134 Hospitality Upgrade | Spring 2008 www.hospitalityupgrade.com

H o t e l S I n - R o o m t e c H n o l o g y

By Jeremy Rock

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With more guests bringing their own devices and personalized content with them to hotels and resorts, a concerted effort has been made over the last few years to allow guests to take greater advantage of the new flat screens, surround sound and other tech-nologies incorporated in guestrooms. The concept of a connectivity panel allows a guest to plug-in their own devices into the existing in-room technology thereby enhancing their overall in-room experience. The panels also allow for a non-invasive method of connect-ing to these systems without having the guest "man-handle" the TV or surround-sound system trying to plug a cable into a speci-fied port – something that could potentially disrupt the operation of these devices in the room. With an increasing number of guests who travel with personal digital devices such as laptops, iPods or MP3 players, digital cam-eras, camcorders, cell phones, gaming devices and other electronic equipment it makes sense for hotels and resorts to provide a method by which guests can utilize these devices with in-room technologies.

Connectivity panels have come a long way since the early days when the passive devices merely provided a manual and rudi-mentary way to connect to the AV equipment

in the room. In addition to being somewhat cumbersome to operate the original passive panels were also fairly expensive due to the components and AV cabling required to connect the panel to the equipment. Today there is a movement to reduce the number of cables connecting to devices thereby bring-ing down the cost of the devices. The panels are more sophisticated allowing for greater flexibility in their potential applications.

The two types of panels being offered in the market place are active and passive.

Active panels typically are equipped with input-sensing features that detect a signal and automatically select the correct device and input source without the guest having to determine how this is done. This is not only easier to use from the guest’s perspective but it also reduces the potential for the guest to disrupt the hotel settings on the equipment such as remotes so that the entire system becomes non-functional. Marriott in partnership with LG Electronics was the first major company to feature active panels when it introduced the Auto-Sensing Remote Jack Packs (RJPs). Since then other companies have entered the marketplace with generic devices that can connect to a number of other equipment manufacturers

and video-on-demand systems. Examples of proprietary devices include LodgeNet’s Launch Pad and the new DLO engineered RoomDock Premier that is due to hit the market soon. While the argument could be made that you cannot utilize these solutions with any other system, they work very effectively with their respective product offerings.

Two disadvantages of active panels are that they can be cumbersome to deploy because of the different firmware on the vari-ous electronic equipment, and they are more expensive than the passive models.

Passive panels on the other hand work effectively across most brands of equipment but they require manual input switches. While printed collateral can be effective in guiding the guest on the use of the system, it can of-ten lead to frustration when it either does not work or the settings (particularly on the pay-per-view system) inadvertently are changed to the wrong source input. However, passive panels are less expensive than active models and are not affected by firmware concerns.

A quick review of the current offering in the marketplace highlights some of the new features that are being offered by some of the providers. Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO), for example, has collaborated with LodgeNet

Connectivity Panels Allowing Guests to Interact with In-room Technology

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to bring out the RoomDock Premier that features a built-in iPod docking station. DLO had already developed the technology required to connect the 30-pin connector for some of the other in-room devices and as such, have integrated this feature into the RoomDock product line. DLO has also created metadata with a GUI interface which allows the guest to control her iPod via the TV remote with the guest’s songs, movies and videos projected on the TV screen.

Director of Business Development for DLO Mike Woods believes that this will en-courage guests to use the in-room technology even more and afford them the opportunity to listen to their choice of music and videos. Woods said that from a brand standard it would be important to offer similar type products throughout a brand to ensure that guests could have the same experience in all branded hotels. DLO has also developed a RoomDock product offering to work with ge-neric environments outside of the LodgeNet collaboration.

TeleAdapt is another large player in the marketplace offering both active and passive panels that come in a variety of desktop or in-wall solutions. While TeleAdapt is primar-ily focused on targeting its MediaHub panels directly to hotel properties, it has also part-nered with a number of different equipment manufacturers and content providers includ-ing Philips, Sony, Vantage Point – EVO, Lodging Innovations, Guest-Tek, NXTV, KoolConnect, Cox Hospitality Network and Quadriga in or-der to provide solutions to various integration and mounting issues that are typically faced by many hotels, TeleAdapt has also partnered with Premier Mounts to provide an under the TV mounting option for those properties looking for a wall-mounted option, but who do not want to undergo the expense of cutting into the wall to provide a pathway for the required cabling. TeleAdapt USA Vice President Neil Bet-terton said that TeleAdapt is an internationally focused company that is able to support hotel requirements in all regions of the world. Some of its newer product offerings will include a longer panel with two additional electrical outlets that are configurable for all country power socket types and can contain a network outlet as well.

NBG Electronics also has a connectiv-ity panel that can either be wall mounted or placed in a pop-out furniture panel. Like some of its counterparts NBG Electronic’s high-defi-nition connectivity panel offers a multitude of

Hotels have a number of options how they can mount flat screen TVs, (on the wall or armoire), the following represent some of the challenges to be considered when installing connectivity panels:

Hiding cablesHiding the cables requires coordination with the design team. Hidden cables also mean that apart from being aesthetically pleasing the solution is less likely with which to be tampered.

