- HTNG Barcelona 2016 sees debut of the newly launched vuCaster, which augments ADB’s vuTyme managed services hotel iTV solution
- On-booth demos highlight how vuTyme and vuCaster cost-effectively enhance the in-room viewing experience for guests
- ADB shares revelations from its latest research into what hoteliers and guests see as important in today’s in-room entertainment system
Geneva, Switzerland, 25 October 2016 – ADB, a leading provider of solutions and services for media convergence, has today announced that it is showcasing a variety of innovative solutions that provide a truly interactive hotel TV experience at the Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) Conference in Barcelona.
At HTNG Barcelona, which is taking place from October 25-27, ADB is providing live demos of its end-to-end interactive hotel TV solution, vuTyme, and vuCaster, a complementary solution that enables guests to stream content directly from their mobile devices. ADB is also able to discuss the results of its “2016 In-Room Entertainment Preferences Study”, which contains the sometimes-contrasting views of both hoteliers and guests.
vuTyme and vuCaster: enabling the next-generation in-room viewing experience
The event sees the launch of vuCaster, which augments vuTyme by allowing users to ‘cast’ their personalised programming from YouTube, Netflix, Pandora and other premium content providers onto the bigger in-room screen. It is available on all new vuTyme deployments and can be retrofitted to existing installations.
vuCaster addresses several challenges facing hoteliers by:
- permitting guests to easily switch between vuCaster and other vuTyme TV features;
- providing quick activation without requiring guests to enter their OTT account credentials into a foreign device;
- and allowing streaming from the hotel’s WiFi network.
vuTyme delivers a complete set of in-room services, including live TV, Video on Demand (VoD), Pay-Per-View, concierge, digital signage and targeted advertisements. It also offers Searchable Interactive Program Guide (IPG) and Over-the-Top (OTT) services, along with direct-through-TV messaging and other guest-friendly features. vuTyme operates in the cloud, requiring no hotel head-end equipment – just a discretely mounted set-back box.
In-Room Entertainment Preferences Study: gauging the marketplace
At HTNG Barcelona, ADB is also be able discuss its latest research, which explores what hoteliers and guests see as important in an in-room entertainment system. The “2016 In-Room Entertainment Preferences Study” contains several eye-opening conclusions, including the fact that hoteliers consider several IRE services to be more important than guests do.
The research provides clear insight into whether or not a hotel TV experience should mirror what guests have at home, whether they prefer to view their own content, how they prefer to consumer their own content, and what they expect to find in hotel rooms in the future.
Top line findings include:
- Hoteliers tend to place a higher value on services such as Interactive Program Guides, OTT, VOD, and screencasting compared to guests
- Varying age groups prioritise in-room services differently, with 73% of millennials considering the TV experience “very important” compared to 54% of older guests
- Guests prefer a home-like TV experience in the room and to stream their own content
- 62% of millennials, 52% of Gen X guests and 17% of baby boomers use their own devices to stream media while staying at a hotel.
Chris Dinallo, ADB’s Senior Vice-President of Business TV, comments: “Both vuTyme and vuCaster build on 20 years of ADB offering the best and most useful interactive features for our customers. We’re really looking forward to HTNG, as it gives us the opportunity to showcase our longstanding experience in developing TV technology and understanding viewer behaviour. Plus, the research we are sharing at and ahead of the show clearly indicates what both guests and hoteliers deem to be important. Our aim is to deploy the next generation of interactive TV for the hotel environment and meet the needs of both groups.”
For more information about vuTyme and vuCaster, or to book an appointment at the show, please contact [email protected]
About ADB Business TV
ADB’s Business TV solutions are built on 20 years of continuous development and innovation, delivering advanced TV solutions for businesses across cable, satellite, IPTV and now over-the-top (OTT) services. We provide solutions that meet today’s complex hospitality and Healthcare TV and guest experience platform demands, marrying global TV, interactive media, and IP connectivity to enable a better in-room customer experience,
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with offices throughout Europe and North America, ADB’s hospitality solution is one of the top five most deployed hospitality interactive TV solutions globally and the second most deployed platform in the US. Our technologies power TV content and services delivery in over 200,000 US guestrooms, across the industry’s leading brands. We are deployed in more than 2,500 hotels and hospitals in the US.