Author: LG

Hotel guest room TVs are typically retired every five or six years. But what do you do with your old TVs?

The solution is simple. Your LG account manager can coordinate liquidation services through our certified hospitality partners that specialize in installing new and liquidating old televisions. These nationwide companies will uninstall the TVs, remove them from the property, recycle them properly and install the new TVs. They can also install a Pro:Centric^® management server if needed.

LG recently did this for the Hilton Newark Airport hotel in New Jersey. It was the pilot for Hilton’s nationwide corporate recycling program to responsibly dispose of older hotel TVs while upgrading to innovative new energy-efficient models to heighten the in-room guest experience and reduce energy costs. The Hilton Newark Airport had nearly 400 guest room TVs they wanted to replace. Hilton needed to find partners that would help facilitate the recycling of the existing sets and retrofit new sets, all during hotel occupancy. So they turned to LG, the industry leader in hospitality TVs.

Hilton and LG worked with Global Sustainability Solutions  (GSS) from Manassas, VA, on the project. GSS is a woman-owned business that specializes in sustainable and recycling solutions for the hospitality market segment by diverting end-of-life product from landfills.

The Hilton Newark Airport replaced their older 32-inch sets with new 43-inch ENERGY STAR^® certified LG flat screen TVs that deliver a more engaging guest experience. GSS also oversaw the installation of 49-inch LG hospitality TVs in the Hilton’s suites. The project was completed in just four days’ time – two days earlier than anticipated, minimizing impact on guests. Due to the pilot’s success, LG and Hilton are extending the program into 2018 with plans to replace old sets with LG 4K Ultra HD hospitality TVs, while continuing their shared commitment to responsible electronics recycling.

LG Commercial Displays prides itself on meeting and exceeding government standards with high-quality, energy-efficient products that are EPEAT registered and ENERGY STAR qualified. Choosing LG’s ENERGY STAR qualified products can cut your business’s utility bills while reducing its environmental footprint.

Read what Commercial INTEGRATOR wrote about the project here.

Download our full Case Study here.

At least once a week we post on this page—often times more. Topics range from LG Commercial Display insights and happenings to various perspectives on the digital signage industry and its applications. We are always looking for valuable new perspectives to share with our readers.

How would you like to be part of it by writing a blog for us? It could be very rewarding for your business. Here’s why:

Exposure. Content that you develop will expose your business to a wider array of industry categories and help drive new and incremental traffic to your own website. And the exposure for your business will further increase as we drive more viewers to our blog.

Credibility. The best business blogs answer common questions their leads and customers have. Our blog gives you an opportunity to deliver your expertise, mission and vision of the digital display business going forward. You’ll be offering your company’s perspective to our audience.

SEO. Your post will join a rapidly-growing social experience with more re-tweets and shared engagements. It can help improve your own SEO and drive more long-term results. In the following days, weeks and months you could continue to receive traffic from that one blog post. The effort you put in today can turn into thousands and thousands of views and leads in the future.

Connections. Through our blog, we will work to connect more unique viewers to your content on your own properties and help your own organic search as well. As search algorithms become more advanced, the more interconnectedness you have the better. Our blog adds more back link capabilities to help improve your company’s traffic.

Sound good? And all you have to do is submit your blog post for consideration via email to Laura.Cohen@lge.com

Questions? Use the same email. We’re here to help and we hope to hear from you soon.

If you are using LG commercial display solutions in your business, we have an exciting opportunity that could give you more industry recognition.

Let us create a case study around your business. There’s absolutely no cost to you; just plenty of benefits:

• You’ll be seen as an innovator for adopting some of the latest display technologies on the market today.

• You’ll gain exposure in targeted industry publications.

• We’ll utilize our social media channels to push your case study out for increased exposure.

• You’ll be promoted in our vast database of influencers and decision-makers.

• We’ll feature your case study in our Chicago Business Innovation Center and Business Solutions Blog.

This could be a big win for your business, and we’d love to make it happen. To be considered for a case study, all you need to do is send us the details.

For inquiries and to submit your case study details, please email Laura.Cohen@lge.com

In the meantime, have a look at a couple of our video case studies:

The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, NC, wanted to enhance their Belk Theater lobby to give guests a seamless experience before and during theater performances. The goal was to use digital signage displays to promote coming attractions and offerings, and enable guests to keep enjoying the show even if they had to step out of the theater before intermission.

Watch how we turned that show around for everyone.

