Holobox or 2D Screen: Which One Suits Your Event?

Three machines, three different jobs

faceOS runs on three machines, and the right choice depends far more on your space and your goal than on budget alone. The lineup is a 21-inch holobox, a 7-foot holobox, and a 2D tabletop screen — each with the same avatar software underneath, so the conversation your avatar can have doesn't change; only her physical presence does.

7-foot holobox: when you want a crowd

This is the life-size option, built for entrances, stage areas, exhibition stands and product launches — anywhere you want people to notice the avatar from across the room and walk towards her, not just glance at a screen on a desk. If the goal of your event is footfall and a moment people stop to watch, this is usually the right starting point.

21-inch holobox: counters, booths and reception

A smaller 3D presence at eye level, suited to spaces where people are already standing close: a reception desk, a booth at a trade show, a counter in a showroom. It gives you the same "talking, listening, looking at you" presence as the 7-foot version, in a footprint that fits a counter rather than a stage.

2D tabletop: simplest to place, easiest to move

The tabletop screen is a flat 2D display rather than a holographic one, and it's the most practical choice for registration desks, help points and retail counters where you need something that goes up and comes down quickly, or shares a desk with other equipment. It runs the identical avatar brain as the holobox machines — the five abilities of seeing, listening, speaking, showing and completing a task are the same — just on a conventional screen.

How to actually decide

A few practical questions settle most of these choices faster than a spec sheet:

• Do you want to stop foot traffic from a distance, or serve someone who's already stopped at your desk? The first points to the 7-foot holobox, the second to the 21-inch holobox or the tabletop.
• Is the machine staying in one place for months, or travelling to a different event every few weeks? Long-term placements suit buying the machine with a monthly avatar subscription, while single events are usually a straight rental.
• How much floor space do you actually have? A stage entrance can carry a 7-foot holobox; a reception counter usually can't.

If none of this is obvious yet, that's a normal starting point, not a problem — tell us about your venue when you request a quote and we'll suggest a machine before you commit to one. A short description of your space, your audience and what you want visitors to walk away with is usually enough for us to point you toward the right starting option.

What stays the same regardless of machine

Whichever machine you land on, the underlying avatar doesn't change. She sees when someone is ready to talk, listens even in a noisy space, answers in Arabic and English, shows the right content while she's speaking, and completes the interaction with a captured lead or a booked visit — the same five abilities across all three machines. That's worth knowing before you decide, because it means the choice of machine is really a question of physical presence and footprint, not a trade-off in what the avatar can actually do for you.

Mixing machines across one event

It's also common to combine them rather than pick just one: a 7-foot holobox at the entrance to draw people in, and a 21-inch holobox or tabletop further inside to handle the actual conversation once someone's engaged. Which combination makes sense usually comes down to your venue's layout more than any fixed rule, and it's a normal thing to ask us about rather than something you need to work out alone before your first enquiry.

Once you've picked a machine, the next question is timing

Picking the right machine is step one. The next is working out your booking lead time and what happens on delivery day, which we walk through in how to rent a hologram avatar for an event in Dubai, step by step.

Know which machine you need, or still deciding? Either way, get a rental quote and we'll confirm what fits.