News

Panasonic adds 2 lines of new hospitality, digital signage displays

June 4, 2012

Panasonic, a provider of professional display and digital signage solutions, today announced two new lines of high-definition hospitality and digital signage LCD displays, the LRU50 Series and the LRU5 Series.

Both new lines of LCD displays feature a faster boot time mode (three seconds versus conventional seven seconds), and are available in 32-, 37- and 42-inch models. The LRU50 Series also includes a new 55-inch LED model, the TH-55LRU50U, Panasonic's first professional LED LCD display.

The LRU family of displays are equipped with essential functions for hospitality installations, luxury boxes and sports bars, the company said. These displays include initial input/channel/volume, maximum volume, button and input lock and a customizable welcome screen. They also include an SD Memory Card slot, which permits system-wide cloning of settings to a large number of units resulting in significant installation cost savings.

The LRU50 and LRU5 Series of displays are equipped with a security-mount pedestal stand that rotates up to 90 degrees in both directions. Additionally, these displays feature an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel with an ultra wide viewing angle of 178 degrees, guaranteeing that viewers enjoy clear images from virtually anywhere in the room.

"With the addition of both the LRU50 and LRU5 Series, we continue our expansion of versatile professional display solutions to fit the needs of large and small hoteliers, restaurants, sports arenas and bars for both in-room televisions and digital signage," said Rick Albertp, vice president, hospitality and professional displays, Panasonic, in the announcement.

LRU50 Series

Available in 32-, 37-, 42- and 55-inch models, the LRU50 Series features a built-in digital tuner supporting MPEG4 and Pro:Idiom decryption and is compatible with most pay-per-view and free-to-guest systems. The displays come standard with integrated LodgeNet b-LAN technology. Large hotels may purchase the optional FMA-PA101 Free-to-Guest Management Appliance (FMA) server, allowing the hoteliers and their system integrators to map and manage Pro:Idiom channels for all displays from a central location. The 55-inch TH-55LRU50U model, Panasonic's first professional LED LCD display, features increased brightness, lighter weight, improved energy efficiency and a thinner size than standard LCD displays, the company said.

LRU5 Series

The LRU5 Series professional LCD display lineup, featuring 32-, 37- and 42-inch models, doubles as an extremely cost-effective digital signage display solution, Panasonic said. Users can simply slide in an SD card loaded with images into the display and play them as a slide show, creating an affordable digital signage solution for applications that do not require robust software or the connection of multiple screens in different locations. The LRU5 Series still allows for pay-per-view and free-to-guest systems, making it ideal for smaller hotels that have no need for a fully networked in-room television solution.

Read more about digital signage in hospitality deployments.