The Marriott in Charlotte, NC, wanted to reinvent their fitness center to upgrade its appearance, improve the overall experience and accommodate their guests’ individual needs and schedules. The equipment was dated, the studio was uninspiring, and guests were even bringing their own mobile devices to the fitness center to stream content for workouts.

See what happened when we partnered with Fitness on Demand for some Marriott muscle.

The Internet of Things, (IoT), has already created the “smart home,” where things that are programmable and have connectivity, such as technology, lights and appliances, connect via the cloud to the homeowner’s smart phone or mobile device and are controlled from virtually anywhere. That brings real advantages—like turning on your home’s A/C as you leave work. Preheating the oven while at the supermarket. Turning off your coffee machine from a taxicab.

But how does the IoT apply to digital signage, and what are some of the advantages it can bring to a business?

Businesses can connect their displays to devices that are online, and even offline via Bluetooth. Businesses and customers can send information to the displays, and the displays can send information back. The IoT enables greater connectivity between numerous systems.

Retail businesses, for example, use beacons and NFC to communicate with customers’ app-enabled smartphones. The display detects a customer’s smartphone and shows targeted messaging as she approaches.

IoT sensors are placed on merchandise, enabling sales-floor inventory to be tracked in real time – a display in the back end instantly informs workers what needs to be replaced. A customer picks up an item for a closer look – information about that item is immediately displayed on a nearby screen; a touch-enabled screen allows for a deeper dive. And even without the store’s app on the phone, the info is displayed when the customer scans an NFC tag or QR code.

With the help of an IoT weather sensor outside the store, when it rains the store automatically displays ads for umbrellas. If it’s cold, they advertise hot cocoa. If it’s hot…frozen treats.

The IoT also adds a valuable component to the mix – meaningful analytics. Data is accumulated from various devices, merged into one form, and transformed into actionable intelligence to help improve business operations. Consider omni-channel, which offers great potential to the IoT. Analytics can show, for example, where customers congregate in the store, what they are interested in, what actions they are taking and which products are moving off the shelves the fastest, or the slowest.

This is a small fraction of what the IoT already means to the digital signage industry, and we’re just talking about retail. You name the industry and chances are the IoT is firmly established and growing in the day-to-day operations. And it’s only going to get bigger.

It’s Thanksgiving week, and tomorrow we hope you’ll be enjoying a big meal and plenty of fun time with family and friends. Maybe you’ll have Friday off too for a win-win.

Television plays a major role on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, people will be spending much more time in front of the TV than at the dinner table. From sports to specials, there’s something for everyone and there will be plenty of binge-watching. To be sure, there’s nothing better than overdosing on tryptophan and television. And there’s nothing better than watching your favorite show…on LG OLED.

Are we biased? You bet. Although this is the commercial display blog, we’re very familiar with LG OLED consumer TVs. And don’t forget that our product line

includes commercial-grade LG OLED hospitality TVs. Granted, watching the game or parade on a 98-inch LG LCD commercial display can be a blast indeed.

On another note, before the big meal begins it is traditional for everyone to say a few words about what they are most thankful for. For us, there have been many successes this year. But one thing always gets us stoked, and that is hearing how our solutions have helped a business transform its environment, elevate its brand image, and create a better experience for its customers, guests, visitors, patients, students, passengers, employees; as well as the IT pros and systems integrators that bring it all together.

And if you took the time to read this blog, we like that too.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Last month we told you about the benefits of a digital signage wayfinding system in large medical centers. But that’s only half of the story. Commercial displays can enhance every corner of a medical facility. And since digital signage offers the ability to easily add, update and delete content in real time, and target content for specific areas, it can ensure that staff, volunteers, patients and visitors get up-to-date and relevant information all throughout the facility.

In nurses’ stations, break rooms and other key staff locations, digital monitors and displays can keep the staff informed with workflow information, notices of upcoming events or lectures/training, safety alerts, and patients’ whereabouts through pre-surgery, surgery, and post-surgery recovery. Additionally, team-building content such as new staff introductions, profiles, successes, recognition/accolades, and congratulations for weddings, births, etc., can increase workplace pride and morale, and reinforce healthcare values.

In meeting rooms and conference rooms, large format displays can elevate the quality of virtually any presentation and improve staff training; while small displays outside the rooms can present the schedule for the day.

In the cafeteria and coffee shop, digital menu boards enable menu content flexibility throughout the day and can cross-sell and up-sell items while including nutritional information according to FDA requirements.

Throughout the common areas, in addition to touch-screen wayfinding displays which can save staff members from a deluge of visitor interruptions and questions, visitors and patients can benefit from information about the hospital and its services, a physician and department directory, health and wellness content, fund-raising news and donor recognition, and emergency alerts.

