Hacking the hotel TV - making the most out of being stuck in your room

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3-27-2009 @ 12:38PM

Barkin said...

1. There are plenty of hotels where the RCA ports on the front of the TV are totally decommissioned. Even if you unplug the lodgenet box, even if you use a universal remote... the ports have just been totally shut off. In this case, none of your suggestions work. Of course, you can still hack into the TV...

Unplug the lodgenet box. Then plug in a RF converter box (cheap at RadioShack), which is a little converter allowing you to plug an RCA device into the coaxial jack on the back of the TV (where the lodgenet box was attached). Now you can access the TV by plugging whatever device you want into the RF converter.

2. You're recommending the Zune as a serious media device? Is this a joke?

I have lots of experience hacking into hotel room TVs. When I travel, I take a kit of equipment that allows me to get into virtually any boob tube and watch my own movies and TV shows.

The big problem with your article is that you use marginal equipment. Most people with media players don't own Zunes. They own iPods. Get over it. (And seriously, you like the crappy Zune for no other reason than that it doesn't require you to move?) Furthermore, most people who watch their home TVs on the road do it by using a Sling device. Sling is most definitely the industry leader. Hava may offer some more advanced features. But I know dozens of people who own Sling boxes, and you're the first dude I've ever heard of who uses a Hava.

If you're actually going to be helpful to people, recommend equipment that they actually own (or that someone they know may actually own). Zune? Seriously?

3. You're right that a lot of Starwood hotels are now adding input panels that allow you to plug into their TVs. Its actually even more common in the Marriott chain. A lot of Renaissance hotels, Marriotts, and Courtyards have the feature available. In addition, so do some Sheratons and a Hilton or two. As a frequent business traveler, this is my favorite feature in a hotel.

3-27-2009 @ 9:56PM

Scott Carmichael said...

Appreciate the comments.

Why would I recommend something just for being the market leader? I know about Sling, and have 3 of them here. I had a Sling the very first day they were available. But being market leader does not make it the best product - personally I prefer the Hava because its image quality is better, because I can use it as a DVR in my room and I can access recordings on the drive I have connected to it.

I'm not in the business of recommending products just because they are popular - I recommend my own personal opinion. Same reason I picked the Zune. Seriously, why the hate towards the player?

And why would you think it is a joke? Yes, I think the Zune is a serious media device, and yes, I think everyone who is looking for a player should consider it. I can buy a 120GB Zune AND media kit (with component video and remote) for about the same price as a 120GB iPod. It's all about personal choices, but I refuse to settle for a player just because the rest of the world settled for it.

I could have recommended Archos, but their insane codec system and accessory prices makes me hesitant to do so.

You are spot on with the lack of Mac support - I should have mentioned that.

3-28-2009 @ 10:52AM

Barkin said...

Why should you consider a product's popularity?

1. In an article about hacking into a hotel room TV, you could accept the fact that far more people own iPods (and iPhones) than Zunes, and you could help those people successfully use the equipment they already have to accomplish the article's goal: getting their own video up on a hotel's television screen.

You could have done that, and then said, "Of course, if you don't own an iPod or any other media player, let me recommend the Microsoft Zune because I like that you can control it on-screen using a remote." That would have been more helpful at accomplishing your original goal.

2. I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to recommend a product only because it's popular, but sometimes popularity helps. When a product has 70-80 percent market share, it's easier to find accessories (like media cables), and it's easier for a novice user to find help using said product.

3. When you're recommending a product that few people have even heard of (like Hava), it may be helpful to say something like, "You may have heard of the Sling line of products that allow you to watch your home TV on your laptop on the road. I think it's a good product, but if you don't use a Mac, I would heartily recommend the new line from Hava, which works a lot like Sling but offers a bunch of more advanced features." Your article doesn't even acknowledge the fact that Hava is basically a fringe player in a market totally dominated by Sling.

It's like recommending a Linux machine to someone who has never owned or used a computer. Maybe the Linux box is a good choice for them, but shouldn't they know what they're getting into, and that the vast majority of computer users own machines that run Windows or MacOS?

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