DISH Network offers low-cost hotel TV
June 25, 2013
By Chris Forrester
Denver-based DTH operator Dish is offering a new purpose-designed SMARTbox set-top box capable of delivering 96 HDTV channels, plus SD channels, to every room in an hotel, with what the broadcaster describes as “operator friendly” features including low-power demands and smaller demands in terms of rack space.
Dish is showcasing the new technology at a giant hotel Expo (HITEC 2013) taking place at Minneapolis.
“SMARTbox delivers a better overall free-to-guest operating experience for managers and a vastly improved end-user experience for guests,” said Robert Grosz, vice president of Commercial Sales at DISH. “Reducing installation, power consumption and management overhead are big wins in free-to-guest; having happier guests is even better.”
“As hotels face increasing costs to transition to HD, SMARTbox will deliver digital HD capabilities and analogue SD from a single unit, making it ideal for hotels transitioning to new TVs,” said Alistair Chatwin, director of Product Management at DISH. “This enterprise-grade solution also benefits management by providing greater reliability, configurability and increased uptime while reducing the total cost of ownership.”