The character height is 8 , it can be viewed from 20 meters away. But you can't use it outside when it rains because the cabinet is not water proof. IR remote control can help you easily set a countdown or a count up, and just press Enter key and start or arrow down or arrow up, you can start it. You can learn how to operate it in just several seconds! You can program any time between 00 and 99 and start a countdown or a count up timing. As everybody knows, LEDs are very long lifespan, this timer can work over 6 years! The timer works under 12VDC, so it consumps very low power.