DIRECTV COM2000 HD Headend System
from Technicolor

DIRECTV has launched the next generation Pro:Idiom HD headend,
the COM2000 Hotel TV System from Technicolor

Hotels have been slow to keep up with the advances in TV technology over the past decade. Most have upgraded their hotel rooms to the large, flat screen TVs we have in our homes today, but when you switch on the TV what you see is blurry, grainy programming delivered by the same analog TV system the hotel property has had for years.

 

Why Haven’t Hotels Upgraded Their TV Systems to HD Yet?

One word. Cost.

Before the Com1000 was introduced in 2009, upgrading your Hotel TV system to HD was a costly, disruptive process for hotels. It was even more difficult for hotels and resorts with over 250 rooms or that do not have home-run type cabling throughout the property.

Downtime

A huge roadblock to upgrading to a HD TV System was the downtime required for a property to either;

• re-wire because of a lack of home run wiring
• or installing set-top boxes in-room

In a 24/7/365 industry like Hotels and Institutions, shutting down rooms is a major cost over and above the cost of the new TV system itself.

Today major chains like Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt and more recently economy and mid-scale brands like Choice, Best Western and Wyndham have increased pressure on properties to upgrade to HD programming to provide the full HD TV experience guests are used to at home. With so many hotel properties being franchises, enforcing these brand standards has proven difficult.

 

DIRECTV Provides Two Cost Effective Solutions for Hotel HD Upgrades

Its all About Satellites specializes in DIRECTV for Hotels and DIRECTV provides two systems that have revolutionized TV for Hotels.

 

The NEW COM2000 HD Headend Systems for Hotels

When it was introduced in 2009 the COM1000 HD Pro:idiom headend system was a revolution in Hotel TV Systems. Thee new COM2000 headend TV system brings the technological advances, convenience and the features that quickly made the COM1000 the industry standard hotel headend system.

The Com2000 continues DIRECTV’s leadership in commercial-grade TV system solutions for both the hotel industry and for other lodging and institution properties.

For properties with more than 250 rooms, that are constrained by brand standards to use Pro:Idiom encryption, by the cabling plant in your hotel, or for installations where you don’t want or cannot have receivers in-room, the NEW COM2000 HD Headend System from Technicolor is the perfect HD TV System solution.

 

Plug and Play Means Little to No Downtime

For properties using an existing analog headend, you may be worried about the downtime involved in switching to HD. It’s a very real concern, because in a 24/7/365 industry you’re talking about disconnecting TV in every single hotel room. With the COM2000 that worry is completely gone. The system is direct swap-in for an existing headend and in most cases requires absolutely no additional cabling. The headend staging and design can be done before the system is hooked to hotel TVs and then it’s a simple matter of connecting the new system, disconnecting the old, and setting up the in-room TVs.

One of the biggest benefits is the nearly plug and play compatibility of the COM2000 HD Headend. In a 24/7/365 industry, the ability to simply cut over to a new system with little or no downtime is a critical difference.

 

Key Features and Benefits of the COM2000

The COM2000 brings many of the best features of the COM1000 into this new smaller and more energy efficient HD headend system while maintaining the nearly plug and play platform.  This new system is super-stable and full-featured right out of the box.

Some of the key NEW features include:

• The new COM360 chassis is just 3RU tall – 25% smaller than the revolutionary COM1000
• The power consumption of the new chassis is just 225W, a fraction of what your current headend is using
• The new Com46-flx receiver cards give you up to 8 HD receivers on a single card
• The COM2000 utilizes either Pro:Idiom or LYNX encryption as needed
• The new chassis has 2 slots for QAM6 modules making the system fully self-contained
• Built-in Gigabit Ethernet allows for easy monitoring by laptop plugged into the front panel ports.

Features the COM2000 shares with the COM1000 HD Headend System

• Able to integrate off-the-air programming with 1 RU ATSC medule
• Works with existing Technicolor set-back boxes and any Hotel TV designed for Pro:Idiom
• Can be integrated with existing Guest Services devices like in-room checkout and pay-per view systems
• Integrated, Automatic program guide gets its data straight from DIRECTV
• Full PSIP integration so properly equipped TVs get interactive guide data
• Full Web-based setup and remote monitoring
• Multiple COM headend systems can be combined into a single, scalable solution

With the NEW COM2000 you can increase channels easily by adding receiver blades, the system includes redundancy of key components to give you peace of mind that you system will maintain uptime, it supports both RF and IP based networks, the system automatically tracks DIRECTV programming changes, and can be monitored both on your local LAN and remotely via a built in web interface.

The COM2000 is also backwards compatible with the COM1000 HD Headend System so you can expand on an existing system or upgrade.

 

You Are Going to LOVE the Com2000 Power Consumption Savings!!

When you are thinking about power consumption savings, the DIRECTV COM2000 pays off big in the long-term!
Technicolor has done the math on what the power consumption comparisons are between the COM1000 and older analog systems versus the new COM2000.