In patient rooms, besides offering entertaining shows, movies, games and the web, healthcare-grade patient-room TVs can be configured to deliver medical and health educational content for patients and their families.

In lobbies and waiting areas, digital signage (including video walls) is ideal for presenting dynamic branding images and messages to inspire confidence and comfort, and create an ambiance to distinguish the facility and help ensure the flow of patients, referrals, donations, staff and volunteers.

To get the most from your investment, work with a digital signage content provider that offers technology best practices for healthcare facilities including subscription-based feeds for medical networks, news/weather reports and lifestyle messaging. Also scheduling software that can integrate with your IT and patient appointment and procedure scheduling systems, and digital place-based networks for revenue-generating advertising. You’ll have the high-quality content you need, for the right reasons, at the right times and in all the right spots.

October 30 – November 3 was New York Digital Signage Week, bringing together industry leaders, media owners and planners, creative agencies, retailers, architects and investors, all looking to experience the latest and greatest digital signage has to offer.

We were there on Thursday, November 2, at 404 Studios for our final roadshow of 2017. Doors opened at 7AM for an energizing event including a delicious breakfast and lunch, plus a comprehensive keynote on 4K by Gary Kayye, founder of rAVe [Publications]. At 4PM we transformed the show into a relaxing four-hour cocktail reception with music provided by NY hotspot DJ Carol C, along with plenty of passed hors d’oeuvres and ultra-fresh oysters—shucked and served on the spot. It was a huge turnout.

LG OLED displays dropped lots of jaws. Highlights included:

• LG OLED Wallpaper Hospitality TV incorporating Dolby Atmos^® sound
• LG OLED Wallpaper Display
• LG OLED Wallpaper In-Glass
• LG OLED Video Wall

A vertical pillar configuration of four 86-inch Ultra Stretch Displays stopped attendees in their tracks and showed them the menus and agenda for the day.

New IT products drew loads of attention:

• 43-inch and 32-inch 4K UHD Monitors
• 38-inch Curved 4K HDR UltraWide™ Monitors
• Desktop PCoIP Processor
• 27-inch UltraFine™ 5K Monitor for Mac
• Cisco Room Kits integrated with 4K displays

LG Technology Partners also showcased their offerings, ranging from digital media players to digital signage software to AV mounts, touch screens and protective overlays. Their links are below.

If you were there, have a look at our photo album. If you weren’t there, have a look at all you missed. We had an amazing time.

A big SHOUT OUT and thank you to Gary Kayye, our technology partners and all our guests for making the 2017 roadshows a major success. See you next year.

NYC Roadshow Pics

 

Technology Partners

APPSPACE

BrightSign

CHIEF

LG Hausys

Omnivex

Pads4

Peerless-AV

pingHD

SKYKIT

TSItouch

 

Exercise is more important for seniors than at any other age range, and health recommendations indicate that seniors can benefit from as little as 15 minutes per day of moderately heart-pumping exercise. About 30 minutes is an official target, in addition to at least two sessions per week of muscle-strengthening activity.

LG is partnered with Fitness on Demand™ (FOD™), a leading delivery platform of virtual fitness classes, to help make this easy for senior living facilities. Since 2010, Fitness on Demand’s services have allowed facilities around the world to economically deliver premium fitness programs to their users. With programming and services designed to optimize space, streamline operations, and offer unparalleled variety, Fitness on Demand is the perfect addition to senior living facilities.

Fitness on Demand easily integrates with new or existing A/V equipment to accommodate small or large group classes. The virtual workout instruction programs can be shown on an LG hospitality/healthcare TV, large format commercial display or video wall, depending on the size of the fitness center.

Fitness on Demand provides hundreds of premium fitness classes. Your senior living facility’s fitness director can select programs that are challenging enough for active older adults while offering levels that are safe enough for those less active.

The LG/Fitness on Demand solution includes an appropriately-sized LG commercial display, audio system (if required), a FOD membership, touch screen tablet, flush in-wall tablet mount, media streaming hub, and access to an administrative web app. The solution also offers a personalized mobile app for facility residents.

LG offers all the commercial display technologies today’s senior living facilities need, along with expert installation, integration, technology partners and Five-Star Service. The LG/Fitness on Demand solution enables senior living facilities to offer fitness classes 24/7, to better accommodate a diverse community of seniors and enable them to work out and enjoy life on their own schedule.