Volume limitationsOne item that hotels should be concerned with is the ability to control the volume of the TVs and surround sound systems. Guests playing music through these in-room devices could present a real concern to those rooms in the nearby vicinity. It is imperative to ensure that these devices are provisioned with volume limitation devices to ensure that other guests are not incon-venienced.

Auto-sensing features The use of auto-sensing features and functionality enhance the ease of use of connectivity panels for the guest. However, it is still recommended that the panels and equipment be installed and tested prior to the overall purchase and deployment of these solutions through the property. It is important to address any integration issues and concerns prior to mass deployment. Do not make your guests suffer as beta testers.

Cost of the various AV cablesThe cost of many of the AV cables is quite expensive. As such there is a push by many providers to streamline cables down to one primary cable. In most cases providers are utilizing a HDMI cable to facilitate HD content. In addition to bringing costs down, it also reduces the amount of infrastructure to be provisioned in the walls.

Distance to the TVHow far is the connectivity panel from the TV or surround sound system? Since many of the cables like HDMI cables have a short limitation the panel cannot reside too far from the equipment. There have been reported issues with HDMI cables that exceed 15 feet and as such some of the new options include repeater extenders that can extend the distance. However, this adds to the overall cost of the deployment.

Surround sound and interaction with TVSurround sound systems add to the com-plexity of making these different systems operate seamlessly at the press of a but-ton. It is recommended that the solutions be tested together prior to purchase and deployment as very often the integration of these technologies can be challenging depending on the make and model being deployed.

Integrating panels into furnitureThe integration of the panels into the furniture can look good but in order to be successful this requires coordination with the manufacturer to provide a clean and effective solution. Start the process early in the project timeline.

In-wall vs. on armoire or deskIn-wall mounting options usually require pathway for the cabling in the form of a conduit or chase. It is important to have this provisioned in the overall room con-struction design when considering these options for new builds or renovations.

Location of the deskThe functionality of the system can ad-versely be affected by the location of the desk. The angle of the desk to the location of the TV needs to be considered when determining the feasibility of the product offering.

H o t e l S I n - R o o m t e c H n o l o g y

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138 Hospitality Upgrade | Spring 2008 www.hospitalityupgrade.com

ways to connect devices and also features both USB and traditional power sources.

LG has also enhanced its product offering with a smaller desktop model of its RJP. The new unit is smaller than its predecessor but like some of its competitors offers new technology that allows the guest to process audio and video separately. Addi-tionally its picture outside of picture (PoP) feature [on certain TV models] can be engaged by simply using the remote to channel up or down once the video source has been selected. The picture from the larger connected device will show up in the larger picture on the left of the screen while the TV image will show up in the smaller picture on the right side of the screen. This feature allows a guest to work off a laptop at the same time that he is watching a basketball game playing on the TV.

While the provisioning of these devices in the rooms can enhance the overall guest experience, it can also be considered a double-edged sword. By allowing guests to connect their own devices it may detract from other potential revenue streams such as pay-per-view movies, sports packages, games, music, comedy specials and other entertainment offerings. If a guest brings his own movie on DVD

and plays it on his laptop then the guest is less likely to purchase a movie from the PPV system. The proliferation of services offered by Blockbuster, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and other companies has made it easier than ever for guests to obtain movies and music content at a much lower cost than purchasing at a hotel or resort. It may also make it easier and more conducive for guests to utilize Slingbox applications pulling TV content from home which may adversely affect the property’s Internet bandwidth.

When asked whether in-room con-tent providers were concerned about connectivity panels impacting revenue streams by encouraging guests to pro-vide their own content, Jake Buckstead, senior product manager for LodgeNet’s RoomDock device, said that this is a trend that would happen anyway and that rather than take a stance against the prolifera-tion of this content LodgeNet was taking a proactive role to embrace the technology. LodgeNet believes that other unique op-

H o t e l S I n - R o o m t e c H n o l o g y

the following items tend to be featured on most current connectivity panels:

• Data Cables>>Modem – for those who are still using fax machines or dial-up modems >>Network Cable – for secure wired HSIA connectivity

• Composite AV – use with laptop, iPod, MP3, Xbox, PlayStation, digital camera or camcorder

• S-Video – for laptop or camcorder connectivity

• Powered USB Ports – cell phones and other devices charger with possible connectivity to other equipment such as printers

• VGA – laptop connectivity to view presentations and DVDs or to take advantage of the larger TV screen

• HDMI – connection of high-definition devices

• Audio input – MP3/iPod connection

• Power outlets

portunities to market its content offerings will come from this trend. He added that there would still be a strong market for those guests who are interested in first run movies and other premium content that is not readily available in the market-place. LodgeNet’s recent announcement of its name change to LodgeNet Interac-tive would certainly appear to endorse this approach to allowing guests to interact with the system.

While the adoption rate of connec-tivity panels is still in its relative infancy, it won’t be too long before these types of devices become common place in most guestroom technology offerings – that is until someone comes up with a seamless wireless technology to replace it. But based on past history that could be a while.

Jeremy Rock is the president of the RockIT Group, a hospitality technology consulting firm. He can be reached at jrock@rockitgroup.com.