27
Jan
It’s the weekend. You are probably sitting on the sofa watching your 50" plasma TV, trying to decide which of the 550 channels you want to switch to, or whether to pop a Blu-ray disc in the hi-def player.
Come Monday evening it’ll be back to the 23" RCA tube TV with 18 channels of crap while sitting on top of the far too hard/far too soft (pick one) bed.
If only there was a way to get something decent on that TV…
(Nothing described here is really "hacking", no theft of service is involved and you won’t run up any charges on your bill)
If you are in a decent hotel that recently upgraded their rooms you may already be looking at a fairly acceptable HD TV, but it’s still a rarity. Many Starwood and Hyatt properties have started upgrading their old systems to new HD TV’s. But if you are not that lucky, then this article may help you out.
The vast majority of TV’s in hotels are from "Lodgenet", but regardless of the system the hotel uses the TV itself is the key. Almost every TV has several inputs; one for the cable, and at least one for "AUX" or ‘LINE IN". By using that Line-In connector, and your laptop, iPod (or another decent video source) you can be in charge of what you watch.
But there is a flaw in that plan, and it’s called "the remote control". Hotels are so scared that you’ll steal the remote that they usually replace the standard one with a very cheap and more limited version. And they take away all the fun buttons. Especially the one that lets you change the input (Some hotels have the video input buttons on the front of the TV, or on channel 0 or 100, try that before anything else)
Now, what if you were smart enough to bring your own remote along with you? Suddenly you are in charge of the TV (as it should be) and you can tell the TV to change to the video input. You also get the added bonus of a remote that actually works without having to walk right up to the TV and put your full body weight on the volume button to turn it up a little.
You have 2 ways of accomplishing this. Cheap, and not so cheap (or; not so geeky, and very geeky).
The cheap/not so geeky method involves a simple $10 universal remote control. Pick one up at your local Radio Shack, Best Buy or other electronics retailer. Make sure you bring both the remote AND the sheet with "programming codes" along with you.
Before we go on; a quick word of warning; I’m not responsible for anything you do to the poor hotel TV. It’s suffered enough over the years. If you break it, don’t tell the hotel manager I told you to. If you switch to an input and can’t get back to normal channels, hide your remote and call maintenance (tell them to bring a new TV with them).
When you get to the hotel you’ll first check whether the TV even has video inputs. Then you’ll check the front to see if there is an "input" button, and do the same on the remote. If it’s the kind of TV I usually run into then you’ll have to grab your programmable remote and the programming cheat sheet.
Find the TV brand, and follow the instructions on how to program it. Many TV brands have 4 or 5 codes, so start with the first code. Try changing the volume using that code. If it works, you are in business, if not, move on to the next code till you find the right one.
Once you’ve found the working code, simply use the "input" button on your remote to switch to the video input, and skip to the end of this article to see what you can do with it.
Now for the geeky/expensive option (my favorite). It does the same as the $10 remote control, but it’s far more impressive and requires a computer. Get yourself a Logitech Harmony remote control. You’ll find them from around $60, all the way up to $500 (go for the $60 version). These remotes are programmable, but you’ll need a computer (and Internet access) to do so. The advantage of this is that Harmony has 1000′s of remote control codes, so no matter how old or obscure the TV is in your room, they’ll have a code for it.
Another handy feature is that the Harmony remote can be programmed for several different devices at the same time. You can even name them. So, if you are at the same hotel regularly you just name it "hotel x" in the remote.
Hooking stuff up to the TV
So, now you have been able to switch the TV to a video input it’s time to actually hook something up to it.
Laptop
Most laptops have a video out connector on them somewhere. It’ll look like this:
Think back to when you opened the box your PC came in, and to that one black cable you couldn’t figure out what it was for. That was most likely the video out cable you’ll need. If you don’t have it, or you lost it then check Ebay for the correct one.
It’ll look like this and will cost around $5:
The three connectors on the end are for video (yellow) and audio (red/white).
Once you’ve plugged them into your laptop, you’ll have to let your laptop know that you are using the output. Check your laptop manual or use the CRT/LCD hotkey (usually one of the function buttons on your keyboard).
Now, start your DVD player software, Slingplayer or anything else that plays video.
iPod
Hooking up an iPod is even easier. All you need is the correct video cable. Plug one end into your iPod, and the other into the TV, make sure you have "TV Out" enabled on the iPod.
A quick word of warning; if you have a new iPod (80Gb or 160Gb) you will need the newest Apple video cable.
