Marriott hotels to get LCD HDTVs with digital connectivity panel

We know how it is, out on the road with choices to make in regard to which hotel you stay in the for night, but booking a room in a joint that lacks high-speed internet of the free variety just isn't going to happen. These days, however, the gadget-packed traveler demands even more connectivity options, and apparently Marriott gets it. By the year's end, Marriott International plans to have 25-percent of JW Marriott, Marriott, and Renaissance guest rooms in the US and Canada hooked up with 32-inch LCD HDTVs that boast a nifty "digital connectivity panel" to encourage gadget integration. Guests will reportedly be able to plug in laptops, camcorders, digicams, video games, and iPods (we presume DAPs / PMPs in general) into the swank set, and the built-in PIP functions will allow the business savvy to check their corporate inbox while playing back a video clip in another window. Additionally, the firm plans on throwing in a bevy of new channels to delight couch-dwellers, and the rollout is slated to hit completion by 2009. So if you just so happen to be stopping in the San Francisco area and feel like checking this out, SF's Moscone Center has officially been dubbed the first to offer such niceties in 100-percent of its rooms.

[Via TGDaily]

[StevO @ Feb 26th 2007 5:53PM]

As Borat might say:"Verrrry Nice!"

now he can watch Pam do her thing in 720p goodness as he hops across the country

[Sean @ Feb 26th 2007 6:20PM]

I found one of these set ups in my room at the DFW Marriott over winter break. I was kicking myself for not bringing my Wii, an idea I had been toying with before setting out. I was disappointed to turn on the TV and find a bad analog picture. All they need now is digital cable.

[mickster @ Feb 26th 2007 6:23PM]

I got to experience this at the Dallas Ft. Worth Marriott back in January. They already have it and it works great.

Had a split screen going with my Mac on the right and a TV show on the left; not much true HD broadcast however...

[Joe Buhler @ Feb 26th 2007 7:07PM]

Are we ever gonna leave our rooms with these news gadgets in place and a well stocked mini-bar close at hand......!

[Scott @ Feb 26th 2007 9:00PM]

I got a room with this at the Marriott Brooklyn last month. It was really a nice change. The iPod connectivity comes in the form of an iHome clock radio...very cool.

[John Moffett @ Feb 26th 2007 10:31PM]

Too bad Full Service Marriott properties still charge a premium for getting internet in your room. Only the lower end properties such as Courtyards, Fairfield Inns and Spring Hill Suites offer free internet...usually with a crap segmented T-1 or worse.
As a Platinum memeber of the Marriott Rewards program with 143 nights at Marriott properties last year, they may 'get it'...but you are gonna have to pay to get it as well.

[Zach @ Feb 26th 2007 10:53PM]

Sounds sweet.

In terms of the connectivity, are the cords provided to hook up your laptop and such, or must you provide it yourself?

Also, what kind of LCD TV? (what make/model that is)

[Duyu @ Feb 26th 2007 10:57PM]

That's the stuff I'm talking about--LCD TVs in every room!!! That must be so kick-ass!!

[mickster @ Feb 27th 2007 9:11AM]

My room provided a VGA DB-15 Analog cable; I honestly don't remember the ports available but there were many.

The TV was Lucky Goldstar, aka LG.

[Ryan @ Mar 2nd 2007 5:36PM]

I just stayed at Amerisuites in Norcross, GA which is being converted into a Hyatt Place (still under construction). Every room now has a 42" LG plasma with Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, HBO, Discovery, and a couple ESPN channels in HD (might have missed a couple). The rest are a mix of analog and digital. The lodgenet remote actually lets you get into the menu options to change the input source, aspect ratio, color balance, and sleep timer. There are a bunch of inputs on the TV including HDMI, component (used it with my xbox 360), s-video, composite, vga, and there could have been a dvi? It seemed NBC was the highest quality picture, NASCAR on FOX was also very nice. The only bad part will be going back to a typical CRT TV in most other hotels.

[Geraldo @ May 4th 2007 12:44PM]

I just stayed at the SF Marriott on 4th & Market which had this setup.
Pros:
* Those 32" LG LCDs are a nice change from the old analog TVs in the cabinet.
* Smallish, but OK selection of HD channels, including HBO, HDnet, ESPN, ESPN2, etc. I only stayed a night, so didn't spend much time in the room.
* You can display a 4x3 laptop image, plus smaller TV image side-by-side on the LCD
Cons:
* Interface box only provides VGA, Firewire (I think), composite video, L&R audio. SOL if you need to connect your portable DVD and you want component video in. But, I suppose they want to make $ selling video on demand.
* The LCD is setup to look like a 1024x768 display, so if you have a widescreen laptop, like my Dell Latitude D620. Everything looks stretched.
* You only get the hotel standard remote, which doesn't let you adjust resolution, etc, on the LCD. Not that I'm surprised - most guests would probably make a mess of it, but it's a pain in the ass, nonetheless.
* Hardware menu button on the botton right edge of the LCD doesn't appear to work - probably locked out by Marriott. So you can't adjust the TV so that it looks like a 1280x720 to your PC, for example. I believe the input button is also locked out. The TV auto switches to your PC if you your laptop VGA connection is live.
* Standard, repeating, welcome video feed that you get on the TV is still standard definition. So your first experience on the LCD is this awful stretched 4:3 SD image.

As much as stay in Marriotts (sometimes 160+ nights a year), I am really tempted to get myself a standard LG HDTV remote to see if I can these LCDs to 'behave' a little better :-)