LG and Swisscom: First connected hotel TV to change economics of guestroom

Hoteliers can keep guestrooms free of unnecessary hardware and benefit from a single operator who manages the service all the way from the movie server to the TV screen.

ConnectedHotel TV allows hotels, regardless of their network infrastructure, to “plug” into the world of IP television and web-based services. So far, properties with Coax cabling have had limited options to upgrade their guestroom entertainment. Thanks to the LG ConnectedHotel TV screen, any hotel with a functional network can now offer its guests a personalised, interactive HDTV experience in combination with Swisscom Hospitality Services’ proven IPTV and HSIA features.

At the heart of the new solution, the LG ConnectedHotel TV packs a host of guest services into a cutting-edge flat panel. This purpose-built TV screen is a true powerhouse: It provides an exceptional visual performance supporting hardware-processed Flash technology and streams high-resolution content from a variety of sources including DTT, IPTV channels and the Web, all without set-top boxes. The LG ConnectedHotel TV also comes with an embedded IP switch enabling Wired and Wireless Internet connectivity directly through the TV set. Hoteliers reduce both their CAPEX during the acquisition and installation of the system and their OPEX thanks to lower maintenance cost and energy consumption by running just on one device in the room.

“Technology has an inherent tendency to become more complex,” says Leo Brand, CEO of Swisscom Hospitality Services. “Swisscom and LG have worked together intensively to develop this new IP based solution, bringing simplicity back to the guestroom. ConnectedHotel TV meets all guest entertainment needs and yet places no demands on the hotelier: no extra video and data cabling, no painstaking retrofits, no set-top boxes hidden in a drawer. Moreover, we can monitor the performance of our solution all the way to the TV screen and detect any hardware malfunctioning before the guest does.”

The LG ConnectedHotel TV enables a hybrid channel setup, combining digital terrestrial, satellite and cable TV broadcasting with IPTV channels including web radios. Moreover, it allows hoteliers to feature web based guest services on the TV screen such as weather forecasts, news portals, stock exchange data, social networking, video sharing and other popular sites. Comments Leo Brand: “With our co-developed solution, hoteliers can react quickly to guest demands for new Web-based services whilst exploiting new revenue streams.”

“We are proud to bring this all-encompassing TV and Internet solution to the market at a time where the hospitality industry is at the tipping point towards IP interactive guest solutions”, says Michael Jung, Head of Business Solutions Europe from LG Electronics. “We have chosen Swisscom as our co-developing partner for this enterprise because of their extensive track record in deploying and managing all kinds of hotel networks as well as their experience as the leading IP solutions provider for hotels.”

www.swisscom.com/hospitality