Now sit back and enjoy something decent., but please be sure to switch the TV back to the normal channels before you leave, just in case the next occupant of the room isn’t interested in hooking up his iPod.
Scott said,
This is cool, but I never wanted to connect anything to the hotel TV. I can watch my iTunes content on the PC or download almost anything on the screen. Is this really useful?
scottc said,
It’s useful (in my opinion) when you want to watch TV on something larger than your laptop screen. I travel with a 12″ (and a 7″) machine, and those are just too small for watching TV for anything over an hour (unless it’s on a flight, in which case you have no choice).
The article makes it sound like a lot of work, but in the case of hooking up my iPod I can be watching stuff within 2 or 3 minutes on the hotel TV.
BMW said,
And don’t forget scottc & Scott — the tricks outline above have the added bonus of being able to allow you to use the same TV as a set of basic speakers. You might travel with iPod speakers already, but it could be a (perhaps crude) way to fill the room with some background music w/o lugging yet another gadget.
–BMW.
Ben said,
I brought a PS3 in my trip to USA and I found that the shitty hotel tube tv did not allow me to switch to tv imput, It has the A/V imputs but guess what they dont work, and the AUX channel is a hoax.
Why o god WHY do they do that.
raindog469 said,
I discovered a new wrinkle in this workaround. I’m at a Red Roof with a 2000-era Philips TV with composite/component/SV inputs, and an “On Command” Lodgenet-type box hooked up to the back. I brought along my universal remote and found the right code pretty quickly, but the “On Command” box seems to interfere with the input select feature. It flicks to aux for a fraction of a second and then goes back. It also intercepts the “Menu” button and shows its own menu.
I unplugged the “On Command” box from the wall, plugged the TV in directly, and while the input select still didn’t work, going into the menu and changing “Source” from “Antenna” to “Aux” let me play the Wii… and still shows all the analog cable channels as well. No PPV, porn or $6 an hour games, but I’m not interested in that stuff anyway.
danindenver said,
I am sooo happy to have found this!
I just bought an old hotel TV and was having trouble unlocking the channels.
This article gave me the insight I needed to crack the code.
Thank you very much!
idiot said,
there’s another way that works on some hotels/tvs: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/27jeopardy.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Just yank the power cable of the stupid box they have hooked up right out of the wall. After doing this at a Doubletree I was able to use the input selects again and take advantage of the HDMI and VGA inputs in their fancy pants LG flatscreen.
idiot said,
that link should be: http://planetidiot.com/Hotel-TV-vs–PS3/detail.aspx
RRSPRINGS said,
I have tried everything to get the PS3 to work of this stupid hotel tv and can not get anything. I have tried the universal remote and the input button switches for a second and goes back. There is no source option on the tv, I need some help!
Gamer1 said,
I’m in the same situation spring is, I got a U remote and unplugged everything behind the tv and can’t do anything in menu (all options removed by hotel) and input on my remote just makes the light on the tv blink. Springs if you read this, e-mail me at barder185@yahoo.com. Wanna see if you might be in the same hotel, haha. Maybe well figure something out on this bull!
Hack said,
Just drive a larger vehicle on your trips and pack a hdmi monitor in it to display your Ps3 on in the room. You can get a 22″ for $130 and a 24″ for $179. Who wants to play a Ps3 on a crappy 480i(if you’re lucky) display anyway?
If its one of those hotels with a fancy lobby where they might bitch if I bring my own screen in I just bring my case down and put it in that and then bring it up.
They weigh like 15lbs max.
Germy Jackass said,
I have no idea what’s going on here, or what all the “excitement” is about. When traveling, I turn on the TV in the hotel room, I watch the free hotel TV. So what? A moron can operate most TV remote controls.
If I want to see a movie, I grab one of my Netflix rental discs and pop it into my laptop, which is balanced on my chest while I am sitting up in bed in said hotel room and drinking a good scotch. I plug in my $250 Sony high-end headphones to the laptop and I have the best sound available.
If I don’t happen to have the right Netflix disks with me (or if I am travelling for an extended period of time), I have my 50 – foot ultralight CAT-V cable that I run from the hotel DSL jack to my laptop, I climb into bed, and I watch the movies I want using the streaming feature from Netflix. No worries, no hassle.
Why make life more complicated than it has to be?
–>S.
Dick said,
scottC
Thanks for the tips. I sometimes bring a little sony DVD player in my bag with whatever netflix disks i have. Mostly the TVs allow switching to the RCA type inputs but not always. I was told embassy suites TVs (Chemei brand) locks you out even with the buttons on the TV itself. So maybe a better remote might be a workaround. Thanks again.
