Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH), a worldwide technology leader in the media and entertainment sector, announced today it will provide DIRECTV with the only authorized head-end video distribution solution for the U.S. lodging and institution market representing five million hotel rooms.
This agreement opens up a significant business opportunity for both Technicolor and DIRECTV. Hotels are looking for advanced, high quality, cost effective digital free-to-guest systems working seamlessly with video-on-demand (VOD) services. In the lodging segment, DIRECTV’s Residential Experience for Hotels also delivers programming to compact, easily hidden set-top boxes so that guests can enjoy the same DIRECTV experience they get at home, including an advanced programming guide, a full line-up of more than 100 HD channels and HD DVR service.
“As the hospitality market accelerates its push into free-to-guest HDTV, satellite and cable providers are recognizing a huge opportunity to expand their services,” said Barbara Bessolo, Senior Vice President of Connected Home Americas, Technicolor. “As their long standing supplier, we’re thrilled that DIRECTV has selected Technicolor as the exclusive sole-source supplier for a head-end-based video solution to meet their Lodging and Institutions content distribution needs in the U.S. for the years to come.”
“Technicolor’s advanced head-end technology is an important component in our initiative to offer hotels and institutions a viewing experience for their guests and patrons that will completely set them apart from their competitors,” said Michael Wittrock, senior vice president, Sales and Distribution, DIRECTV. “A rapidly growing number of hotels and institutions are understanding the enormous value of providing a residential-like TV experience, and with partners like Technicolor, we’re well positioned to fully seize that opportunity.”
Technicolor’s video distribution solution (COM1000) will maximize channel output and minimizes on-premise equipment requirements by delivering high-definition channels via a compact architecture. The scalable, modular design allows Lodging and Institutions to simply and efficiently expand their satellite-delivered programming line-ups. Its integrated configuration management and system diagnostics tools decrease the cost of operational support and allow for remote system monitoring.
Technicolor –video distribution solution – Features at a Glance
The COM1000 high-definition and standard-definition satellite distribution solution is designed specifically to serve the Hospitality “Free-to-Guest” market. When combined with Technicolor’s integrated Edge QAM, the COM1000 can output double the amount of HD channels occupying less rack space and utilizing half the power consumption of the traditional stacked consumer set-top-box solutions. Features of the COM1000 include:
- 24 HD channels, 36 SD channels or a mix of SD and HD in one chassis
- Pro:Idiom™ content protection for HD broadcasts
- Integrated 12 x 256 Edge QAM
- Configurable On-screen program guide
- QAM or IP output for a variety of applications
- Less than 320 watts power consumption
- Remote Management & Configuration
- Supports Multiple Chassis configurations for high channel count applications