Adding
Local
HD
Channels
to
LodgeNet®
Installations
Adding
Local
HD
Channels
to
LodgeNet®
Installations
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 GENERAL ... 3
1.1 SCOPE OF DOCUMENT ... 3
1.2 APPLICATION DESCRIPTION ... 3
2 INSTALLATION DESCRIPTION ... 3
2.1 SYSTEM OVERVIEW ... 4
2.1.1 Spectral Description ... 5
2.2 SERVICE ADDITION OPTIONS ... 6
2.2.1 Over the Air ... 7
2.2.2 Clear QAM Tuner ... 7
2.2.3 Set Top Box ... 8
2.2.4 ZeeVee Source Recommendation ... 8
3 INSTALLATION OF ADDED SERVICES ... 8
3.1 ZEEVEE LAUNCH POWER ... 10
3.2 CONTROL ... 10
3.3 FINAL NOTES ... 11
1 General
The ZeeVee, Inc. series of products are designed to cost effectively allow for the generation of HDTV channels from a variety of video sources. At the core of ZeeVee products is ZvBox®, which is an electronics unit designed to take various video source inputs, and encode those inputs to MPEG‐II format. The MPEG‐II stream is then translated and modulated into a QAM‐256 video stream, suitable for distribution over a cable TV distribution system for direct reception by a standard QAM‐capable digital television receiver.
1.1 Scope of Document
This document details one of several possible ways ZvPro® 250 can be used by hotel or cable operators to add High Definition services to their existing plant.
1.2 Application
Description
ZeeVee recently was asked to help in the deployment of a service enhancement for a hotel cable system to add a number of new High Definition channels to their existing service lineup. The method described is not meant to indicate that it is the only way to use the equipment, or achieve the result. It
demonstrates the general concepts and describes the specific findings in one particular installation that should be applicable to a variety of installations.
2 Installation
Description
The hotel cable plant of interest used a local cable provider (Time‐Warner) as the source of the
programming for analog channels, and employed a LodgeNet® system for channel control, local content generation, and Pay‐Per‐View services.
2.1 System
Overview
The diagram shows the complete installation prior to any modification or addition of channels. Details of the equipment in the LodgeNet® box should not be construed as an exact representation of
everything required by LodgeNet® for their PPV and signage services.
2.1.1 Spectral Description
For this installation the cable feed was provided by Time‐Warner. The hotel extracted the low channels for providing analog SD services to the guest rooms. The upper end of the spectrum was filtered to provide spectral room for the PPV services supplied by LodgeNet®, and then the LodgeNet® and filtered feed was recombined for distribution throughout the property.
Starting at the street feed at the top of the diagram the various feeds are detailed as follows. The “Cable – Street Feed” is the raw cable as delivered by the cable provider. Much of the spectrum is filled with program channels. The low end of the spectrum is typically analog, since it propagates better at lower frequencies, with the upper portion being digital signals.
The street feed is filtered to remove the upper channels. This creates room in the spectrum for the injected PPV channels and filters out the digital channels which are typically encrypted by the cable company and require a set‐top‐box for reception.
The LodgeNet® generated channels are placed spectrally above the filter point, separated by a few channel positions to insure that there is little, if any, interaction/interference.
Lodgenet Feed (B)
Lodgenet generated channels (85-110)
The filtered street feed and the LodgeNet® feed are then combined into the feed that supplies the network for distribution to the rooms. Specifics of that distribution network vary widely from installation to installation, but if well designed and functional for analog SD transmission, these networks are generally acceptable for use for digital transmission with little or no modification.
Distribution Feed (C)
Lodgenet generated channels (85-110) Analog channels (2-77)
Room for Zv Channels (112-125)
The number of channels reserved and used by LodgeNet® may vary from installation to installation, but they will generally be biased as low as possible. To determine how much room is available, measure the signal presence from 125 back down. In the case illustrated, there are 14 available channels for new channel addition (a 1 channel buffer is shown separating the available channels from LodgeNet® for safety). If the televisions on‐site are capable of receiving up to channel 135 there may be up another 10 channels for content insertion above and beyond what is shown. 95% of all TVs we have tested have been capable of receiving up to channel 135.
2.2 Service Addition Options
The described installation wished to add the four major broadcast networks to the hotel’s Free‐to‐Guest (FTG) set of channel services in High Definition.
There were three possible sources/methods of obtaining the channels; Over the Air, tuning the clear QAM from the cable (cable providers are required to send the OTA channels unencrypted over the cable), or via a set‐top‐box attached to the cable.
2.2.1 Over the Air
One way to receive the network content is the old fashioned way – over the air. This requires an antenna with clear reception and a good quality ATSC tuner. No cheap stuff as the quality of the in‐ room picture will be proportional to the quality of the picture rendered by the tuner device.
PROS: No recurring costs. Not affected by service provider changes
to channel map.
CONS: Requires some infrastructure work to install and is
susceptible to environmental damage and potential atmospheric disturbance. Not all locations may receive good, clear over‐the‐air transmissions.