I usually don’t pack the dvd cabled to my lightweight dell D410 laptop.
Wattsie said,
If the hotel TV has an SCART socket then modify a SCART to RCB adaptor (Maplins supply these). Then connect a small toggle switch and a 9V battery (PP9) in series between pins 8 to pins 21.
Connect the SCART adaptor into the hotel TV SCART socket. Connect your AV device to the RCB connectors. The hotel TV should automatically switch to the AV channel when the small toggle switch is switched ON
This works well i am currently using this in the Cumulus Hotel in Tampere Finland.
I have looked online for a SCART to RCB adaptor with the AV switching option but have found no one who supply this. So you have to make your own i’m afraid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART
Eph said,
I must be an outlier when it comes to hotel room tv. I purposely book hotels that have LCD/Plasma TV’s. Here is the equipment I bring with me on a road trip (not good on a plane):
Macbook Pro with mini display port.
EyeTV 250 Plus
Lots of cables: HDMI, DVI, VGA, SVideo, Audio, Optical.
VGA to composite converter.
Here is the protocol I follow:
1. Check inputs on TV; prefer HDMI, DVI, VGA, SVideo, Composite.
2. Check that sound input works with video in.
3. Tune TV to input selected.
4. Use cable protection tool to remove barrel from TV.
5. Insert splitter and run cable to EyeTV.
6. Scan for cable channels, digital QAM, and ATSC.
7. Use local zip to load program guide.
8. Set up recording for favorite shows.
9. Watch recorded shows on big screen.
This all takes about 20 minutes. Be sure to leave TV as it was when you leave.
I have been able to record just about all programs from their feed, although some programs in HD are impossible to tune.
Eph said,
Just an addition from the previous post for those hotels in cities that have nice tv’s but no HD local channels. Buy an indoor antenna from the shack ($12) and hook it to the EyeTV and scan for ATSC channels. I did this two days ago in Fresno and picked 38 digital channels, about half in HD.
Bagger said,
The LG TV I have in the room was progrsammed wrong after they removed lodgenet. IKt skips channels, some dont even show up. Hit the menu button and it shows “key lock”. Will getting as universal remote, program it to this TV allow me to access all the channels i should get?
Vennin said,
So the easy, and free fix I found for this was I –
1. Unplugged the lodgenet from the wall. You don’t even have to unscrew the coax cable, just simply unplug the power. (If it doesn’t power on from the room then unscrew the coax)
Note: If your coax has a metal ring around it (mine did) a car key stuck in and lodged against it (super easy to do) and twisted will take the coax off in about 30 seconds. Easy to put back on too, because once you have it off, the metal ring falls off. Simply leave it off for the next person, and plug the coax back into the wall when you leave.
2. Plug the TV into power directly. Usually with Lodgenet there’s a power source that the TV goes into which disables the TV itself from controls. (like the front volume and channel buttons)
3. If your tv has an input button, hit it. It will now operate like a perfectly normal TV. If it does not, I’ve never seen a TV that was at least a 2000 model that didn’t have the A/V, S-Vid etc as channels. So hit the channel down button a few times and viola, Gametime!
Brandon said,
Just wanted to say thank you to VENNIN. Your advice worked perfectly and I was able to turn my very limited functioning hotel tv into a fully functional hd television. I am now able to change the menu options and the input on the tv. I cant believe these hotels go to such measures to try to prevent customers from fully using their televisions. We spend hundreds of dollars per night to watch a television with less channels then we have at home and they try to limit us even further by disabling the buttons on the tv and not allowing us to use other video inputs. These tv’s are under utililized as a result so whats the point og an HDTV if ur not going to use its features. But I guess now I know better then they do, thanks for the post.
Bradley said,
I stayed at a hotel with Lodgenet and found that this did not work. After doing some research, here’s what I found:
These TVs are “Hospitatlity” TVs, which allows a special lodgenet card to be installed in the TV (no longer requiring an external box). It comes with a “installer” remote which has all the functions, including access to a menu which allows you to disable various features of the TV (aux ports, etc.) Basically, Lodgenet is installed after the TV is setup and prevents access to this menu to change anything. With every power cycle, the settings are reset. That’s why it always turns on to the same channel.
I bought an old Lodgenet TV when a hotel renovated (that’s how I found all this info out) and it turns on to channel 41 every day at the same volume. I can’t find an installer remote so I’m gonna just have to deal with it.
