Hotel television systems (sometimes also referred to as hotel TV) are the in-suite television content presented in
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
-rooms, other hotel environments and in the hospitality industry for in-room entertainment, as well as
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...
s, assisted living, senior care and
nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...
s. These services may be free for the guest or paid, depending on the service and the individual hotel's or hotel chain’s policy. Generally these services are controlled by using the remote control.
Services
Hotel television is generally available as free to guest services, which may include local channels and satellite or cable programming, or as interactive television, which provides services such as
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
or any other paid services including movies, music, adult content, and other services. In some cases hotel TV also means a bundle of interactive services that are made available on a guest's TV screen such as a hotel welcome screen with hotel information, hotel services, an information portal with weather, news & local attractions, video games, internet applications, internet television, movie rental services, and order & shopping for the hotel’s amenities. In other cases, some hotels may have information channels consisting of looping videos promoting the local area.
Cable and satellite television systems
Commonly a hotel television system distributing satellite television signal is known as a satellite master antenna TV (SMATV) system. In an L-band distribution system television signal is sent from the satellite dish to a panel in a distribution closet to a set top box in each room which decrypts the digital signal via a coaxial network. In a headend type system, the signal is encrypted by a Qam at the headend to prevent piracy and then distributed via a COM3000 from Technicolor, or similar hotel television headend. In an IPTV system, all video, voice and data are transmitted over an internal hotel IP network.
In cable or satellite TV systems, signal may be distributed via a coaxial network of IP networks either to a set-top box in each room through an L-band type system or directly to Pro:Idiom encrypted television sets through a headend type hotel television system.
Signal distribution
Satellite television, cable television and over-the-air (OTA) signals as well as locally generated programming such as hotel guest welcome screens and other hotel information and services can be distributed via an
L band
The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lower en ...
type system, COM3000 HD/4K Pro:Idiom headend from Technicolor, or an IPTV type distribution system. In most hotels, a television signal provided by a satellite television or cable television provider or OTA antenna is transmitted over a hotel coaxial cable network. Most hotels today are wired only with coaxial cables. Some newer hotels are pre-wired with UTP or CAT-5/6 cabling, which enables IP-based hotel television services. For hotels wired with coaxial cable, technology has emerged recently which enables some to take advantage of IP-based signal transmission over coax cables.
See also
*
Cable television headend
A cable television headend is a master facility for receiving television signals for processing and distribution over a cable television system. A headend facility may be staffed or unstaffed and is typically surrounded by some type of security ...
*
L band
The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lower en ...
References
* Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Associatio
Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association
* European Satellite Operators Associatio
European Satellite Operators Association
{{Hotel
Hotel terminology
Television technology