Digital Video on Demand - DVoD - is the new four-letter word in the hospitality industry. 

Resembling a soldier dressed in his crisp uniform, Digital Video on Demand stands bold and ready to march to the present and replace the traditional (and obsolete) racks of VCRs/VCDs/LDs currently found in the PABX or other equipment rooms of your hotel. 

DVoD provides true VoD. And for a guest just like with their home VCR or DVD, they can pause, fast forward, rewind, stop and resume a video to suit their particular schedule and not that of the service provider or hotel. At the end of a grueling day, you settle in bed to relax and watch a horror movie � and when the glittering blade is about to pounce on the innocent victim, the phone rings and you miss the ending. What kind of four-letter word will you utter then? Will it be � DVoD? Well it should be because with DVoD, those days are history. Just hit the pause button, and carry on where you left off. Want to see it again in slo-mo?  No problemo! You own the movie for a fixed period of time, and can watch it as many times as you like. If you want to start it before going out to an important meeting or while you munch your muesli, and then your spouse or partner continues while you�ve gone � it can be stopped and re-started at will.

Being digital, it is both picture and audio quality perfect, and this is especially important with so many properties now looking to swap out their old tube type TVs with the more popular flat panel. Advantages of doing this include better picture quality, smaller footprint, and no longer having to place an (expensive) armoire in each of the rooms thereby saving money, space, and improving service. In fact, when you upgrade to DVoD, it�s a great excuse to rid yourself of that huge and unsightly box, instead hanging a nice 21� of 42� panel on the wall � making it almost an art object.

In its current iteration, movies are held on-property using a video server, and depending on the cabling infrastructure, quickly downloaded to the guest�s set top box located close by the TV. It is a true service of convenience, and when coupled together with other in-room services via the TV, offers a one-stop shop for in-room entertainment.  Updating content can be achieved by pushing it down your broadband line or via satellite. Usually this would be done during off-peak hours when the guest is asleep, that is unless they like the movies so much that they burn the candle at both ends. The days of waiting for the service provider to courier new tapes or discs at the end of the month are also long gone.
 
I said in its current iteration, because I believe that rapid advances in technology will soon allow Telco�s or similar providers to plumb-in these service (on an ASP model) using the fat pipes they are digging up the roads to lay.

Key to the success of the system is not in providing hundreds of channels � that�s easy. More to the point, selecting the right content which is refreshed on a regular basis is. Your service provider needs to have the right connections to Hollywood, Bollywood and Category 3 movies, but they also need to make sure that the local censorship regulations are met. In China for example, it is rare to see an exposed body part�.but private homes may likely contain a library of Category 3 or beyond PG18 type (Japanese originated) movies. This is obvious from the proliferation of pirate movie stores (not that I buy them). It�s a well known fact that the majority of Hotel related Pay TV revenues (over 70%) stem from the viewing of such programmes.

Systems are easily configurable, and should contain a whole host of complementary services such as music-on demand, bill checking, room service ordering, in-room gaming, concierge, guest questionnaires, fault reporting and tours of the property � even connections to your preferred CRS for on-ward or return bookings.

Now, for those creative marketers out there how about offering special in-room dining packages? Order a pizza, and get a free movie. Or stay in the hotel for the weekend and watch a certain genre, or see specific stars like Bogart or Spielberg�Hey; it may even encourage people to consume the Mini-bar � if ever there was a benefit for installing DVoD � that surely must be one.

As for complexity of installation, one vendor told me that whilst it�s preferable to install these over a CAT5 Ethernet LAN, certain already available technologies such as LRE (Long Range Ethernet) will allow them to run over your existing CAT3 twisted pair copper telephone wires. Now that is very interesting because it permits you to add a new range of services to your guest room, and you can also reduce installation costs. 
  
Since the service is wired up to provide simultaneous high speed internet access, the system will usually provide two options for doing this. On-screen, and by allowing a guest to hook in their laptop via a standalone port without fuss or configuration changes.

Using an Infra-red keyboard, a guest can sit on the bed while surfing over the TV, or ordering your TV dinner special. It�s kinda fun because at the same time as you watch the movie or TV, you can split the screen and browse a web site or answer an email to the boss, or stay in touch with your stock portfolio. 

Without doubt, the TV is the last area in a guestroom to get a makeover � and DVoD will do just that. It�s a window of opportunity staring you, and the guest in the face. How soon you take advantage of it depends on you. But what I can tell you is:

Watch out � DVoD is coming to a hotel near you!

Terence Ronson  +852 946 80848 [email protected] http://www.pertlink.net

Terence started his career as a Chef, and acquired his wealth of practical experience and knowledge whilst holding various management positions with   Hilton International in Asia and at several prestigious establishments in the U.K. After developing a personal interest in computers and technology some twenty years ago, Terence has turned his attention on to this exciting and rapidly evolving aspect of the business, working with several  prominent IT related companies in the hospitality industry, applying their products and services so as to streamline businesses, improve profitability, and the guest experience.