2017 Profile
About us VOD Media was formed in 2011 by a group of entrepreneurs drawn together by a passion for great hospitality experiences, a fascination with digital innovation, and an obsession with problemsolving. As travelers, we knew that guests intuitively judge hospitality brands by the ease of their technology and that almost every hotel in Africa sees Wi-Fi as its number one guest pain-point. As entrepreneurs in the technology space, we knew that only a handful of hotels had updated their legacy analogue systems. We knew that while analogue systems were a high-maintenance expense, digital integration created new revenue streams and impressive ROI, and most importantly significantly improve the guest experience. Once we have completed a project guests are offered a truly unique experience from what they are accustomed to. The biggest change is the huge increase in picture quality, channel selection and communication of the hotel brand, amenities and services. Once we have overhauled the guest experience on the TV we look to improving what is the most important part of the guest stay in 2017 the Wi-Fi. And as trouble-shooters, we were willing to put in the hours to deliver an end-user experience that surpassed expectation. We are able to combined digital TV and high speed internet into one offering, knowing that it does not always make financial sense to update one without the other. Our Strengths Interactive Hospitality infrastructure Infrastructure Service and Maintenance Wifi Access, Management and installation Digital Headend Installation and maintenance Digital Marketing Professional Display Digital Signage Network Design and roll-out Managed Network Services With the international backing of LG and Acentic, we began our first digital installation at Africa s greenest hotel, Hotel Verde in Cape Town. Quickly on the heels of this, we implemented site-specific digital systems upgrades for: The Holiday Inn, Sandton (Tsogo Sun) The Cape Grace Sun International Group (Sun City Hotels (5 Hotels), The Boardwalk, Carnival City, The Table Bay, GrandWest, Sibaya Hotel) Radisson Blu, Waterfront (Carlson Rezidor) Windhoek Country Club Resort (Legacy Hotels) The Westin, Cape Town (Starwood Hotels) Hilton, Sandton (Hilton Hotels) Strand Tower Hotel (Strand Tower Hotels) Hilton, Durban (Hilton Hotels) Hilton, Nigeria (Hilton Hotels) The One and Only Cape Town Royal Livingstone Hotel Recent Projects Carnival City Hotel Verde The One and Only The Table Bay Radisson Blue Waterfront Sun Sibaya Sun City Marriot Sun Grand West The Westin Cape Town Emperors Palace Hilton Durban Strand Towers Hotel Verde Sun Boardwalk Da Vinci Belmond VOD Media has subsequently become the largest digital hospitality service provider in the 150-plus screen market. We have worked hard to earn our reputation for unparalleled service excellence. Services Full solution deployment Full Solution Configuration 24/7 365 Support and Helpdesk Full Site survey and needs analysis Risk analysis Project Management Service Level Agreements Preventative Maintenance Project Scope
Acentic Panorama IPTV The TV in a hotel room is an interactive centerpiece offering entertainment, information and communication. It also allows hoteliers to develop real time and meaningful interactions with their guests. Panorama NG is Acentic s next generation Smart TV solution. It has been designed from the ground up to be the most flexible and powerful solution on the market. Compatible on both Coax and IP network Compatible with both Smart Hotel TV s and standalone STB Delivers OTT streaming services and guest information, whilst allowing guests to enjoy their own content via the in-room TV Companion App allowing the guest to control the TV from their mobile device An entertainment portal that delivers streaming OTT services as well as smart apps with the option to deliver traditional VOD. It s also a powerful branding and promotional tool. The interface can be customised to match any environment and brand standard, and a mobile app function allows guests to control the system via their own device, securely streaming their music, photos and movies via the inroom TV. Panorama NG is flexible and scalable, ready to meet the needs of hotelier and guest today and well into the future. All guest information, guest modules and apps are managed and updated via Acentic Cloud Services portal. The suite of reporting and analytics software included in the system allows hoteliers to gather valuable statistics around usage and trends.
