The shockingly good hotel just keeps getting, at least theoretically, better. This time around it’s a panel of connectors for the TV that allow guests to plug their own equipment into it, drastically increasing its utility. A simple switchbox includes buses with component video + audio; VGI, HDMI, and mini-plug audio; or RCA/composite video with mini audio or RCA audio.
Since I travel with a mini-to-mini cable (to plug my iPod into the rental car), all I lacked was a monitor cable to run the TV shows on my laptop through the big nice plasma, so I went around the corner to Best Buy.
Unfortunately, neither I nor the (admittedly nontechie) hotel guy could make it work. Something’s askew; it’s possible my new cable is bad, but we lack access to other equipment (and motivation) to chase this down. Oh well. The thought counts for a lot; I’ve never seen another hotel even make gestures in the direction of this kind of technical accommodation, so they definitely get an A for effort even if it won’t quite work this time.
Hampton Inn and Marriott have this capability, or at least the Hampton Inn in Buda, TX, and the Marriott at Houston Hobby do.
The Hampton Inn in Harlingen does not have these hook-ups, but it neither did it have an LCD tv. And the water pressure in the shower was less than desirable. Oh, and the dead hooker in the closet was unsettling, but ‘when in the country, go to town,’ I always say.