Hotel weirdness

I know that hotel TV systems can be odd but the hotel we were in the other
day contrived to supply our room with 5 analogue stations (and no digital
ones) and it was in an area that undergone the digital switchover!
(postcode AB41 6BL).

The TV had a "DTV" menu but it was greyed out and inaccessible.

Presumably they were using a decoder to generate an analogue signal to then
feed their rooms which seems odd given that our TV looked DTV ready so to
speak.

Why would they do this? The only thing I can think of is that most of their
TVs didn't actually have digital receivers built in and that the TV in our
room didn't actually have one either. I'm guessing that the menu was greyed
out because it used components common to other models that *did* have
digital receivers built in. Does this make sense?

Tim

On 06/03/2012 15:21, Tim Downie wrote:
I know that hotel TV systems can be odd but the hotel we were in the
other day contrived to supply our room with 5 analogue stations (and no
digital ones) and it was in an area that undergone the digital
switchover! (postcode AB41 6BL).

The TV had a "DTV" menu but it was greyed out and inaccessible.

Presumably they were using a decoder to generate an analogue signal to
then feed their rooms which seems odd given that our TV looked DTV ready
so to speak.

Why would they do this? The only thing I can think of is that most of
their TVs didn't actually have digital receivers built in and that the
TV in our room didn't actually have one either. I'm guessing that the
menu was greyed out because it used components common to other models
that *did* have digital receivers built in. Does this make sense?

There's one possible advantage in receiving all the channels using a
rack of DTT receivers, and then distributing them via analogue RF. When
retunes are required, you don't have 300 rooms to visit !



--
Mark
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www.paras.org.uk

There's one possible advantage in receiving all the channels using a rack
of DTT receivers, and then distributing them via analogue RF. When retunes
are required, you don't have 300 rooms to visit !

Do Hotel TVs not have a management console from where you can request all
TVs to retune? I always assumed that was the sort of thing they would have
to justify having a hotel TV and not a bog-standard TV.

Paul DS

Paul D Smith wrote:
: Do Hotel TVs not have a management console from where you can request all
: TVs to retune? I always assumed that was the sort of thing they would have
: to justify having a hotel TV and not a bog-standard TV.

I think that hotels typically use the "rack of decoders approach". As many
hotels add a few SATELLITE chaneels to their mix of RF channels (sometimes
even Sky channels if they pay Sky enough!) your suggestion of having each
room have its own Freeview TV would preclude that!

I think I once saw a Sky decoder menu page on what was supposed to be a Sky
Movie channel on a TV at Center Parcs.

"Brian Mc" wrote in message
...
Paul D Smith wrote:
: Do Hotel TVs not have a management console from where you can request
all
: TVs to retune? I always assumed that was the sort of thing they would
have
: to justify having a hotel TV and not a bog-standard TV.

I think that hotels typically use the "rack of decoders approach". As many
hotels add a few SATELLITE chaneels to their mix of RF channels (sometimes
even Sky channels if they pay Sky enough!) your suggestion of having each
room have its own Freeview TV would preclude that!

I think I once saw a Sky decoder menu page on what was supposed to be a
Sky
Movie channel on a TV at Center Parcs.

Premier Inn seems to use a Freeview box but one which looks like it's a
"hotel model" - no Sky there. That was the environment I was thinking off.

But if there were Sky, presumably the way to do it now would be to add
additional digital multiplexes where they don't class with the standard 6 -
you would still want to be able to kick the box into retuning the freeview
channels though; you might even need to do this if you added, or removed,
Sky channels.

Paul DS.

Paul D Smith wrote:

Premier Inn seems to use a Freeview box but one which looks like it's a
"hotel model" - no Sky there. That was the environment I was thinking off.

But if there were Sky, presumably the way to do it now would be to add
additional digital multiplexes where they don't class with the standard
6 - you would still want to be able to kick the box into retuning the
freeview channels though; you might even need to do this if you added,
or removed, Sky channels.

The Ramada in Colchester has full DTT equipped TVs in each room. I'm slowly
working through the rooms on each stay I have there, and setting the menu so
that 4:3 transmissions are not displayed stretched. At the present rate of
progress my work should be complete by 2028.

--
Mark
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www.paras.org.uk

"Mark Carver" wrote in message ...


The Ramada in Colchester has full DTT equipped TVs in each room. I'm slowly
working through the rooms on each stay I have there, and setting the menu so
that 4:3 transmissions are not displayed stretched. At the present rate of
progress my work should be complete by 2028.

--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

www.paras.org.uk

Stayed at the Grand hotel, Scarborough last week and it had one of those 14"
4x3 crt TV sets in the room with the 5 standard stations, it now has 10
programs on it , following my re-tune.
I assume they have 10 digital boxes somewhere.
Regards
David

On Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:29:29 +0000, Mark Carver
wrote:

The Ramada in Colchester has full DTT equipped TVs in each room. I'm slowly
working through the rooms on each stay I have there, and setting the menu so
that 4:3 transmissions are not displayed stretched. At the present rate of
progress my work should be complete by 2028.

Have you ever got the same room twice? The more you get a new one, the
less chance you have of getting one next time.
Anyway, you'll be retired by 2028 won't you? I certainly hope to be.
Or they'll have knocked the place down, or TV as we know it will have
long ceased to exist, or the world will have ended horribly.

Paul Ratcliffe wrote:
On Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:29:29 +0000, Mark Carver
wrote:

The Ramada in Colchester has full DTT equipped TVs in each room. I'm slowly
working through the rooms on each stay I have there, and setting the menu so
that 4:3 transmissions are not displayed stretched. At the present rate of
progress my work should be complete by 2028.

Have you ever got the same room twice? The more you get a new one, the
less chance you have of getting one next time.

I've managed not to so far, but yes, you're quite right, it's going to get
harder and harder not to end up in a previous room. Ummm :-(

Anyway, you'll be retired by 2028 won't you? I certainly hope to be.

Oooh, well, that year I will be (if I ever make it) 65, so I'm not sure I will
be retired !

Or they'll have knocked the place down,

Actually, that would be for the best.

or TV as we know it will have
long ceased to exist, or the world will have ended horribly.

For some people, those two things are the same event !


--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

www.paras.org.uk

In article ,
Paul Ratcliffe wrote:

Have you ever got the same room twice? The more you get a new one, the
less chance you have of getting one next time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupon_...or%27s_problem

-- Richard