Hospitality

PPDS at Miami’s luxury Beach Haus with Philips MediaSuite TVs

PPDS has announced that its exclusive range of Chromecast builtina Philips MediaSuite 4K TVs, have been selected and installed inside Miami’s luxury Beach Haus Bal Harbour vacation residence, delivering ultimate all-inclusive entertainment experiences to guests, together with immediate cost efficiencies. Located along Miami’s worldfamous sandy beaches, in the affluent and upscale village of Bal Harbour, the Beach Haus – spaced over three buildings – goes beyond a traditional hotel, with spacious living suites, full kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms, complete with all the amenities found at home. With guest stays ranging from a few days to a few months, the TV plays a vital role in achieving its ‘A vacation that feels like home’ promise.

As part of a major modernisation project, replacing the existing, cumbersome entertainment TV setup, which had resulted in poor guest experiences and negative feedback – Beach Haus teamed with PPDS and hotel solution specialist, Hospitality1, working sideby-side throughout the entire process – before, during and post installation – integrating more than 200 Philips MediaSuite TVs in the living room (65”) and bedroom areas (55”) across all three Beach Haus Bal Harbour complexes.

“At Beach Haus, we do not compromise on quality or experience,” commented Walter DeFortuna, owner of Beach Haus. “We want guests to enter our units and feel like they have never left home.!

“We did a lot of research in the market to find the right solution, and that's when we discovered Philips MediaSuite from PPDS. When Walter reached out about needing a new solution that was modern and intuitive for his guests, we suggested researching Philips MediaSuite,” added Dhar Patel, owner of Hospitality 1, a direct hotel supplier. “The Philips MediaSuite TV is the only solution in the US market that we have found which allows guests to cast their apps without any additional equipment. So far, we have had extraordinary success with this product because it is turn-key for the owners, and we knew it would be for the Beach Haus as well.”

Philips MediaSuite TVs were the standout choice, as it’s the first dedicated hospitality TV designed exclusively to provide enhanced in-room guest experiences. It offers a seamless and natural tran- sition, similar to how guests access all their favourite TV channels and streaming platforms at home, with no additional hardware or subscription requirements. Philips MediaSuite TVs provide a night and day contrast to the previous setup. All unsightly and unsecured third-party USB solutions plugged into the previous TVs are no longer required. Philips MediaSuite is the world’s first dedicated hospitality TV to feature Chromecast built-in technology and security.

Philips MediaSuite puts the guest in complete control of their entertainment experience. Connected securely to the Beach Haus Wi-Fi, guests can now select from their favourite providers – such as Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Spotify – using their own device (tablets, phones, laptops) and personal accounts, and stream in up to 4K directly onto the big screen in a couple of clicks. This is a stark contrast to the previous set up, which required a frustrating four to five-step login process, resulting in an often poor guest experience and negative feedback. The inclusion of Chromecast built-in also eliminates the vulnerability of external devices, which were susceptible to theft and tampering, as well as reducing maintenance and replacement costs.

Running on the ever-updating Android TV OS, Beach Haus guests also benefit from having secure access to thousands of apps via Google Play, including popular services such as local news, weather, games, YouTube, plus secure voice control capabilities via Google Voice. Philips MediaSuites also feature Netflix-ready functionality, embedded on the TV, allowing guests to immediately pick up shows and movies exactly where they left off on their accounts.Beach Haus was previously paying several monthly subscriptions to provide a comparable list of channels and services to guests, which are now no longer needed, saving significant monthly costs.

Julian Verlarde, General Manager at Beach Haus, commented, “The inclusion of Chromecast built-in solves so many obstacles faced by both ourselves and our guests. Times have changed and each guest has their own preference on how they wish to enjoy their favourite TV shows and movies. They don’t want to be restricted. With Chromecast built-in to Philips MediaSuite TVs, they are in complete control of their experience. This is night and day to anything we’ve seen before.”

The inclusion of Philips MediaSuite has resulted in instant time and cost efficiencies, a savings valued at more than $10,000 a year. With the previous solution of USB devices designed for consumer use at home and not for a commercial property, and security of customer data of paramount importance, Beach Haus staff had to ensure a lengthy process of manually deleting all data and resetting all accounts accessed on each TV upon a guest’s departure – a process that could add up to two hours per day for staff when turning around rooms for new guests.

