FCC Regulations, Digital Rights Management Drive HDTV Solutions for Lodging Industry

FCC Regulations, Digital Rights Management Drive HDTV Solutions for Lodging Industry

LG Electronics 'Pro:Idiom' System Provides Highly Secure Delivery of HDTV Content to Hotel Guest Rooms as Government Rules Change Landscape

NEW YORK, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotel-room television sets are going digital -- thanks to new technology for secure delivery of HDTV programming and new government directives requiring mid-sized TVs to include digital tuners in less than four months.

At the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show here this week, LG Electronics is helping U.S. hotels and resorts usher in the digital television (DTV) era. LG's lodging-industry DTV technology solutions range from advanced flat-screen high-definition television (HDTV) sets with built-in digital rights management (DRM) to entry-level standard-definition television (SDTV) digital sets designed to meet new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations.

The FCC this month accelerated the timetable requiring DTV tuners in all 25-inch and larger TV sets to March 1, 2006, affecting not only TVs sold to U.S. retailers but also TVs sold to motels, hotels, resorts, restaurants and other commercial installations.

PRO:IDIOM SYSTEM SECURES HDTV CONTENT

The first DRM system developed specifically for the lodging industry is now incorporated into a series of new LG integrated HDTVs -- 42-inch plasma, 32-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) and 30-inch cathode ray rube (CRT) sets for hotel guest rooms.

Called "Pro:Idiom,"(TM) the system is a robust, highly secure technology platform that helps assure rapid, broad deployment of HDTV and other high-value digital content to the hotel industry. The DRM technology was developed by LG Electronics as an industry standard in conjunction with LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation.

Three 32-inch flat-panel LCD HDTVs (models 32LP1DC, 32LX3DC and 32LX3DCS) are built around LG's fifth-generation HDTV reception circuitry and built-in HDTV pay-per-view encryption enabled by the Pro:Idiom system. Features include wide-viewing-angle Super IPS LCD technology and LG's proprietary XD Engine(TM) technology. The next-generation XD Engine circuitry takes the low resolution of analog signals to near high-definition levels, improving brightness, contrast, and detail and enhancing color as well as reducing signal noise.

LG's 42-inch plasma Model DU-42PX12XD is the first plasma HDTV in the lodging industry to include built-in Pro:Idiom HDTV video-on-demand encryption. The high-contrast (5000:1), high-brightness (1,500 cd/m2) plasma panel also features next-generation XD Engine technology. Two EDTV (enhanced-definition television) sets with integrated DTV tuners, models 42PX3DBV and 42PX3DLV, also incorporate Pro:Idiom DRM technology.

All three 42-inch plasma displays feature LG's 60,000-hour "DoubleLife"(TM) panel, extending PDP longevity, and LG's image sticking minimization technologies to reduce the effect of stationary images on plasma screens.

LG Electronics also introduced a 30-inch widescreen flat CRT HDTV model 30FZ1DC, incorporating Pro:Idiom technology, 1920x1080i display format, Camport(TM) side audio jacks and other commercial-grade features.

Providing Pro:Idiom solutions for other displays is LG's LST-5600A ProSelect(TM) interface box. Compatible with LG's complete line of RS-232-equipped plasma and LCD HDTV monitors, the LST-5600A combines a high-performance HDTV tuner, pay-per-view capability and Pro:Idiom digital content protection.

FCC DTV TUNER MANDATE TRANSFORMING HOTEL TVs

According to new FCC regulations, all 25-inch and larger TVs sold to hotels must be digital TVs by March 1, 2006, and LG Electronics is introducing three entry-level DTV solutions at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show. These 32- and 27-inch CRT standard-definition televisions (SDTVs) complement LG's family of premium flat-panel plasma and LCD HDTV sets, all developed specifically for the lodging industry.

Featuring a truly flat 4:3 CRT picture tube, LG model DU-27FB32C features Multiple Protocol Interface(TM) technology for pay-per-view control. This LG model and two others under LG's Zenith brand name -- 32-inch model H32H38DT and 27-inch model H27H38DT -- are all built around LG's fifth-generation DTV reception circuitry.

FCC regulations call for all TVs to include DTV tuners by March 1, 2007. The so-called "FCC DTV Tuner Mandate" is being implemented in several phases. Since July 1, 2005, 100 percent of 36-inch and larger sets, and 50 percent of 25- to 35-inch sets, sold in the United States are required to incorporate DTV demodulators. The rule will apply to all 25- to 35-inch TVs by March 1, 2006, and all TVs, including those under 13-inches diagonal by March 1, 2007.

ABOUT LG ELECTRONICS USA

LG Electronics USA, Inc. (LGEUS), based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc., a $38-billion global force in consumer electronics, information technology and communications products. LGEUS comprises four core business areas: consumer electronics, mobile phones, home appliances and information technology products, all marketed under its "LG: Life's Good" theme. LG Commercial Products serves the lodging, business, industrial, education, healthcare and GSA markets. For more information, please visit http://www.lgcommercial.com/

Source: LG Electronics

CONTACT: John I. Taylor of LG Electronics, +1-847-941-8181,
jtaylor@lge.com , or Brent Tongco for LG Electronics, +1-312-397-6007,
brent.tongco@ogilvypr.com

Web site: http://www.lgcommercial.com/

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