Al Ghandi Electronics, in collaboration with Acentic AG and Philips, has provided a customised solution to meet the particular entertainment requirements of Madinat Jumeirah.

The company has installed next-generation large-screen plasma television sets that are fitted with an interactive television system at the resort, says AS Rao, general manager of Al Ghandi Electronics.
Philips, a leading supplier of television display solutions to the hotel industry, has provided 1,070 Philips 28HT5404 and 30 LCD and plasma TV sets for the luxurious beachfront Mina A’ Salam hotel.
“This agreement is the latest for Philips, which has installed thousands of its high-performance Institutional TVs (iTVs), valued at several million dollars, in hotels at Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Egypt,” says Khalid Tuer, regional general manager, consumer electronics, Philips Middle East.
“The size, design and profile of the three hotels - Mina Al Salam, Al Qasr and Dar Al Masyaf Villas were the main considerations of the project.”
“The increasing sophistication of the regional hotel market for both tourism and business travel means hotels are looking for highly functional equipment to deliver the level of service increasingly demanded by guests. The Philips iTV range offers the technology necessary to deliver a wide variety of tailor-made institutional television solutions,” says Tuer.
Philips iTV portfolio ranges from traditional picture tube (CRT) sets to the Philips 42-inch plasma screen TVs with brilliant colour and superb contrast and LCD displays combining excellent picture quality, sound performance, functionality and design. All iTV products are designed to provide the hospitality industry with specially manufactured, reliable, durable and user-friendly units, he adds.
Acentic – a leading pan-European developer, producer and operator of premium interactive TV solutions – worked closely with the Madinat Jumeirah marketing team and a local creative agency to meet the specific, initial theme and storyboard of the resort‘s brand presentation.
This allows the TV set to be used as a powerful media in order to act as a communication gateway between the hotel and the guest, says Alistair Forbes, CEO Acentic group.
 By installing the Acentic premium interactive TV system, Madinat Jumeirah has elected to keep all services at the highest level, he says. The system offers access to the latest in-room entertainment, information, Internet and hotel services with utmost comfort and convenience.
A unique graphic user interface especially created for the Madinat Jumeirah resort, features high-quality web server technology, using the Microsoft platform and IE (Internet Explorer) technology. All services offered are user-friendly for high customer satisfaction and the navigation with the remote control or infrared keyboard is direct and convenient, Forbes explains.
The ‘content manager’ facility provides hotels the opportunity to update content, text and pictures at any time. This includes information on the rich variety of facilities, daily operational information updates such as changes in restaurant or bar timings, any promotional offers such as ‘happy hours’ or ‘complimentary drinks’, explains Thomas Reupke, managing director of Acentic Middle East.
“We are well positioned in the market with our ability to offer the hospitality industry with premium tailor-made interactive TV systems, customised solutions and advanced technologies. The Madinat Jumeirah project again proves Acentic, in close co-operation with its partner Al Ghandi Electronics and Philips, is a warranty for customer satisfaction and reliability,” Reupke says.
“We are committed to the highest standards, services and premium technologies. The best way to underline this experience is the Madinat Jumeirah,” adds Forbes.
Servicing the sets is simple, whether it is the automatic reporting of low battery power in the remote control or 12-second channel programming. A wide array of customised remote control units (smart loaders) allow for easy and quick copying of channel parameters and blocking channels.
Multi-standard television reception, stereo sound and an energy-saving feature that effectively eliminates power usage when on standby mode are the additional features. All the iTV sets are designed with a ‘SmartCard’ open platform interface, located on the rear panel to facilitate seamless connection to interactive systems such as video streaming, games, e-mail services and Internet access.
“We are closely following the record-breaking developments in Dubai’s hospitality industry and are well positioned with all-round specialists to assist hotels, whether they are looking for in-room solutions, large screen displays for meeting rooms or elevator and reception announcement panels. Philips’ portfolio is just right for all their needs,” says Rao.