In-room Entertainment System Overview
The XN IES system is a full, state of the art, ‘Infotainment’ solution offering subscribers high quality content together with a full genre of services. The services are delivered through a single IP network for enhanced performance and scalability and offers in-room digital signage and advertising opportunities to maximise the products and services offered by the hotel.
The package is a turnkey solution and is tailor-made to suit the requirements and logistics of individual clients.
Amongst the significant advantages of the XN IES are
- Unlimited number of subscribers
- Unlimited number of concurrent users
- Unlimited radio and television channels
- Unlimited number of movies in the library
- Links directly to social media including Twitter, Skype, YouTube, facebook, Linkedin etc.
Traditional Pay-TV
- Content is very limited
- No music available
Traditional Pay-TV
- Content is tired and non-differentiated
Traditional Pay-TV
- Not guest friendly
- Channel driven
Traditional Pay-TV
- Proprietary with support complexity
- Very limited PMS functions, C/O, messages
Traditional Pay-TV
- Poorly serviced by suppliers
IES Hardware Application
The basic architecture of the in-room entertainment system comprises :
- IES Thin Clients (sited in hotel rooms)
- IES Admin server (linked to hotel billing system)
- IES Media servers (containing movies & music videos for on-demand viewing
- Live audio/video streaming devices (connected to the TV/Video sources)
- Small ‘TV only’ receivers (for displays in lounges, bars and other public areas)
The IES Administration server runs the application for the entire IES and is based on the Windows 2003 Enterprise Server platform. The Property Management System tracks and records transactions from the IES clients for billable applications. The Imaging server contains an image of the IES clients providing an efficient means of re-installing a machine in the event of a failure.
Back-office Functionality & Controls
IES includes a full back-office solution through a series of Control Panels which, among other things, enable management to :
- Have an audit trail of each room
- Check the status of each room
- Set up TV channels for in-room viewing
- Audit channels watched by guests
- Report on content watched by guests
- Monitor mini-bar sales
