Music Player Holds 90 Hours Of Tunes In A Single Unit
Flight Display Systems introduced a new MP3 player for in-flight
entertainment systems on Tuesday. The 6-Genre Music Player provides
up to 90 hours of music in one compact unit. Six independent memory
cards each hold up to 15 hours of music. Each card can be
programmed by the user for six different genres of music
simultaneously broadcast throughout the cabin.
"Our goal was to make it as easy as
possible for someone to have additional channels of audio
entertainment," said David Gray, President of Flight Display
Systems. "Many operators are still flying with multiple Compact
Disc players. This was designed to be a straightforward
replacement."
The device weighs just 10.6 oz and features ultimate simplicity.
There are no buttons or switches to play, pause, or control the
music. When power is applied, the music immediately begins playing
the files in a continuous loop of crisp stereo sound. It is
expected to cost about $3,000, which includes six 1 gig memory
cards.
A second new product, a new Cabin Management System called the
Select CMS, was also introduced at NBAA 2009. Passengers can manage
High-Definition video sources, audio, window shades, lighting,
temperature, and many more cabin amenities with an easy touchscreen
interface. Most importantly, the Select CMS is the industry's first
retrofit CMS with a High-Definition video backbone, giving
passengers amazing video quality to enjoy popular Blu-ray movies
during flight. It is currently available with a 60-day lead
time.
"The Flight Display Systems Select CMS offers more control,
easier configuration, and higher quality video at a better price
than any other CMS on the market today," said David Gray, President
of Flight Display Systems. "The result is a quantum increase in
quality for the passengers."
Flight Display Systems worked with a variety of completion and OEM
service centers to define the system requirements for this new CMS.
It can support retrofit projects of all sizes, from smaller
turboprop aircraft and helicopters up to wide body airliners.
This new cabin management system is the first in the industry to
include true High-Definition video interfacing. HD source equipment
such as the Flight Display Systems Blu-ray DVD player or the Flight
Display Systems Jet Jukebox can be displayed throughout the cabin
at up to 1080p resolution.
The Select CMS is composed of several components. Each system
requires an Audio Crosspoint Switch, a Video Crosspoint Switch, and
an Accessory Interface Node. Passengers control the system through
multiple Cabin Control Modules (touchscreen and button displays)
placed throughout the cabin in popular places such as arm rests and
side walls.
Each configuration is highly customized by a dedicated Project
Manager at Flight Display Systems. Pricing is determined after a
detailed mapping of the aircraft and configuration of the
components has been specified by the installation center.