As senior living options continue to grow and evolve, we’re seeing an increase of commercial display technologies in today’s independent senior living communities, assisted living facilities and CCRCs (continuum of care retirement communities). One of the main reasons is that the new generation of seniors is more tech savvy, and better prepared to reap the many benefits large format displays and UL Grade healthcare TVs offer.

At the foundation of a display technology deployment is the goal to ensure that social isolation among the residents doesn’t occur. When used throughout a facility, digital signage can engage residents, motivate them to participate in activities, inform them of important events and make them laugh. And on their TVs, the latest communication technologies can keep their family and friends in the loop by enabling face-to-face conversations in real time, regardless of how geography separates all involved.

Let’s take a look at some of ways to best use commercial displays in senior living environments.

Deliver News and Community Information
Is there a free flu shot clinic this week? Or an upcoming birthday party? An approaching storm or a big community festival? And what’s on the menu in the cafeteria? Pushing content to your network of displays is quick and easy with software like LG’s webOS for signage or Pro:Centric Direct for TVs. You can even target specific areas or groups in the community with special messaging and updates.

Post Photos and Videos of Community Events
Residents enjoy seeing themselves and their companions on a large TV or display screen. Does your community have a special event coming up? Capture the memorable moments digitally, being sure to grab enough images so that everyone gets to be in the limelight. Then post it all to your content server and let the show begin.

Take Your Fitness Center to a Virtual New Level
With an LG video wall powered by Fitness on Demand™ in your fitness center, you can deliver premium fitness programs to your residents, 24/7. You’ll have an unparalleled variety of virtual instructor-led classes, so residents can be inspired and invigorated in both mind and body, time after time.

Show Your Humorous Side
People enjoy funny videos, quotes, comics and amusing facts. Make it a habit to use your digital signage to give residents more reasons to smile, laugh and be entertained throughout the day.

Keep It Interesting with RSS Feeds
This is an easy way to keep everyone in the know. Link numerous RSS feeds to your display network to produce highlights from the latest sports, local and international news, health information, weather and more.

Promote Your Community
Use the TVs and digital signage as marketing tools – welcoming visitors and prospects with your custom branding elements, images and descriptions of amenities to show them why your community is THE place to be.

With networked digital signage and UL Grade healthcare TVs in your senior living facility, residents can enjoy the numerous benefits of modern technology like never before. It can bring them closer to their community, keep them engaged and aware, and avoid isolation. These guidelines can help ensure a healthier, happier and more social atmosphere for residents and staff alike.

This week’s post is a departure from the norm. To illustrate the benefits digital wayfinding systems can bring to healthcare facility patients, we are featuring a personal story from one of our LG team members.

If there’s any environment that has a lot to gain from a digital wayfinding solution, it’s a healthcare facility.

I remember the time I had to have a few tests done at a large medical center. I hadn’t been there before, and I underestimated the amount of traffic I’d have to crawl through on the way there. I was already anxious about the tests, and rushing from the parking lot to the main entrance didn’t help matters.

Inside was a large lobby where I looked around for a directory, or someone I could ask for directions. People were coming and going but I didn’t notice any signs or receptionist on duty. I stopped a nurse and she sent me informed and on my way, but wishing I had a better memory.

I had a bit of walking to do, and unfamiliar corridors to navigate. I mixed up a right for a left at one point, and wound up having to ask someone again. This time it was a doctor, who told me that sometimes even she gets lost. I had to backtrack to change direction, and eventually got to where I needed to be, albeit anxious, frustrated and late for my appointment.

So how could digital wayfinding signage have turned this experience around in my favor?

Easily. If the facility had an interactive directory kiosk in the lobby, and digital screens with detailed maps along my route, I would have felt informed and in control, saved time and eliminated the stress of being lost and late. Some certainty would have been very welcome, as would an easy navigation to the cafeteria when my appointment was finished.

In addition to providing directories and clear, concise directions, a system of wayfinding displays can be used to provide awareness of nearby amenities such as hotels, public transit, parking, etc., deliver emergency and severe weather alerts, evacuation procedures, and even summon a doctor to a particular area or room ASAP. All while giving patients and visitors an enhanced sense of well-being, safety and security.

Interactive wayfinding is being used in single buildings, campuses and healthcare systems that include multiple locations. The wayfinding solution can also be combined with a downloadable smartphone app, and beacons can be used to send turn-by-turn walking directions to people’s phones.

Doctors’ and dentists’ offices, clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities and other healthcare providers are discovering that using digital signage to communicate with patients, visitors and staff has many advantages. We’ll be addressing a number of applications and benefits in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.