But, I recently stayed at a W and found that they offered some new amenities: a jack pack, which is basically an extension of the ports on the back of the TV placed nicely on the desk. Now, I can conveniently hook up my XBOX, computer, or iPod. Plus, when I plugged in my 360, the TV switched to that input automatically. Nice! They also had a DVD player in the room for me. I guess someone up there was reading this post and figured it all out for us.
Veive257 said,
Vennin is right on. I was getting frustrated with the Philips TV (on lodgenet) flipping back to TV every time I selected the CVI input. Unhooking the coax did it and the key worked perfectly.
Add to that the hotel wifi, shared out through my laptop via ethernet cable, and I’ve got xbox live while 600 miles from home.
Thanks for the info!
Don said,
Most of the Expensive hotels on the Sand in Waikiki Hawaii (Oahu) charge over $650 a night for an ocean front room and have LG Flat Screen TV’s with all of the inputs — however each hotel told me the inputs are disabled at the factory. If you don’t like to check luggage and do like to edit your videos, this capability is important. Its a big gamble to pay that much and take a chance that TV will only be disabled by a crappy hotel remote. The Royal Hawaiian charges $950, and told me “we’re in the business of selling what you watch on your TV.”
TONY J. said,
Some older TV sets will look for a signal if the cable is disconnected and then default to the AUX input.
The PS3 needs to be set to use the A/V cables. With the TV on AUX and the PS3 on, hold it’s power button down for bout 5 seconds. It’s light should blink, untill then it is using the HDMI.
willy said,
Thanks Tony Right on!!!
Rob said,
Bradley is right. The tactics on this page will not work with a lot of LodgeNet systems, especially if they’re coupled with the LG-LST4100A Set Back Box that LodgeNet uses to command the TV.
Even if you program a universal remote, and have unhooked everything from LodgeNet, you need an “installers” remote, or “programmer/setup” remote to actually command the TV to do anything. It’s basically a paperweight unless you can get into the manufacturers menu and switch off the hospitality mode.
Anyone know where to get an installers remote for LG TV’s?
Ron Pate said,
i just bought some tv’s from a hotel and the programmin card was not in therem after lodgenet took them out. Does anyone know where i can find some
kathy said,
Hi y’all. Not very tech saavy. Just bought a small Asus DVD player for travel that plugs into my Asus 10″ netbook. If I want to project my Netflix (or owned) DVDs onto the hotel TV, can’t I just use a VGA cable from netbook to TV? I thought this would work but when I tried this last night the movie was pixelated on both my netbook and the TV, but it was coming through on both screens. Do I have to make some adjustments somewhere or is this just not possible? What/why not, etc.? Movies do play fine on my netbook, btw.
michael said,
I stayed at a HH this weekend and this is all I needed:
remove telephone cord from back of T.V., press channel down till you get to zero and viola, there are your external inputs. Two steps, no money spent.
Tim said,
Hilton Hotels and OnCommand TV with LG HDTV – To be able to use the front control buttons on thr TV and therefore be able to go to the menu and make settings and choose a different input, you must remove the cover form the back of the TV and unplug the telephone-like cable that goes between the “black-box” on the control box which is bolted to the back of the TV.
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sean said,
True some philips tv’s(example 25st220l/17) lock you out through a commercial/consumer option thats set via a master remote control (remote number rg4172bk or rc2573 and code 024995 then press menu immediately) No remote no input. rf modulator may work though. S
Eph said,
I recently went on the boat to Alaska with Silver Seas Shadow. I emailed them before the trip to be sure they had hdmi inputs on their tv, and they said yes. When I got there they only had a DVI port and I didn’t bring a DVI connector for my laptop. Not able to connect. It is probably best to speak with someone rather than email.
DarkFoxDK said,
I just used Vennin’s trick. It worked a charm, on the LG 37LC50C TV in my hotel room, I even only had to unplug the coax cable.
Juju said,
Stuck in a hotel with hotel Tv. Traveling with my three year old. Tried hooking up the portable dvd player to the tv and everything is disabled. So frustrating. I called down stairs and was told that the “engineer” was on lunch. He never showed up. Called again this morning and was told that she would try to find someone. Two hours later still watching hotel tv. At least they have nick Jr.
Jimmy said,
I stayed at a doubletree and guess what? I didnt need to do anything other then plug rca cables from the tv to a dvd player and it found the input right away. My friend and I spent so many hours watching movies that we didnt need to pay those outrageous fee’s for renting movies.
