LG Launches First Touchscreen TV Designed for Fitness Equipment

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LG Business Solutions USA is entering the fitness equipment business with the introduction of a new 15-inch touchscreen display designed for a variety of exercise equipment to meet the needs of modern consumers.

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Featuring LG’s leading Pro:Idiom and Pro:Centric technologies, the displays can be customized with branded content and unique user interfaces, making them ideal for gyms, hotels, multi-unit living facilities, schools, corporate fitness centers and rec centers that want to solidify their messaging and maximize the user experience.

According to Tracey Estes, LG’s fitness senior account manager, the company’s first manufacturing fitness partner, Octane Fitness, LLC, is now offering LG’s 15LU766A display as an add-on to select models of Octane Fitness commercial cardiovascular machines and has just delivered its first LG-equipped products to clients.

“Octane Fitness and LG worked closely together to develop a customized user experience and interface that provides simple, reliable access to TV programming and offers clients the opportunity to tie the displays into an existing network,” Estes said. “That makes it a fantastic solution for all types of fitness providers.”

The collaboration identified and resolved key pain points. In addition to improving the quality and reliability of its digital displays, Octane Fitness wanted to develop a more user-friendly interface that eliminates the need for any external controls or buttons. The company leaned on LG Business Solutions USA, and specifically Gianni Restaino, vice president of engineering, to build a graphical interface that eliminates the need for channel up and down buttons, allowing users to quickly and easily navigate TV programming.

“We chose to work with LG because their displays have class-leading picture quality and include IP (Internet protocol), digital and analog tuners to fit a variety of customer needs,” said Nick Schuster, senior program manager at Octane Fitness, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nautilus, Inc. “And they provide content protection through Pro:Idiom DRM (digital rights management) software that simplifies setup and operation by separating the TV functions from the fitness machines functions. The custom interface Gianni delivered, using LG’s Pro:Centric backbone, is exactly the type of modern improvement our clients and their customers demand.”

Other digital display solutions may require connection with existing buttons on fitness machines, which can complicate installation for on-site techs and cause frustration for exercisers accustomed to modern touchscreen interfaces. Octane Fitness prioritized ease-of-use and overall user satisfaction, and LG’s add-on touchscreen provides a vastly superior experience to machines with single displays that require users to alternate between fitness metrics and TV content while exercising, Schuster explained.

“Partnering with LG also provides peace of mind to our customers, because our machines with add-on displays are still operational even if the display has an issue,” he added. “We also recognize that LG is a leader in TV tuner technology including over-the-air reception, which is a crucial feature for fitness clubs that don’t use cable TV services. We’ve listened to our customers and, in partnership with LG, developed a better solution that delivers improved performance, usability and reliability.”

The LG 15LU766A is a 15-inch touchscreen that offers high brightness, excellent viewing from virtually any angle and robust protection from liquids and dust making it ideal for fitness environments. LG plans to expand its add-on fitness display line with a 22-inch model later this year.

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