Techtalk

Viewing pleasure, highly defined

With an aim to beat the expectations of guests in terms of not only quality and luxury but also exclusivity, more and more hotel chains are increasing their expenditure on LCDs in an effort to create a lasting visual impact like never before. By Dinkar Farwaha

The development of the hospitality industry has driven hotels across all categories to opt for technologically-advanced products. The advent of LCDs and Plasmas in some way revolutionised the industry, which was riding on the wave of the apparent technology boom. Hotels realised that LCDs offered more than just visual basics that were meant to attract guests to the hotel environment. It understood that these superior quality products have the potential to promote an upscale image for the hotel, while at the same time lending a lateral meaning to the entire decor. Thus, rooms were designed keeping in mind the space dynamics brought in by smart flat basics of television sets.

Further, driven by the demands for better quality televisions in guest rooms, high-speed internet, and improved meeting facilities, a large number of hotels started investing in HDTVs (high definition televisions), projectors, and so on. In fact, the Railway Minister's budget speech entailing his intention to jump onto the LCD wagon in order to impart a futuristic look to the railway stations, could not have been more timely in putting LCDs in the spotlight.

Need specific

However it is not only consciousness towards technology that is driving the LCD or plasma use in hospitality. Go to any mid-market (in some cases, even economic) or upscale restaurant, and one will invariably see a flat screen TV. There is more to it than that. A flat structure offers the convenience of placement anywhere, without any accompanying support.

Further, they take up less space. While in a conventional room, TV cabinets take up a lot of space, today the same conventional space looks far bigger thanks to the flat technology offering. Still, even with flat screen technology, there is confusion as to whether to go in for LCD or plasma.

Though there exist a number of differences between the two, from the interior point of view, both match in specifications to fit the bill - be it as use in a hotel room, restaurant, display kitchen or lobby area.

LCD v/s Plasma

If we review the recent trends in large-screen television models, there has been a certain shift towards LCD technology. LCD has quite overshadowed all its counterparts (including Plasma). The key question that emerges is that despite both LCD and Plasma being flat panel divisions, what is it that gives LCD a sort of comparative advantage over Plasma? Partha Basu, product manager (FPD Commercial-West), LG Electronics, analyses the differences between the two by shedding light on the distinctive advantages of LCD. He says, "While LCD works on liquid crystal technology, Plasma works on gas. Thus, unlike other large-screen television models, LCD does not suffer from burn-in susceptibility. Moreover with LCDs, no phosphors light up; resulting in lesser power consumption for operation." Although LCDs' images fade from slight angles (which is countered perfectly by plasma sets), when it comes to power consumption, LCD is more efficient per square inch.

Further, with respect to LCDs, the light source produces far lesser heat than other categories of televisions. According to Basu, traits like lesser screen glare, cooler running, better functionality at higher altitudes, better visibility in brightly lit rooms, longer display life and weight, among other features all offer LCD screens a comparative advantage over Plasma.

Product offerings

LG Electronics has in the recent past launched LCDs exclusively for the hospitality industry. Its range of products that include LCD HDTV LC5 series (in 32, 37 and 42 inches) and LC5DC series are designed specifically for hotels. "We are already giving smart loaders by which we can save all the programs uniformly, i e all hotel rooms will have the same brightness, color modes,volume and channels uniformity," says Amitabh Tiwari, business group head, Consumer Electronics, LGEIL. The group, according to Tiwari, is planning to launch LCDs, which will only have hotel modes. "Apart from hotel modes, the LCDs will also connect different devices through interactive ports, which will be the USP of these specialised models."

Philips Electronics offers an exclusive range of LCDs for hotels (in 26, 32, 37 and 42 inch models). Samsung Electronics too, offers LCD TVs custom-made for the hotel industry (in 23, 26, 32 and 40 inches). Sharp Electronics recently launched a 32-inch LCD for the lodging industry. Similarly, Sony Electronics too, offers LCDs for the hotel industry in sizes varying from 26 to 50 inches. Apart from these, other electronic majors also offer LCDs designed specially for the hospitality industry.

With the demand for better quality televisions likely to increase even further in the near future and given that hotels are correspondingly expected to increase their expenditure on technology, there is no doubt that the industry will soon witness the arrival of even more technologically-advanced products.