LodgeNet Interactive Corp. (LNET) said on Tuesday that it has been selected by DIRECTV to provide technical support and installation services to upgrade high-definition, or HD, television systems in over 500 hotels served by DIRECTV nationwide.
On February 20, DIRECTV would begin offering Showtime HD, Universal HD and HDNet in the new MPEG-4 format, and would eliminate the current MPEG-2 feed for these channels. As a result, systems at the affected properties will require the installation, upgrade or replacement of equipment to allow those locations to receive content in the new format.
Under the new agreement, LodgeNet's Professional Solutions Group has been hired to provide the installation support to upgrade the hardware required for DIRECTV's migration of their original HD programming from the MPEG-2 format to MPEG-4. The retrofit operation will be funded by DIRECTV and will be performed at no additional cost to the hotels. In addition, plans are in place to further migrate additional channel offerings later in 2009, and it is anticipated that LodgeNet will manage this execution for DIRECTV as well.
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