A digital building directory that is never out of date.

Buying a digital building directory: what actually matters

A digital building directory is a commercial display, usually portrait, running a tenant or department list that someone on staff can edit from a browser. That is the whole product. The buying decisions that matter are the panel, the mount height, how the list gets edited, and what the installed number includes. If you want the survey of every directory format, including video walls and printed hybrids, read the guide to directory signage systems for large buildings. This page is the buy side: one screen, one price, installed.

Size the screen to the list, not the wall

• Up to 40 listings: 43″ portrait. Reception areas, law-firm attorney boards, single-floor medical suites, campus buildings.
• 40 to 120 listings: 55″ portrait. The standard multi-tenant lobby directory. Pagination is automatic; the A–Z strip lets a visitor jump.
• 100+ listings or a double-height lobby: 65″ or 75″ portrait, or a 55″ at the entry plus a by-floor 43″ at the elevator bank. Two screens on one record is usually cheaper than one oversized panel.

Why the panel has to be commercial

A directory runs 12 to 24 hours a day, in portrait, for years. Consumer TVs are not rated for portrait, their panels image-retain on static text, and the warranty is void in commercial use. Every directory we install runs on a Samsung QM-series panel (QM43C, QM55C, QM65C): 4K, 500 nits, 24/7 duty, portrait-rated, three-year commercial warranty. Bright lobbies with south glass are fine at 500 nits as long as the screen is not in the window itself; a window-facing directory needs high-brightness hardware and is quoted separately.

Mounting and reach range

The mount is set to ADA reach-range guidance and the exact height is confirmed on survey. Non-touch directories are mounted for reading; touch directories are mounted so the controls fall within reach range with clear floor space in front. Wall substrate matters more than people expect. Drywall alone will not hold a 55″ portrait panel; we confirm studs, block, or a backer on survey. Power is one 120V outlet behind the panel, and cable is dressed in-wall or in raceway that matches the wall.

How the list stays correct

The directory template lives in the CrownTV Dashboard. Property management edits the master list; a tenant can be scoped to their own line; security keeps the emergency-override slot. Load the initial list from a CSV, edit lines as tenants move, or re-import the sheet when a floor turns over. Room and event listings can come from a Google or Outlook calendar feed. That is the full integration story for the standard package; deeper property-software integrations are scoped per project rather than promised on the price sheet.

What it costs, installed

The numbers come from the same indoor ladder as our pricing page: 43″ portrait directory from $3,400, 55″ from $4,000, 65″ from $4,400, 75″ from $5,600. Each number is display, portrait mount, CrownTV player, directory template with your list loaded, licensed install, training, and the first year of Dashboard software. Touch and interactive kiosks are quoted per project. Site work such as a new outlet is quoted after survey, never buried in the from-price. Standard installs run 7 to 10 business days from signed quote; the install itself is a single two-to-four-hour visit by our licensed install crew.

Where the directory fits in the lobby program

Most buildings start with the directory and add from there. The same Dashboard runs the welcome screen at reception, the floor-by-floor map at the elevator bank, and the notice board in the residential mail room. See lobby digital signage for the full five-surface program and digital wayfinding when visitors need routing rather than a list. If the building has a storefront or a street-facing window, the directory can be paired with a high-brightness window display on the same login.