Hotel guests in some of Canada’s biggest cities may get to see HD programming before a lot of Canadian residents see it — depending on their choice of hotels.
Bell TV is currently equipping half a dozen Marriott Hotels in the country with HD room capabilities, with at least another couple of Marriott properties in line for HD in the near future.
Following Bell TV’s Marriott project, and including some other hotels, the DBS firm said its HD-equipped rooms will total about 2,000 in Canada. Bell TV said each hotel guest will have access to more than 100 HD channels, (channels, not “choices”) which it said are the most being currently offered by any television provider in Canada.
Bell TV’s typical on-site scheme to deliver in-room satellite HD consists of a centralized CR, thereby eliminating the need for individual receivers in each room. The telecom company said the central CR setup results in a better guest experience and simplifies media operations for the hotels. Part of the HD services is paid and free VOD.
The lack of equipping individual STBs in rooms also eliminates the risk of theft, according to TV Technology sister publication Multichannel News.
