Every spring somebody asks us to hang the old living-room television under the patio roof and put a cover on it. Every fall we take one down that somebody else hung. An indoor television outside dies three ways: heat cooks the panel in a closed cover, humidity finds the boards, and the picture is unwatchable in daylight anyway. Outdoor televisions solve all three. Two brands do it well enough that we carry them, and the choice between them comes down to one question: how much sun hits the screen?
Shade, Partial Sun, Full SunThe Only Spec That Matters First
Outdoor televisions are sold by exposure, and the brightness follows. A full-shade set lives under a solid roof and never sees direct light; it runs around 1,000 nits, two to three times an indoor television, so it stays watchable against a bright yard. A partial-sun set gets direct light for part of the day — a pergola, an east-facing porch — and adds anti-glare glass on top of the brightness. A full-sun set faces the pool with nothing over it and runs 1,500 nits with panels built to keep working at that output all afternoon.
Get this one right and the rest is preference. Get it wrong — a shade set under a pergola — and you have a mirror from noon to four.
The picture is not the reason outdoor TVs cost more. Surviving August at 1,500 nits is the reason.— Blue Note A/V
SunBriteThe Range, Top to Bottom
SunBrite has made nothing but outdoor televisions for twenty years, and its range maps directly onto the three exposures. Veranda is the full-shade line: the current Veranda 3 in 55, 65 and 75 inches with a quantum-dot panel, Dolby Vision and Android TV, and the new Veranda 4 in 65 and 75 with webOS and remote management for dealers, with smaller sizes due later this year. Signature 2 is partial sun, with the anti-glare coating that cuts the reflection of sky and water. Pro 2 and the newer Solis are full sun at 1,500 nits, Pro 2 from 43 to 65 inches and Solis from 49 to 75.
All of them are sealed to IP55 and rated to run to 122°F, which in Dallas is not a theoretical number. Warranty is two years parts and labor on the current lines.
NeptuneThe Other Right Answer
Neptune is Peerless-AV's outdoor television brand, and Peerless has spent decades making the mounts that hold televisions to walls, which shows: the full-sun models ship with their own outdoor tilt mount. The 2026 line is two series. Full Sun runs a sustained 1,500 nits in 55, 65 and 75 inches; Partial Sun runs 1,000 nits with anti-glare IPS panels. Both use webOS, both are IP55, both are rated from −22°F to 122°F, and Neptune backs them with a three-year warranty — a year longer than SunBrite.
In practice we reach for Neptune when the budget is tighter for the same size and exposure, or when the extra year of warranty matters to the client. We reach for SunBrite when the client wants a shade set with the best panel, or when the dealer remote management in Veranda 4 lets us fix things without a truck.
At a GlanceWhich Set, Which Patio
| Exposure | SunBrite | Neptune |
|---|---|---|
| Full shade (solid roof) | Veranda 3 · Veranda 4 — about 1,000 nits | Partial Sun series covers it with headroom |
| Partial sun (pergola, porch) | Signature 2 — anti-glare glass | Partial Sun — 1,000 nits, anti-glare IPS |
| Full sun (poolside, no cover) | Pro 2 · Solis — 1,500 nits | Full Sun — 1,500 nits sustained, mount included |
| Sealing and heat | IP55, to 122°F | IP55, −22°F to 122°F |
| Warranty | 2 years parts and labor | 3 years |
The Real WorldWhat We Do Around the Television
The set is half the job. The mount has to be rated for outdoors and for the weight, the power and video have to arrive in a weatherproof enclosure, and the sound should not come from the television — a pair of Coastal Source bollards or a Razor on-wall does what the built-in speakers never will in open air. Then it joins the house: the same remote and app as the media room, on the Good Evening scene with the lights and the shades. Our Outdoor Living page covers the rest of the patio.
Why a real outdoor TV
- Two to three times the brightness of an indoor set
- Sealed against rain and dust, rated for Texas heat
- Anti-glare glass on partial- and full-sun models
- Warranties that cover outdoor use, which an indoor set's never does
Things to know
- Costs more than an indoor set of the same size; that is the weatherproofing
- Exposure rating is not optional; under-buy and it is a mirror at noon
- Built-in speakers are for emergencies; plan the audio
Two good answers, one question
SunBrite and Neptune both make televisions that will still be working when the covered indoor set has been to the curb twice. Match the exposure, let us handle the mount and the audio, and the patio becomes a room.
Best for: Covered patios, pool decks and outdoor kitchens where the television has to be readable at noon and alive in September.
Tell us where the sun is
A photo of the patio at 3pm tells us everything. We will pick the set, the mount and the sound.
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