LG Electronics USA has unveiled new commercial cruise television models and a centralized display management platform, addressing challenges specific to the marine environment.
The company introduced 32-inch and 43-inch Commercial Cruise TV models designed for staterooms and crew cabins, along with the Pro:Centric Catena platform for managing displays across public spaces.
The new cruise-specific televisions feature conformal coating applied to circuit boards at the factory to protect against humidity, salt air and dust.
“LG has now been working in the cruise industry for many years,” said Tracey Estes, senior cruise vertical leader at LG Electronics USA.
“Normal hospitality TVs for hotels are very good but they just don’t live in the same environment when you’re at sea. Out there, you have a lot of deep humidity and a lot of salt, which is obviously very corrosive, then there is also all the dust and debris from the force of the winds.”
Ocean-facing cabins experience the most exposure, according to Estes.
“What we understood was happening is the cabins outside the ships where the force of the wind was coming in had more problems,” she said. “As oOcean-facing cabins are just more exposed.”
The conformal coating is now applied before the TV backing is installed and provides a super protective layer against any environmental factors.
“We’ve had it performing better and better, lasting longer and hanging on longer,” Estes said.
The coating is applied to all cruise-specific models regardless of screen size.
The Pro:Centric Catena platform addresses operational challenges in managing multiple displays across bars, restaurants and lounges.
“It’s an idea from the LG family serving something they were struggling with,” Estes said.
“You’d have large TVs on the wall with different displays, and the bartender would then take the remote and change it to a different sport… So it was cumbersome and messy in the past.”
But now the platform allows staff to manage multiple screens from an iPad or even their smartphone, eliminating the need to handle individual remotes for each display.
“This is such a much better system,” Estes explained. “Staff can manage it better from just one device instead of managing remote controls on different displays.”
The platform also includes an audio streaming feature that allows passengers to connect their headphones and select which screen’s audio they would like to hear.
“There’s an audio portion, so you can hear on your earbuds what’s playing on the screen that you selected,” Estes said.
The audio system lives on the cruise line’s server and works with LG’s partner systems and does not require a separate app to use.
LG has also demonstrated its Marine Grade DVLED outdoor display.
“We have a version that is marine grade that can survive pretty much any condition,” Estes said. “The screen itself is IP67 marine grade and can stand most outdoor conditions.”
The displays are designed for outdoor venues such as pool decks for passengers to watch movies under the stars or popular live sporting events.