2.2.2 Clear QAM Tuner
Cable companies are required to transmit over‐the‐air broadcast stations that can be received in a given service area in the clear on the cable plant. This means that a simple Clear QAM tuner should be capable of receiving these channels. As with the OTA receiver, quality will be dependent on the rendering capability of the tuner device.
PROS: No recurring costs. Little infrastructure work required. As
reliable as the cable service.
CONS: Every time the cable provider changes the channel lineup the channel to which the tuner is set
must be rescanned and the channel re‐located. This may result in unpredictable service outages. ATSC Tuner Over-the-Air Antenna ZV-250 YPrPb Component Cables Audio: SPDIF(C/O) or Analog COAX Output
Clear QAM Tuner COAX Input ZV-250 YPrPb Component Cables Audio: SPDIF(C/O) or Analog COAX Output
2.2.3 Set Top Box
The simplest method to receive the networks is to rent a High Definition set top box from the cable provider. The high definition channels usually reside in the upper portion of the cable spectrum, the part filtered out to provide the room for the PPV services. Therefore the cable box is required to tune and output the video, which ZvBox®then remodulates to the available portion of the spectrum.
PROS: Lowest entry cost. Set Top Boxes usually contain excellent
rendering engines. Channel lineups and servicing handled by cable provider. Little infrastructure work required. As reliable as the cable service.
CONS: Recurring monthly cost to rent the four set top boxes.
2.2.4 ZeeVee Source Recommendation
If the data source is a cable provider ZeeVee recommends the use of the cable company provided set top box if the recurring costs are not exorbitant. The image quality and reliability should be superior using that source.
If the service provider is a satellite company the preferred option is to provide the major networks via an over‐the‐air antenna setup. As noted, the tuner needs to be of decent quality for maximum image quality.
3 Installation of Added Services
Grafting the added services into the existing plant requires two steps. First is the addition and tuning of the hardware and second is the modification to the channel plan and additional control for the added channels.
Set Top Box Tuned to Broadcast
Network COAX Input ZV-250 YPrPb Component Cables Audio: SPDIF(C/O) or Analog COAX Output
The diagram below shows the additional equipment required to add HD network services to the plant. The distribution portion of the plant is not shown.
The only signal impact is that the width of the splitter at the root and the width of the combiner at the base have increased by one. 1:3 splitters usually have a ‐3.5dB output, and two ‐7 dB outputs. The ‐3.5 dB output of the splitter at the top should be allocated to the Filter leg. Similarly the ‐3.5dB port of the combiner should be allocated to the LodgeNet® equipment. That way the overall drop on the two feeds is‐3dB relative to the starting configuration. That should be insignificant relative to the overall plant. If this proves to be an issue at the end stations (guest rooms), the distribution amps should be bumped by 3dB to account.
3.1 ZeeVee Launch Power
For proper balancing, the ZeeVee output from the 4:1 combiner downstream of ZvPro® 250’s should be set to equalize the levels of the LodgeNet® equipment and the filtered cable feed. The exact level is completely dependent on the structure of the cable plant.
3.2 Control
Channel changes in a LodgeNet® environment are handled by the LodgeNet® system. Guests do not control the channels directly. An overview of the control system is shown and described below:
Since we’ve added four new channels to the lineup, the LodgeNet® Control Station needs to be made aware of them and add them to the lineup. For example, in the installation shown, channels 2‐77 were already occupied with existing FTG channels. The request was made to LodgeNet® to add the following channels:
User Channel (what they tune on Guest remote)
Physical Channel to be sent to TV by Control Station
Network
78 112.1 FOX-HD
79 113.1 CBS-HD
80 114.1 NBC-HD
81 115.1 ABC-HD
This addition must be made by LodgeNet®. With up‐to‐date firmware on the control station, this change can usually be made remotely by the field service technician.
3.3 Final
Notes
This document shows rough details of how to add services to a pre‐existing LodgeNet® hospitality network. Exact amplitudes and channel allocations depend on the specific hotel or hospitality network. Conceptually the installation is quite easy and there is nothing marginal and the guest experience should be excellent.
Video quality on the HD channels is solely dependent on the quality of video rendering of the tuner device. This is one of the reasons that ZeeVee recommends a set top box as the tuner.
The ZeeVee encoder/modulator products are capable of full frequency agility from channel 2 through channel 135. This document shows placement of the new channels in the very upper end of the frequency range, but channels could be placed anywhere in that range where there is a channel hole. ZvPro® 250 generates spectrally clean signals and there is no penalty or downside to placing the new channels adjacent to any existing digital or analog channel.
The same concepts used to add the broadcast networks can be used to add other services, like ESPN‐HD or HBO‐HD, etc. Addition of those services needs to researched and negotiated with the originating content provider (cable or satellite). ZeeVee assumes no responsibility for violations of the service agreements between the service provider and the hospitality provider.
