LG Business Solutions is releasing Pro:Centric Catena, a new display management system for businesses that allows for direct audio streaming to customers’ devices and gives integrators and end users more options to remotely manage displays.
According to the company, the new solution operators on LG’s Pro:Centric smart televisions and provides a browser-based user interface to enable controlling of multiple commercial displays by staff using phones or tablets.
The company is marketing this as a way for sports bars, fitness centers, hospitals and retailers to remotely tune content and manage their network of digital displays without having to use multiple remotes or tune individual displays.
Pro:Centric Catena also features a web app that allows patrons to select from the available live TV broadcasting and listen to the audio on their own smartphones. It manages lip synch by separating the audio from the video stream and delivers it to the customer device independently synchronized with the TV broadcast.
According to LG, this feature allows bars and restaurants to play background music while individual customers can choose which game or show they want to listen to. For gyms, hospitals and transit centers where sound is muted, customers can listen along on their own personal devices.
Richard Lewis, vice president of technology for LG Business Solutions USA, said in a statement that more and more integrators and end users are considering remote management solutions as a means to increase productivity and simplify content management across any size display network, all while providing new benefits for customers and guests.
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“Public facing displays are effective tools for messaging and ambiance, and Pro:Centric Catena helps make it easier for business owners to ensure their customers have great experiences without requiring constant staff supervision or assistance,” said Lewis. “Customers gain a personalized experience, business owners and staff get peace of mind that TVs will always be easy to control, and maintenance is simplified by installers’ ability to login remotely and diagnose minor issues. All of this further enhances the value of connected displays.”
The solution includes a server and a TV application that can be accessed through a web-based user interface that provides control of every display either individually or in pre-arranged groups. Displays can be remotely tuned, turned on or off, rebooted and display custom messaging.
It works exclusively with LG’s Pro:Centric Smart IP TVs and set-top boxes, supporting both high definition and 4K UHD.
According to LG, using an IP-based design for new installations reduces equipment costs by replacing long HDMI cable runs and video matrices with simple Cat6 cabling, while also eliminating the need for each display to have its own set-top box or media player for live TV content delivery.
To provide these new functions to the widest market of business owners, including those using other displays, LG’s Pro:Centric Smart set-top-boxes support Pro:Centric Catena, providing a cost-effective path for end-users to upgrade to the Pro:Centric Catena experience.
Catena supports cable and satellite box sources and commercial video-on-demand services via the Pro:Idiom digital rights management system.