With Philips MediaSuite, all actions can now be managed entirely remotely, with guest data immediately deleted and disconnected upon their departure, saving more than 730 hours annually, and speeding up suite turnaround times. In addition, all software updates and general troubleshooting of Beach Haus TVs can now be managed and controlled entirely remotely via PPDS’ single, intuitive platform – Philips CMND. TVs are also fully customized and branded, with Beach Haus now able to easily tailor each TV to the apartment and guest. This includes individual languages, marketing or messaging, Beach Haus services (bicycle rental, housekeeping, parking, beach chairs), local information (bars, restaurants, shops), or customizing screens to celebrate a specific occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary.In keeping with Beach Haus’ and PPDS’ focus on sustainability, Philips MediaSuite TVs have also been designed for long-term use. The Android platform allows TVs to be updated with the latest features and functionalities as and when they become available. This ensures Beach Haus TVs provide a consistent performance in every room while remaining relevant longer and extending product lifetimes for increased sustainability. Updates can be scheduled and installed on all or individual displays entirely remotely, during a convenient time, such as when a room is vacant, to avoid disruptions. Joe King, VP of hospitality, North America at PPDS said: “We understood that Beach Haus were getting very frustrated using multiple providers to get the solution they desired. With Philips MediaSuite, it’s one solution, all contained in one TV, and from a single vendor. That’s unique and something we’re very proud of.” DeFortuna added, “The most important thing for us is that our guests love it… and they do. If a guest loves something, then we have return on investment, as people will come back repeatedly and will refer us to their friends and family. The support we received from PPDS was like nothing we had experienced before, from the initial order to a seamless installation and after-care, and we’re delighted by the results”

Philips MediaSuite TVs were the standout choice, as it’s the first dedicated hospitality TV designed exclusively to provide enhanced in-room guest experiences.

Imersive VR

Multiplayer VR arena launches

The world’s first free-roam, multiplayer virtual reality [VR] entertainment experience is set to delight Bristol and the South-west as Zero Latency, the global leader in warehouse scale VR entertainment, selects Bristol to continue its UK expansion. The social VR experience brings socialising with friends to a new dimension, battling zombies in a survival game, intergalactic firefights in space and solving puzzles in fantastical alien worlds.

MeetspaceVR featuring Zero Latency’s seventh UK site opened ready for the Easter weekend MeetspaceVR, Dixon Road Studio, Unit 1&2 Bonville Business Estate, Dixon Rd, Bristol, BS4 5QQ. Tickets continued on page for Zero Latency are available to be pre-booked at www.meetspacevr. co.uk from £19.95 per person with off-peak pricing available during the week.

Zero Latency created the world’s first free-roaming, multiplayer VR entertainment experience and is now set to captivate the heart of Bristol, as revolutionary social VR gaming company Zero Latency, brings its concept through meetspaceVR to one of the UK's largest hubs of creative media talent.

The launch of this new experience in Bristol further centralises Bristol's influence in the gaming industry as a cultural hub.

The deeply immersive social VR experiences brings socialising with friends to a new dimension, battling zombies in a survival game, intergalactic firefights in space and solving puzzles in fantastical alien worlds. Players enter the arena equipped with headsets, headphones, and a gun (for shooter games) to navigate their full-motion avatars through the Ready Player Onelike worlds. Senses are heightened as gamers manoeuvre through the hyper-realistic virtually generated world, all while set in a 200 sqm free roam VR arena.

Pioneers and global leaders in warehouse scale and multiplayer reality gaming, Zero Latency are revitalising social gaming by offering visitors next generational group entertainment, enhanced with world leading free-roam VR. Unlike other VR experiences, where you play solo in a confined area whilst tethered to a computer or cords, players can freely roam the arena, explore and fight together. Perfect for first time gamers and thrill-seekers alike, games feature advanced storytelling, ultra-realistic enemies and epic final boss battles. Games become ultra-competitive as groups are ranked against one another based on their skillset; number of kills and deaths. deeper into the jungle. You’re about to discover the definition of insanity:

• Zombie Survival - Picture this: you’re bunkered in a fort and surrounded by a mass of zombies. Can you stay alive until the rescue team arrives? An experience for thrill seekers.

• Outbreak Origins – Prepare yourself for epic battles. A deadly virus is wreaking havoc, causing hordes of zombies to take over the city. The dead are walking and your squad needs to do something quick!

• Singularity - Ever wondered how you’d fair against killer robots and rogue drones? You and your mates will investigate a secret military space station and take on the Terminators.

• Engineerium - Perfect for first-timers and virtual reality experimenters. Ease you and your mates into VR through this avatar-like, fantasy world that combines platform and maze challenges.

