Standardized TV channels possible?
 

I always thought it would be good for marriott to standardize TV channels across their network, at least across common brands (i.e. Every courtyard has identical channel lineups and numbers). Is this even technically and is technology possible?

I know I would value it (yes I'm lazy) but after speaking with some other colleagues, I found out that they would value it too. I know we are all lazy and you can all flame me for not looking at the guides, flipping though, etc, but if this is something that can easily be done (which I don't know), I think regular travelers would appreciate it.

No, it's not practically possible, since the TV systems in hotels are typically outsourced to providors of hotel TV services which are not brand or chain specific. Ie, a Hampton and a Fairfield and Holiday Inn Express and a Courtyard and a Hilton Garden Inn and a Sheraton and a Comfort Inn and a Wyndham and a Best Western and a Radisson in the same airport area may all use the same TV service providor, while it may be a different TV service providor downtown (away from the airport).

Also, some hotels get their channels from Direct TV, some from Dish, some from the local cable company (Time Warner Cable or Comcast or whoever it is locally), and the lineups are different on each.

Finally, and most obviously, hotels want to carry local channels, and there are different number of local channels in different cities. In the Los Angeles area, for example, there's CBS 2, NBC 4, CW 5, ABC 7, indie at 9, Fox 11, "My" at 13, non-PBS public at 28, PAX (or whatever they're called this week) at 30 I think, PBS at 50, alternative/educational PBS at 58, and that's not counting zillions of Spanish language, religious, and international stations.

If a hotel uses a local cable company, they'll like get all of those, and the channel lineup will be that of the local cable company.

If a hotel uses something else, they'll only get a subset of those, but the number of local channels needed is still likely to be different in different cities. (As another example: A Baltimore downtown hotel may only need Baltimore channels, a Washington DC downtown hotel may only need DC channels, but a hotel midway between the two around Columbia is likely to need both.)

Oh, and now that you know that some hotels use Dish and use Direct TV and some use local cable systems, what about channels that one of those doesn't carry but the other does? Dish blacked out AMC some time back, has it returned AMC to the lineup or no? But Direct TV has AMC and so does the average local cable system.


... Having said that: What would nice as a minimum is to have an accurate guide accessible in every room. I've been in way to many hotels where there either is no guide (either physical or on the TV), or the guide is very wrong (whether physical or on the TV).

If hotels can't even bother with this, then the next step (making an app which detects which hotel you're in and tell you which of your favorite stations is on which channel number at that hotel) is not going to possible.

So how about the next thing? An app something like Shazzam which flips through the channels and figures out by listening which station is on each channel? @:-) :cool:

Thanks sdsearch. That makes sense...I think you may be onto something with an app idea. I think at one time (maybe even now, but again I was too lazy), there was a way to change the channels on the TV with your ipad / iPhone app. As an OCD germaphobe, this seemed to make sense, but the pain-in-the-a$$ factor was too high.

Actually, it is technically possible. There are in-house video distribution systems that re-broadcast feeds to other channels. I believe Lodge TV is one of these. They are used mainly with systems that offer Pay-For-View channels and Folio viewing. It may not be cheap, and given MI doesn't own or operate many of the properties, local management is going to opt for cheap when they can. Providing local channels can still be done and lining up the networks would be nice, but you also need to remember not all ABC channels carry the same ABC programming (more daytime stuff so may not be an issue). Plus, sometimes a property needs to avoid using the same channel as a very strong local station.

I look at is as part the the local "character" of the property. It's bad enough when you know what chain you are in when you see the bedding, but to have everything being "cookie-cutter" makes travel boring. It's bad enough I know how to use just about every TV remote blindfolded!

However, it would be nice if they would stop mandating FOX News in the lounges!!!

I don't give a flip about local character if it's 11 PM (10 PM Central) and I'm trying to relax from a day of traveling and/or on-site client work. I want to be able to find The Daily Show before Jon Stewart starts his Act III interview.

This isn't just a Marriott thing. The cable system at most hotels is terrible. The lag time as you scroll from channel to channel is about 1.5 -2.0 seconds. It doesn't sound like a lot but add all the times the remote is unresponsive and it can be a few minutes before you find a channel that's buried in the upper range of the lineup. It's even more frustrating when you find out your channel isn't even carried.

This.

This wish/request goes back decades, to the SpectraVision box days. The idea was to put each local network affiliate on the same channel number in every hotel (e.g., CBS 2, NBC 4, ABC 7, FOX 11), irrespective of the actual local number.

Simpler times, simpler problems.

But speaking of terrible, another thing that's terrible in on the west coast (Pacific time zone) is that there's no consistency as to whether the hotel takes the east coast feed (and thus everything is 3 hours early, relative to when you expect it based on local time), or the west coast feed.

So unless the Daily Show is repeated every 3 hours (so that it's on at the same local time whether the hotel takes the east coast feed or the west coast feed), it's not going to help to know what channel it's on because you also need to figure out (by a potential difference of up to 3 hours) what time it's on!

So until hotels out on the West Coast can get their west coast vs east coast feeds consistently right, I can't imagine them getting anything else about the channels consistently right.

And I've run into more than one Marriott property that had the same station on two channels, for some unkonwn reason, thus missing a station (that was supposed to be on one of those channels). One property did it with cable news channels, another did it with local channels. So they screw all sorts of things up left and right.

I just Netflix or Hulu! When traveling so much my schedule is never consistent, especially with the time zones and there are certain shows I like. I hope more hotels would actually move to internet capable TVs as standardize the channels wouldn't do anything for me personally.

Yes, there are several IPTV services/apps that could fill the need today. I see the day all Video Entertainment Devices (TVs) will be broadband connected and the concept of broadcast TV will morph over. Until then, find something that works for you. Waiting for the properties to standardize may take a while. Getting them moved over to digital TVs (and channels) will be a hunk of time as well.

Amen, brother.

Not to go OMNI, but what would be better? MSNBC? :rolleyes: Bill O'Smiley speaks nothing but the TRUTH! :rolleyes:

Perhaps they should put on ESPN, Animal Planet or The Food Network.

I have been to a few hotels that had maybe 15 channels. I have been to others with over 70 channels.

Is it still legal for a hotel to broadcast a East Coast feed of ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX to the West Coast live? I thought the local TV stations complained about this?

I've never encountered this. If I'm on west coast shows air during regular primetime (8pm onward). Usually it's the Midwest you have to remember the feed is an hour earlier, like in Chicago.

Cheers.

Deadliest catch at 7:00!
 

I can vouch for the original comment. I was in MST this week and watched the new deadliest catch at 7:00pm!

Standardized TV channels possible?
 

I'm just happy that most if not all Marriott locations have the NFL network... It sounds pity but nice to have on Sunday's for the season.