Look at how the COM2000 stacks up:

COM2000 HD Headend VS COM1000 VS 36-Channel Analog Headend

Watts Consumed
COM2000 (fully loaded) – 225 watts
COM1000 (fully loaded) – 320 watts
36-Channel Analog Headend – 600 watts

Electric Bill (annual)
COM2000 (fully loaded) – $295
COM1000 (fully loaded) – $420
36-Channel Analog Headend – $788

Electric Bill (over 5 year contract)
(assuming cost of electricity stays constant)
COM2000 (fully loaded) – $1,475
COM1000 (fully loaded) – $2,100
36-Channel Analog Headend – $3,940

Versus a 36-channel stacked receiver analog headend, a 48-channel COM2000 will save your hotel or hospitality business approximately $2,465 in operating costs over a 5 year contract!

Best of all, a fully configured COM2000 HD headend system is about 1/2 the cost of a similarly configured Com1000 Pro:Idiom headend system

 

 

What Does It Take to Get HD Programming Into Your Rooms?

HDTV Programming:
DIRECTV HD video signal sent from a DIRECTV satellite to an installed satellite dish at a hotel property.

Pro:Idiom / LYNK Transcoder:
The Pro:Idiom / LYNK transcoder is a modified DIRECTV receiver that converts high-definition DIRECTV signal into to a digital format that can be delivered through the hotel TV distribution network.

Digital video is an exact replica of its original source without degradation and as such is easily pirated without encryption. The content owners such as ESPN, HBO, etc… now require that the signal be encrypted in hotel properties all the way to the television.

LG’s Pro:Idiom technology and Samsung’s LYNK technology is a digital video content security system (DRM) designed to encrypt the signal so that only authorized HDTVs or televisions with a decryption box (set top or internal) can decode the signal and display the video on its screen. The Pro:Idiom / LYNK transcoder is built into the head end, one transcoder per channel.

Digital QAM Modulator:
A QAM Modulator changes the frequency of the video signal so that each channel can be viewed on the desired channel number. For example, the QAM modulator could change the frequency for ESPN (normally DIRECTV channel 206) so that it can be viewed on channel 5 at your property. The QAM modulator is also located in the hotel headend system.

Pro:Idiom or LYNK TV capable of HDTV resolution:
Pro:Idiom by LG or LYNK by Samsung enabled HDTVs have the ability to decode the encrypted signal sent from the Transcoder so that the content can be seen by your customers Identification Module (IDM).

Pro:Idiom or LYNK HDTVs also have an insertion point for the ID Module, which marks each individual room’s video signal with a unique and traceable key code for additional content security. Broadcast stations such as ESPN HD, HBO HD and SHOWTIME HD require this component in order to protect their content from piracy.

 

Does Your Hotel Need a COM2000 HD Headend?

For newer hotels and older properties with newer wiring, often the best option for providing Free-to-Guest HD TV is the DIRECTV Residential Experience for Hotels. Its provides full channel availability in-room, a TV viewing experience more like the one your hotel guests are used to at home, and added functionality for the hotel property including the DRE Welcome Screen System.

The very best way to determine if your hotel needs the new COM2000 headend system to deliver HD programming to your guests is to have an experience, SBCA certified technician do a site survey of your property.

Our technicians will be looking for several things –

The Number of Rooms in Your Property:
Ideal – For properties over 250 rooms, the COM2000 is the perfect solution

The type of wiring your TV system currently has:
Ideal – home run type wiring with no splitters or splicing, RG-6 Coax Cable rated to 3 gHZ

The Distance for Each Wiring Run :
Ideal – A maximum of 200 feet of distance from the distribution points to the furthest TV receiver

The Type of Connectors in the Wall Plates :
Ideal – Compression Connectors in high frequency wall plates.

If your property meets all the above requirements and you have fewer than 250 rooms, you may be a good candidate for the DIRECTV Residential Experience.

If those are not available in your property our certified technicians will determine whether it is cost effective to upgrade your cabling plant or if a DIRECTV COM2000 Headend system from Technicolor would be your best option.

What if I can’t use the COM200?

DIRECTV Residential Experience

The DIRECTV Residential Experience (DRE) is an advanced TV System that is ideal for hotels with home run wiring and less than 250 rooms. The DIRECTV DRE provides hotel guests with the full DIRECTV TV experience they have at home including a full residential channel lineup and the interactive channel guide and remote.

It gives the hotel property full channel availability in-room, remote monitoring and starting in December 2014 will also provide a welcome screen system that includes up to 8 on screen apps for quick access to hotel information, local information, weather, and guest check out folios. The DIRECTV DRE is a fantastic and upgradable solution for many hotels.

Call 800-951-1979 or 505-296-9423 Today
to schedule a FREE Site Survey for your Hotel

 

Contact us for more information about
the DIRECTV COM2000 HD Headend system