turn off the LED display when the voltage level in the battery drops below 12 volts.

No, there is no need to install a second vehicle battery.

There are two options:
(1) by anchoring it on the roof rack which comes with the unit. This is the most popular option since it does not physically alter the taxi roof top and the unit can be removed easily as needed.
(2) For those customers who prefer not to use the roof rack, the LED taxi top unit can be attached directly on the vehicle roof by drilling into the roof and using fastening bolts.

Our LED taxi top displays can be supplied with an optional integrated light sensor which controls the brightness of the unit depending on the brightness of the environment (daylight, evening, night, shaded locations, direct sun, or bright sunny day). It automatically adjusts the display brightness.

They are all controlled remotely by the user via our DigiStream View ad management software that enRoute View Media provides to its subscribers.

You require LTE 3G or 4G, wireless mobile connectivity or Wifi.

Yes, our DigiStream View ad provides this feature.

Yes. The inside taxi tablet and LED taxi topper units are independent from each other. You can choose to upload different ads and different formats (images or videos) independently.

The industry recommended duration for a video ad is 20 seconds. This was set as a default but it can be changed by the user.

The industry recommended duration for static image ad is 10 seconds.

Our LED taxi tops are designed for long lasting operation. You can contact enRoute View Media and ask for specifications.

Yes, our DigiStream View ad management platform work in all countries as long as there is wireless mobile data service.

The ad software management (DigiStream View) is a subscription-based software. The pricing model is a payment structure that allows a customer to subscribe to enRoute View Media Inc. services for a specific period of time for a set price. Subscribers typically commit to the services on a monthly or annual basis. Contact us for more details.

Yes, as long as the electric vehicle battery provides 12 volts and a minimum of 10 Amperes of current. However, electric vehicles consume significant power and with the addition of the LED taxi top unit, the vehicle may require frequent charging.

Yes, whenever needed, the enRoute View Media team will provide software and hardware updates to its customers.

Please note that we cannot guarantee the compatibility of our DigiStream View ad management platform with any generic LED taxi topper. We have specific hardware requirements for the LED taxi tops that need to be satisfied for proper operation of our DigiStream View. Please contact us for more details to discuss your customized options before you make your hardware purchase.

enRoute View Media provides both software and hardware support. If needed, our engineering team is available for an onsite visit to provide support and training.

Yes, we can customize the inside taxi tablet hardware and remove the built-in camera. Please contact us for more details to discuss your customized option.

No, our LED taxi tops are equipped with an intelligent power management monitor module which turns off the unit when the vehicle is not running and/or the voltage level from the battery drops below 12 volts.

We are developing this capability. However, for now, you can only use a web browser.

This depends on your data usage, the types of ads you upload, whether they are videos or static images. Videos are normally larger in size and take up more bandwidth to download. enRoute View Media employ cutting edge video and image compression algorithms to reduce the video size. The best option is to monitor your data usage and adjust accordingly. The DigiStream View ad management software also provides you with an estimated data usage metric for each device.