What to Look for in a Hospitality TV

Jan 21, 2014

While the televisions in hotel rooms, restaurants, and sports bars appear similar to traditional home televisions, a commercial-grade TV has much more functionality. Televisions utilized in hospitality environments require features that not only need to meet the needs of those that will ultimately watch and enjoy them, but they also need to meet the needs of the venue that installs and maintains them. To that end, hospitality venues will benefit from an entertainment solution that provides the following:

Durability: With up to 15 hours of continuous usage per day, as well as LED backlights with lifespans of over 30,000 hours, a commercial-grade display can withstand repeated, long-term use, thus lowering the total cost of ownership.

Built-in HDTV tuner: Commercial-grade TVs are built with an ATSC/NTSC HDTV tuner and Full HD 1080p resolution to deliver high-definition TV programming for an enhanced guest experience. The built-in tuner offers viewers more content choices by delivering a wider range of HDTV channels, including channels for business, sports, education, movies, etc.

Multi-device control: Televisions with an RS232 port and IR pass-through offer local control for set-top boxes and other connected devices directly with the TV’s remote control, rather than requiring multiple controls for each device.

Programmable hospitality settings: With programmable settings, multiple televisions can be easily and simultaneously setup to have the same customized features such as channel default, parental controls, audio levels, etc.

USB playback and cloning features: Not only can photos and music be uploaded to the television via a USB drive, but the same photos and music can be conveniently duplicated across multiple televisions via the primary television.

Versatile connectivity: With a wide selection of inputs, such as HDMI, USB and VGA, as well as composite and component inputs, a variety of digital equipment can be plugged into the TV and provide more flexible installation options.

With these necessary hospitality-specific features, it’s easy to see why a restaurant manager or hotel IT manager can’t simply go to a big-box electronics shop and purchase the televisions needed for their specific needs.

With over 25 years as an award-winning display technology leader, ViewSonic® delivers the latest in innovative hospitality TV technology to meet the needs of any hospitality environment. Designed with a variety of customizable hospitality settings for multi-screen environments, our full line of commercial-grade TVs delivers a premium, easy-to-manage entertainment solution for hotels, cruise ships, restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues. For more information on our line of commercial displays and hospitality TVs, click here.