Radiant 4 HSIA The 4th Hospitality Utility The ubiquity of online access for social, communication and entertainment provision means that the hotel guests of today regard it as the 4th utility, as vital to their stay as heat, light and water. Hoteliers who fail to meet this need fail to serve their guests. Existing infrastructures can t cope with the number of devices now requiring online access in the average hotel room. Guests want to enjoy apps, games, movies and search engines, and to send and receive data, emails and images. The general coverage which might once have sufficed is no longer enough. Each room needs to support seamless HSIA. That s the challenge Acentic has risen to meet. Our innovative Wi-Fi & network solution, Radiant 4, has been designed, engineered and built from the ground up. Superseding any HSIA product, we have used in the past, and outperforming any being used elsewhere, Radiant 4 is the only HSIA solution you will even need. It caters to today s guest and tomorrow s hotelier, turning Wi-Fi from a problem into a selling point. Key features: Multiple SSIDs & splash pages controlled by property o Allows the service to be personalised for individual groups or guests Proactive AP Monitoring Self Service Guest Upgrades o Allows guest to upgrade their connection speed without calling a helpdesk a boost to both revenue and the guest experience Hotel User Bandwidth Management o Various service tiers per group or individual, defined by number of devices or bandwidth Hotel configurable zones o Enables hotel to manage network on the basis of need or time of day. Conference Device Monitoring with SMS alerts o When the maximum connections limit is approached, a message will be sent to the Sales/Catering team, offering convenience and providing opportunities to upsell Wi-Fi Zoning Cloud based reporting o Across properties or brands
VOD Group Projects Overview (Cabanas, Soho Hotel, Cascades, Vacation Club, Palace of the Lost City) Sun International operate some worlds most iconic resort locations. For more than 30 years, locations such as Sun City have been the destination of choice for Presidents, celebrities, sports stars and anyone who wants to enjoy the legendary Sun International experience. Guests expect nothing but the very best when they visit and Sun International expect similarly exacting standards when it comes to their technology partners. In conjunction with Acentic we are rolled out their class leading technology; Radiant 4 and Panorama NG in an ambitious 5 location multi site rollout program involving 1900 guest rooms as well as public and conference areas. Outstanding HSIA connectivity is now an absolute guest expectation and Radiant 4 delivers just that. Radiant 4 will offer the guest the very best HSIA experience whether in room, in conference and public areas or simply sitting by the pool! For Sun City, they can manage and measure usage and also rely upon our 24/365 remote monitoring to alert them to issues such as bandwidth saturation before they present themselves to the guest. Panorama delivers an all new guest user interface with stunning graphics, coupling outstanding usability and functionality with no requirement for a set top box. Panorama NG makes a quantum leap forward in guest communication technology. It is is a flexible, scalable solution that will meet the needs of the hotelier and the guest not just now, but well into the future and, when paired with Acentic s latest Push and Play Technology.
VOD Group Projects Overview VOD Media completed this ambitious project with the Sun International Group in 2015. Table Bay is one of the The Leading Hotels in the World and we are very proud to be associated with this prestigious property. We have worked with hotel to enhance their guest facing technologies to truly global standards. Guest are now enjoying High Definition TV channels, the latest Video on Demand titles and a full interactive guest experience, all powered by the industry leading Acentic Panorama Next Generation HTML 5 platform. To complement the in-room experience we have also upgraded their Wi-Fi management system to the Acentic Radiant 4 platform, Radiant 4 offers the best possible managed service available to ensure every single guest has the most seamless and best possible experience whilst utilising the Internet. Next phase will be the deployment of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) whereby guests will be able to control their TV, share their music, movies and photos from their own portable device.
VOD Group Projects Overview Only 21 kilometers from Cape Town International Airport, the Radisson Blu Waterfront also offers easy access to popular destinations, like Table Mountain and Robben Island. The brief was clear, when working with the General Manager and the HPF Group s CEO, the hotel needed a serious IPTV system upgrade. VOD Media stepped in and designed a state of the art IPTV Solution with all the Hotel and Guests requirements. The main objective was to keep the existing cable infrastructure and provide the property with a High Definition Quality Picture in all rooms and common areas. The property wanted to get rid of all set top boxes that was installed behind each existing TV, and all TV s need to be replaced. After a site survey and numerous visits to the property we knew what needed to be done. The job consisted of a New Digital Head-end for HD Quality Picture, a Acentic Panorama Interactive Server, Juniper Core and Edge Switching, 263 x 42 LG Hospitality LED TV s, and of course encryption needed to be installed as per the requirements from Multichoice DSTV. We started the Installation on the 8 th of August 2015, setting up of the Panorama Server, Digital Head-end and all the switching for each riser. On the 11 th we started installation of TV s and flush mount wall brackets. All the existing equipment needed to be uninstalled and new equipment need to be set up. No drilling was required as we utilized the existing holes. We also needed to keep the existing servers running while we were installing the new system. We could only do one floor per day, as the hotel was fully occupied. After a week of late nights and 263 TV installations, the job was done. Now the property and guests are enjoying a top of the range High Definition HTML5 Interactive System. Definitely a must for any hotel.
VOD Group Projects Overview The brief was clear when working with the General Manager of The Westin, they required a complete overhaul of their television and Wi-Fi infrastructure and a state of the art high definition guest user interface was expected. The coaxial cabling that has been in the property since the building went up over 10 years ago was also in desperate need of replacement. A complete overhaul of the Hotel required re-cabling for both IPTV and Wi-Fi, new Wi-Fi access points from Ruckus, HP switching and of course the latest Acentic technology. Working with the latest technology available a comprehensive and successful upgrade was achieved. The Westin now enjoys some of the highest guest satisfaction scores across the Starwood group. We are extremely proud of the Westin project. Our ongoing support and development with the hotel has won us many more projects off or this massive and exciting renovation.