TileVision Waterproof LCD TV – The History of TileVision the bathroom television

The TileVision LCD TV first went on sale in 2001 with the first two models, the TileVision TV104FR, a waterproof TV with a 10.4" LCD screen, and the TileVision TV15FR a waterproof TV with a 15" LCD screen. Both the waterproof TV sets had black glass with control buttons for channel change and volume control. As with all TileVision waterproof TV sets they were designed for use in high humidity areas such as bathrooms, shower rooms and wetrooms and, like all the waterproof TV sets that have followed, they were housed in stainless steel back boxes which are recessed into the wall where the TileVision is mounted.
The first custom remote control was credit card sized and splash-proof but, unlike the waterproof infrared remote controls supplied with more recent TileVision TV sets, it was not fully waterproof.

In July 2003 the world's first 17" waterproof LCD TV was launched. Unlike its predecessors, TV17FR waterproof television had a silver finish to the 6mm thick toughened glass screen and there were no control buttons on the front of the TileVision. The remote control for the TileVision TV17FR was a silver finished full-function one with a membrane front face with moulded buttons and a sealed battery compartment. The remote control (part number TVS/00125/04) may not have been fully waterproof, but it was certainly water resistant.
June 2004 saw the launch of the TV17FR2P the first 17" TileVision waterproof TV to include a completely waterproof remote control which floated. A standard full-function remote control was also supplied as it was needed in order to tune the channel set-up the functions of the TileVision.

In August 2004 the TV17FR2P was joined by the TV104FR2P, the last of the 10.4" waterproof TV sets. Both waterproof LCD TV sets were based on the same control electronics and therefore, both TileVision sets used the same TVS/00142/04 remote control. Even though the remote control was waterproof, the battery a CR2032 3V lithium button cell was user replaceable.
October 2005 saw the launch of the TV17FR3PS, the third version of the Tilevision TV17 17" waterproof LCD television. The TV17FR3PS included the TVS/00208/04 waterproof remote control, again a floating remote control with a user replaceable CR2032 3V lithium button cell.
Sharing the same remote control as the TV17FR3PS, The TileVision TV23FRP 23" waterproof TV was launched in November 2005. The TV23 TileVision shared all the design features of the TV17 bathroom television.

In July 2006 the TV23FR2PS 23" waterproof television was introduced. The TV 23 TileVision was the first waterproof LCD TV to be made available with a black or a mirrored toughened glass screen. The TileVision TV17 17" waterproof LCD TV set was also made available in the black and mirrored finishes. Like the TV23FRP, the previous model of 23" waterproof TV, the TV23FR2PS TileVision also used the TVS/00210/04 waterproof remote control.

In November 2006 the TileVision model TV17FR4PS was launched as a replacement for the TV17FR3PS 17" waterproof LCD TV. The TV17FR4PS took advantage of improvements in LCD screen technology and had a higher resolution screen with faster response time and improved brightness and contrast – it also had a much wider viewing angle of almost 180 degrees. The TV17FR4PS again used a floating, waterproof remote control – part number TVS/00300/04.

The biggest advance in waterproof television came in October 2007 with the introduction of the TV17FR5PS, the world's first waterproof TV with a digital (DVB-T) tuner with MHEG-5 digital text decoding. This model of TV17 LCD TV was fully compatible with UK digital TV standards and was able to receive all free to view (Freeview) digital TV and Radio.
October 2007 also saw the introduction of the TV23FR3PS, a 23" digital LCD TV which was based on the same tuner board as the TV17FR5PS 17" waterproof TV.
Both these TileVision models use the TVS/00310/04 waterproof remote control, which, like earlier models of waterproof remote control, both floats and is powered by the CR2032 3V lithium button cell.

May 2009 saw a further step forward in waterproof television technology with the introduction of the TV19FR1PS, the first ever 19" digital waterproof LCD TV. The TV/19/FR1/PS is remarkable in several ways, firstly, even though the LCD screen is 19", the unit fits into the same size of back box as previous 17" TileVision models. The second points of note is the improvement in picture quality and the speed of the digital text functions in comparison with earlier models. The third point of note is the new TVS/00370/04 remote control which is the first TileVision waterproof remote control to cover all the functions of the standard remote control – with the exception of a couple of Teletext functions which will be redundant in 2010 when the UK’s analogue TV system is switched off.

Product development for TileVision is ongoing, with new products being developed to take advantage of advances in both digital technology and manufacturing processes.

A waterproof TV should have a waterproof remote control. There is little point in using a standard TV remote which is damaged the first time it is splashed or falls in the bath.