Opening of the new site in Bristol, was selected by CEO John Lilley who has been involved in teaching children code in Bristol through his business Junior Game Creators over many years. John Lilley, Chief Experience Officer at meetspaceVR said: “We’re delighted to bring Zero Latency to Bristol, one of the UK’s cultural hubs for creative arts and culture. I’ve been promising our Junior Game Creators we would arrive in Bristol soon and it’s been my ambition to open a store in the city as promised. There’s a growing appetite for cutting-edge socially engaging VR experiences and the games we offer cater to a wide audience from avid-gamers to first time visitors, but at the heart of every game is the key aspect that gaming is better when played together.We look forward to welcoming everyone to escape the everyday and can’t wait to watch players battle against zombies and sacrifice their friends so that they can win! you'll soon learn who the screamer is in your squad.”

Bristol will host Zero Latency’s full game product offering including: FARCRY VR - Fight your way across Rook Islands’ vast environments. Come face-to-face with Vaas as you and your group dive deeper and

Medical Neuroscience unit relies on Genelec

The Acoustic-Hearing Evaluation Unit (UNEVA) at the Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) is home to cutting edge research into hearing aid and implant technology. Located in the Instituto de Neurosciences de Castilla y León, UNEVA is seen as a pioneering piece of infrastructure for hearing technology in the region. At the heart of the facility is a soundproofed room with variable reverberation that allows listening to be simulated in various sound environments thanks to its Genelec 8020 studio monitors.

The unit can be used for research based on perception experiments with both healthy people and those suffering from diseases, as well as research in the field of theoretical neuroscience and the development of computational models. It also assists with research into models to improve hearing implants, hearing aids and other hearing aid devices, as well as diagnostic methods for those with hearing issues. In addition, the unit is used to prove that new sound processing for hearing aids and new devices themselves are beneficial to users.

The computational models developed in this laboratory serve to simulate how the healthy auditory system works, and how the representation of sound in a listener’s brain would be altered when there is disease or injury. “In this way we can simulate how sounds are encoded in the healthy ear and how they stop being encoded when there is damage,” explains Professor Enrique López Poveda, director of UNEVA. “And since we have the models that simulate the behaviour of the healthy ear, we can use them as a basis to build hearing aids or hearing implants. That is, you have an algorithm that reproduces the behaviour of the healthy ear, and when the ear is altered, we use that algorithm to reproduce what is failing, and rebuild it.”

The central space for carrying out this research is the variable acoustics room. It has been observed that people who are hard of hearing and use hearing aids or cochlear implants have little trouble understanding speech when reverberation is not present, but in a reverberant space they have great difficulty. The other significant factor is how noisy the environment is. So, the room has been created to test these observations and see how technology can be used to overcome these challenges.

The room itself has been electrically shielded, soundproofed and equipped with panels that can be opened or closed to adjust reverberation and absorption, allowing tests in realistic environments. At the heart of this space is a 3 m diameter ring of twenty-four 8020 monitors, supplied by local Genelec distributor Audio-Technica Ibe-

Pioneers and global leaders in warehouse scale and multiplayer reality gaming, Zero Latency are revitalising social gaming by offering visitors next generational group entertainment, enhanced with world leading free-roam VR.

The 8020 has become a benchmark for compact two-way nearfield monitoring, and its small footprint and curved enclosure design make it perfect for “stealth” behaviour, producing less reflections and diffraction even when many monitors are installed in close proximity to each other.

The first stage of the project has seen the installation of the ring of 24 monitors, but there are plans to further develop the unit. “We have created a speaker ring, but we could add more,” states Professor López Poveda. “We could build a sphere, since the design of the ring also allows it to be turned around and hung from the ceiling, for which we have provided hooks in different positions – it’s very versatile.” ria, which allows the researchers to create and change the background noise levels in the space.

“A typical test is to reproduce a phrase, word or conversation in the presence of other phrases, words, or noise coming from other sources,” explains Professor López Poveda. “For example, a sentence is played through one monitor, and the listener would have to repeat it while other monitors are playing background noise and other speech sources. If they correctly repeat what they have heard, we raise the noise level. The more noise and the more phrases used, the more difficult it is to properly understand the main phrase.”

It was the exceptional reliability, neutral sound and ability to adapt its frequency response to the listening environment that led to the selection of the 8020 model for this project. The monitors form a fundamental element of the work undertaken at UNEVA, since the research requires an exceptional level of accuracy and consistency.