New Zenith TV tailored for health care facilities

Health Industry Today, March, 1992

Zenith Electronics Corporation, Glenview, Ill., is marketing a new television designed especially for hospitals, long-term care facilities and nursing homes.

The "New Horizons" 20-inch model H25051W television is the first one offered to the health care industry that includes built-in closed caption capabilities, according to Greg Williams, manager of new technologies.

Zenith's product is designed to help institutions comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which mandates access to closed caption television in all health care facilities.

The set was unveiled in November at the International Hotel/Motel Association meeting. Zenith is selling the television through 55 distributors who are targeting nurses, materials managers and other decision makers, according to Williams. Some direct mail will be used. Zenith also has about 12 national accounts, he said. The television will be featured at six trade shows this year.

In compliance with Underwriters Laboratories' specifications, the television has a 10-foot, three-wire grounded AC cord with a transparent, three-prong hospital-grade AC plug. A patient-ready control system offers separate, cordless remote-control operations for two televisions in the same room without decoding accessories. The system also allows users to lock channels and program volume and station preferences to come up when the set is activated.

In the health care market, Zenith competes with RCA and Magnavox, whose products are sold under the Granada label. Zenith would not comment on the number of sets it plans to sell but hopes for a good share of the $25 million market. The set lists for $325.