YES! Your Arm TV Questions, Answered

As part of our 40th Anniversary celebration, we’re publishing a special series of blogs throughout 2020. Each month you’ll see insights from a different member of the PDi team. Our goal is to bring you more fully into the PDi family. Our eighth blog in this series comes to you from Bill Fisher, Electronic Service Technician.

Last  Updated December 10, 2024, by Cat Saettel

Since 1980, PDi has built personal TV arm systems for patients. We are the only US manufacturer who offers one-stop-shop for the complete patient TV system. That includes the TV display, arm, mount, low-voltage power supply, and even TV signal options like IPTV, DISH, or DirecTV.

We have answered many questions over the years, and designed solutions to solve many problems for healthcare designers, equipment planners and facility managers. Our PDi ProServices and PDi sales teams are happy to answer your questions too. We’ve been at this since 1980, so for over 40 years. 

Here are our top 5 most recent questions on PDi arm-mounted TV systems: 

Are PDi Arm TVs Built for INFECTION CONTROL & Patient Safety?

YES. This is a PDi core competency, as we design and build only healthcare-grade TVs, not consumer TVs. 

Patient safety is a top priority. Our arm-mounted, patient TV systems are designed to be bleach-cleanable to prevent the spread of infection. We build in antimicrobial coatings, design to be liquid resistant and exceed UL-Listed safety standards. You can trust that PDi TVs stand up to very rigorous cleaning in dialysis clinics, infusion centers, hospitals and other healthcare environments. Watch this video on the proper way to clean PDi TVs: 

We also are the only OPM approved arm-mounted TV system for healthcare. Learn more about the selection of HCAi/OSHPD-approved devices and systems for safe use in California and other earthquake prone areas.

Can you LIMIT VOLUME or turn off speakers?

YES! We understand that noise is a common complaint on patient satisfaction surveys. The medTV and medTAB arm sets by PDi can improve the patient experience with volume limiters and headphone jacks. Advanced sound options on PDi TVs allow you to choose the min/max volume levels and enable/disable speakers by input source. Disabling the speakers is a common option in dialysis clinics, infusion areas or multi-occupancy rooms where patients use headphones for private listening. You can also set the “Power On Volume” to “Last Volume” or a preset sound level. 

Will my old POWER SUPPLY work with a new PDi arm TV?

YES! We are proud to design PDi TVs to leverage existing investments in PDi equipment.  This means you can often reuse existing PDi arms, mounts, and power supplies when upgrading your patient displays.

All PDi arm sets run on AC or DC low-voltage power. In 2018, we designed an individual switching power supply (120VAC In / 24 VDC out at 2.5 amps) that offers greater efficiency and lower standby power, saving energy. The PDI-871 Slim Power Mount has no fuses or breakers to reset. It easily retrofits to your current PDI-179C hole spacing, and offers no wall penetration so it mounts to concrete or cinder block walls too. It also costs less to ship with its smaller, thinner design.

Traditionally, low-voltage PDi TVs get their power and RF signal over coax. We are proud to be the first to make a POE, Powered over Ethernet, future-proof patient television.  The medTV16 will help meet the needs for those facilities having a desire for either an IPTV or coax broadcasting signal.

If you use the central, 10-tap power supply by PDi, remember these important requirements for the coax cable:

• Coax must be solid copper core, solid copper braid. Recommended RG-6 coaxial cable numbers to use include Alpha9804C, Belden 9248, West Penn 806, or West Penn 25806 (plenum).
• Max. home run distance for coax from central power supply is 150 ft.

Check out PDi low-voltage power supplies here.

Does CLONING Save Time and Labor?

YES! Cloning allows you to quickly and easily copy settings and channels from one PDi TV to other PDi TVs. Since our P-Series TVs back in 2008, we have offered this feature to make your work easier and save time! Cloning can also be used to reprogram already programmed TVs. Clone operation involves first downloading setup information from a programmed host TV to a USB memory stick (thumb drive) and then uploading the setup information to another TV. 

For many newer model PDi TVs, clone files can be loaded to the PDi RF-HEMiS Head-end TV Server and quickly distributed to all TVs. This cost-effective solution automatically sends data over coax, and there is no limit to the number of clone files you can manage at a time. You may also remotely push updates to TV firmware or customize the TV splash screen image without disrupting patients.

The best solution for remote management of PDi hospital TVs is our GENiO cloud-based software. If your cable provider is changing from an analog signal to digital, GENiO can push digital RF lineup "majors and minors"  to all TVs.  If you use IPTV, GENiO can easily toggle between cable and IPTV sources for your patients!