NEW TELEVISION REQUIREMENTS DUE DECEMBER 31, 2012

Transcription

1 NEW TELEVISION REQUIREMENTS DUE DECEMBER 31, 2012 Best Western International, Inc. Rules and Regulations shall be amended such that the current Rule shall be amended to read as follows: On or before December 31, 2012, all cathode ray tube ( CRT ) televisions shall be replaced with televisions that comply with the following guidelines. Flat panel televisions purchased prior to the passage of this ballot that do not meet the following standards will be deemed acceptable until seven (7) years after the original date of manufacture by which time they must be replaced with a television that meets the following guidelines. Beginning with the date of the passage of this ballot, any televisions purchased for use in guestrooms must meet the following guidelines with respect to minimum sizes and HD programming: 1

2 Other elements of this proposal include providing a minimum amount of HD programming at BEST WESTERN PLUS and BEST WESTERN PREMIER properties, as HD has become commonplace in midscale and higher properties. Additionally, the proposal includes the requirement for commercial grade sets. Consumer models lack many features that enhance the guest experience such as: Channel mapping, which ensures that all network channels are in sequence (not ABC on 14, CBS on 54, PBS on 108, FOX on 256.) Channel labeling capabilities, which allows the set to display, for example, ABC, CBS, or NBC instead of WNXV, KPHO, or KAET. Volume limiting capabilities, which prevent the television volume from exceeding a maximum level over which guests in adjacent guestrooms may hear the program. Control lock outs, which prevent guests from adjusting settings that may adversely affect the experience of subsequent guests. Cloning capabilities, which allow for easy transference of settings from one set to all other sets on the property. 2

3 Quick Reference by Descriptor Level Television Amenity By Descriptor BEST WESTERN Quantity Required: Standard Guest Room Minimum one (1( 32 or larger Suite without Full Wall and Door Minimum one (1) 42 or larger. Clearly viewable from both the seating area and the sleeping area; Suite with Full Wall and Door OR Minimum two (2) 32 or larger. Minimum two (2) 32 or larger Television Amenity By Descriptor BEST WESTERN PLUS Quantity Required: Standard Guest Room Minimum one (1) 37 or larger Suite without Full Wall and Door Minimum one (1) 42 or larger. Clearly viewable from both the seating area and the sleeping area; Suite with Full Wall and Door OR Minimum two (2) 32 or larger. Minimum one (1) 37 or larger and one (1) 32 or larger Television Amenity By Descriptor BEST WESTERN PREMIER Quantity Required: Standard Guest Room Minimum one (1) 42 or larger Suite without Full Wall and Door Minimum one (1) 42 or larger. Clearly viewable from both the seating area and the sleeping area; Suite with Full Wall and Door OR Minimum two (2) 32 or larger. Minimum one (1) 42 or larger and one (1) 32 or larger 3

4 Terminology When Buying TVs By Alan Wagener, MHS, Director of Purchasing -- November, 2011 It was great to see many old friends and meet new ones at this year s Convention in Orlando. I gave a presentation on TVs and was asked for condensed version. The following are some of the excerpts from that presentation. The hospitality television business is analogous to the way we listen to music: a few years ago, you would buy a transistor radio and tune to an off-air signal and listen. Today, we use MP3 players (ipods, Zune, etc.) that connect to a computer that connects to the internet that connects to a music source (itunes, Napster, etc) and download files in MP3, WAV, AAC, etc. formats often listening through headphones or earbuds. In the old CRT days, all you really needed to know is there a SmartPlug and how long is the cord. Today s television purchase requires much more understanding of the category than ever before. Terms you should know: Flat screen vs. Flat panel CRTs, just before their demise, offered flat glass tubes. These are known in the industry as FLAT SCREENS and should not be confused with the term for LCDs and plasmas which are known as FLAT PANELS. Commercial grade Hospitality grade Lodging Pro:Idiom There are technically four grades of TVs. Residential or consumer grade, commercial/industrial, commercial/healthcare and commercial/hospitality. The new standard for Best Western hotels is commercial/hospitality meaning the front panel controls must be able to be deactivated; there are controls for maximum volume, power up volume, power up channel selection and other such features. Residential or industrial commercial do not have these features and thus can have a negative impact on a guests stay. This is a silicon chip that encrypts the high definition signal for digital rights management. Many studios demand protection for their high definition signal in commercial applications. Unless you are using a cable box in each room you will likely need this software now or in the near future. MPEG 2 MPEG 4 With the advent of digital content delivery vs. analog, the bandwidth requirements of the cable and satellite content provider has increased tremendously. In order to fit more the content information into an existing delivery system many Multiple System Operators have compressed the signal more by using MPEG4 instead of MPEG2. If your TV is MPEG2 technology, you may not 4

5 b-lan: be able to view a signal compressed to MPEG4. Before you commit to a TV purchase check with your provider about this compression technology. This (Broadband Local Area Network) is a brand name for a feature that allows the TV to communicate with most Pay-Per-View providers. It will eliminate the need for a LBT-44C terminal box LodgeNet box. LCD LED Plasma These are different types of TV manufacturing. LCDs use fluorescent lighting for the backlight source, LEDs use Light Emitting Diodes for their light source and a as consequence are much thinner that standard LCDs. Because LED-LCDs are so thin, they often do not have very good speakers and thus sound quality is compromised. Because of their weight and dimensions LED/LCDs are less expensive to ship. Plasma is a gas that is sandwiched between two pieces of glass and is a very different technology than LCD. Plasma TVs use a little more power but are very good for fast motion video. They are often the least expensive to make in very large panels (over 46 ). Plasmas are susceptible to failure at higher (5000 ft +) elevations. Plasmas should never be shipped or stored flat. This can easily damage these units. Channel mapping, Channel ring, Channel labeling Channel mapping and channel rings are synonymous terms. Channel mapping give you the ability to set up your channel lineup in the fashion of your choosing, grouping news, sports or local channels in sequence. Channel labeling gives you the ability to display 4-ABC and not the default of KOMO, for example. 60Hz - 120Hz - 240Hz This is a TV refresh rate or the speed of the TV. The faster the better? Not necessarily so. When flat panel HDTVs were in their infancy, they suffered from motion blur. LCDs in particular tended to display distinct blurriness during very fast on-screen movements because of "ghosting or mouse trails". Tastes can vary, and you might enjoy the potential judder-reducing, motionsmoothing effects of an HDTV with 120Hz or 240Hz modes. Because of the way filming is produced and our eyes are accustomed to certain frame rates, a 120Hz video can have more of a soap opera look and they certainly shouldn't be considered deal breakers when you're shopping for HDTVs. There are very few 120Hz TVs in the hospitality space and those that are selling at a huge price premium. 720p 1080i 1080p Interlaced, as in 1080i is a similar resolution quality to 720p. There are 720p (progressive) and 1080p TV sets in the market. Rarely do you find 1080p in a TV as small as 32 (it s a waste of technology and expense). In my opinion, the importance of 1080p is a bit overrated for a guestroom. If your guest is a true videophile, the guestroom lighting is set up for proper viewing, there is a clean clear HD signal/content, the TV is calibrated correctly and the guest is at the optimum distance to the screen then 5

6 the resolution of 1080p might be appreciated in a smaller set. 1080p is best in 42 and greater but again, calibration and a good quality signal are critically important. 6