Andre said,
idiot said,
“Just yank the power cable of the stupid box they have hooked up right out of the wall. After doing this at a Doubletree I was able to use the input selects again and take advantage of the HDMI and VGA inputs in their fancy pants LG flatscreen.”
-THANK YOU Idiot.
This worked great on an ONCOMMAND at a Quality Inn.
Hotel Guest said,
Brought new laptop, HDMI & male-to-male pin stereo plug.
Hotel had HDTV w/ coax & ethernet connected to equipment and only POWER button worked.
DISCONNECT ONLY THE ETHERNET FROM THE HDTV resulting in necessary INPUT (for HDMI/DVI) and VOLUME buttons on HDTV becoming functional. Again: “NO HACKING NOR NEED FOR UNIVERSAL REMOTE”.
Heck of a time for laptop to recognize HDTV, but after plugging/unplugging HDMI cable five times, then the 2nd Display was identified, set to 1080p and extended from the main display.
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Some Guy In London said,
At a Marriott in London, fudged around for a bit. Finally discovered going to channel 0 allowed me to switch inputs.
New Zelda, here I come!
Hotel Maint man said,
I work for a Starwood hotel. It’s really this simple. Pick up your room phone, Dial “O” ask the person who answers to send up maintenance and have them set up you monitor or video game. Saves you the cost of the remote or breaking your back to get to the back of the TV. Oh, Removing the cable box to get free movies is illegal. First from Lodgenet, who will prosecute and the Innkeeper. It’s called defrauding an innkeeper.
Eph said,
One hotel had an LCD TV with the normal cable channels in analog. There wasn’t any protection on the TV but there was no HD. I did a scan for digital channels and found about 50 HD channels as well as 8 porn channels. I’m not into porn, but it was interesting for a while. When I left I blocked the porn channels since this was a family hotel.
At a recent stay at a new Four Seasons in Baltimore, the TV had all inputs available and was a dream to use. In addition, the free internet, described as the slow version, tested at 31mbps. The newer hotels are getting the message.
Dan said,
I was able to disable the key lock on an LG tv in a Holiday Inn in England by unplugging the cable tv link, the serial cable from the control box, and unplugging the power from the TV for 5 minutes. When I turned it back on I could access the input and menu buttons on the TV itself…huzzah!
Kathryn said,
I was unable to do the key trick, for lack of a key.
However, the TV in this hotel has the input button on the side of the TV and it does work, but was snapping back within minutes.
In the interest of hoping this will help someone else who can’t get the darn metal ring off, what I did to get around it was change the channel to an analog channel (any one will do) and THEN changed the input, and it stuck.
Now watching Netflix from my WD Live Hub on the 37″ flat panel. I also had to get around the wired internet by connecting a router to the WD box, logging into their internet with a laptop also connected to the router, and then the WD box worked great.
matthew said,
I recently stayed at Trade Winds in St. Petersburg and they had a nice 40″ plasma and HDMI inputs. I being the techy person I am had a HDMI cable along with my tablet and laptop with movies. But, the input buttons didn’t work on the button so I checked the TV but again the input button didn’t work. I looked around and found that its one of those internet TV’s unplugged the Ethernet cable and blamm it worked. Just wanted to pass this along hope it helped!
HotelVisitor said,
RESOLVED:
Marriott hotel, LG TV, unable to select HDMI.
Key lock on message displayed on screen when side buttons are used.
Original LG remote control replaced with generic remote, with no option to enter the MENU.
TV model – 32LG300C (special hotel TV).
SOLUTION:
I’ve found a workaround.
Swith off the TV from remote, swith it on from remote and press 0 (zero) key on remote control several times quickly.
This will change the input source to VGA, Composite, HDMI etc.
For some models, you need to unplug the cable from controlling box on the back of the panel.
In my case this didn’t work, and TV won’t switch on.
hqq
cody said,
i found that the hotel i am staying in has installed a type of video card into the television.simply pulling on the end of the coaxial connector that plugs into the television will remove the card.
AutoFill Tony Gene E Mason II, 1685 Ridgemore Drive said,
Even more geeeeeky to use your android as the universal remote along with the RemotBean that converts audio to Ir signals with global datbase of remote controls
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Len said,
1. press function button; takes you to menu.
2. down twice, to “source”.
3. LEFT arrow. wait a few seconds. This gets HDMI
(3a.RIGHT arrow for A/V, whatever that is.)
4. down twice to exit. Right arrow.
5. Enjoy blu-ray, or dvd.
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