WHAT ALTERNATIVES TO DSTV IS THERE FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY?

During any unsure economic times all businesses have to look very critically at their expenses and see where they can save, but still satisfy the demands of their customers. Here you will find ways that you can permanently or temporarily adapt you Satellite Tv system with in order to ease the budget.

1.Things that you can implement to reduce DStv costs.

• The first option is to change your DStv package to a cheaper option.
• Changing to another Pay Tv supplier that has cheaper rates.
• Opting for a switch – over to Free To Air (FTA) channels.
• Extracting Tv Channels from the internet.

2. Types of organisations that may benefit from this information.

HOTELS	SPORT STADIUMS
GUEST HOUSES	CARE HOMES FOR THE ELDERLY
LODGES	RESTAURANTS
HOLIDAY RESORTS	HOSPITALS

The following information can save any business thousands of Rands every month for as long as it may be required. The change over might cost a few Rand, but will be recouped within the first month, making it more than worth your while.

4. Reducing your monthly Satellite Tv costs:

• Choosing a cheaper package from DStv can make quite a substantial difference. DStv has three packages for Hotels, B&B’s etc. (BASIC, ESSENTIAL & ULTRA). If you could move From Ultra to Basic, you will save 50% on your monthly DStv bill. This could easily mean a saving of more than R8,000.oo if you should have more that 40 rooms. The down side is that you will have less popular channels to offer your clientele. A channels list is available from DStv Commercial for these 3 package options. No hardware changes are required for this move.
• Your second option is to change to a Channel provider like STARSAT, that has cheaper rates. We have to realize that DStv has advantage with their local sport channel line up, but STARSAT has a great variety of world class channels that include entertainment for the whole family. They for instance have the following:

FROM THE SES-5 SATELLITE
10+ MOVIES CHANNELS	2 KIDDIES CHANNELS
7 SPORT CHANNELS	4 RELIGIOUS CHANNELS
9 INFOTAINMENT CHANNELS	3 AFRIKAANS CHANNELS
7 NEWS CHANNELS	+ VARIOUS OTHER GENERAL CHANNELS

If you currently have 10-15 DStv channels, you will require to replace these decoders. The cost of the decoders, plus the labour of a technician, can easily be recovered within two to three months, depending on the amount of Tv points you have.

• For smaller establishments or organizations it could mean a great saving to opt for the FREE TO AIR services. It might mean that you make use of two or three services, but that could just give you enough channels to keep your guests entertained effectively. Currently available (in 2021) are the following:

SABC	OVHD	OVHD
SABC1	E.TV	E.NEWS & SPORT
SABC2	E. EXTRA	FRANCE 24 NEWS
SABC3	E.MOVIES	SABC SPORT
SPORT	E.MOVIES EXTRA	E.TOONS
ETV	E. REALITY	WEATHER
SABC NEWS	E.REWIND	STARLIFE
TSHWANE TV	SABC 1,2&3	+TWO MUSIC

These channels all come from the same IS20 satellite, so combining the hardware of the two will not be difficult.

• If you however wish to combine the STARSAT and FREE TO AIR service like OVHD, then a second dish will be required, because STARSAT transmits from another satellite. Adding a second dish is not an expensive exercise at all.
• There are also a few random channels on the SES-5 satellite that can be added here easily with a FTA receiver:

CGTN NEWS	NHK JAPAN in English
BVN BELGIUM/NETHERLANDS	TV MONDE FRENCH
DEUTSCHE WELLE (DW) in English	FRANCE 24 ENGLISH NEWS

• Lastly we have the option to stream channels from the internet. Many broadcasters make their channels available via I.P. and all you need is a PC or laptop with an internet feed to feed such a channel into your TV system. One such service that I discovered is “USTVGO“. There are many channels available there to choose from. See below list. These channels are free, and you might just need a VPN for some of the channels. You may see more such free services if you scour the internet.

Cartoon network	DISCOVERY	ABC	WBC	CINIMAX
ESPN	NGC	SHOWTIME	TCM	CNN
FOX SPORT	HISTORY	SCIENCE	CBS	DISNEY
FOX	HBO	TRU TV	CMT	WWE NET

• I investigated the possibility to get the free channels from ROKU, but it is not viable as a 24 hour channel, because the Media Box will switch off automatically after inactivity of about 3 hours.

5. An economical DStv option for Guest-Houses:

• For a B&B that has less than 20 rooms, it is a very practical option to redesign the satellite system in such a way that each room can have its own decoder.
• Then you can buy the cheapest package from DStv, but also have available in each room all the free channels on the decoder that your guests can scan through and use to their liking. This gives them a much larger choice of channels to choose from. Also the reception will be in Full HD and not Analogue SD (standard definition).
• It is tested and works very well to install the decoder behind the television with double sided tape. Wires are all hidden behind the Tv and the remote works 100% from any where in the room. This is aesthetically pleasing, because your guest will just see the television.
• The same layout can be used if you make use of OVHD. (Also giving you a High Definition picture). Remember that you can at any time easily swap a DStv decoder with an OVHD box, with it working straight away. No technician needed. Both decoders work from the same satellite signal. Activating an OVHD decoder is also DIY.

6. Other options available to hospitality suites:

• With WiFi that now has become a standard service in most locations, many guests have the option of bringing their own Media boxes with them and just plugging it into the hotels or resorts Tv. This gives them a very wide variety over and above what the hotel provides. Parents and children can also watch different channels. It also provides an extra income for the hotel if they can charge for the bandwidth used by the guests.