With the new DIRECTV Residential Experience, hotels will be able to use their existing cables as long as they meet certain guidelines. This is a huge benefit not only to the hotels but to DRE installers and sales consultants who want more work. DRE is a fabulous product but the simple fact is that some hotels simply can't be rewired without enormous expense.
When most hotels are wired, they are set up with loop-through wiring. Loop through wiring is like Christmas lights, where there is one wire and TVs split off it as needed. It's been a no-no for DIRECTV since day one but with the new DRE equipment it's finally possible to use loop-through wiring as long as it's in good condition.
However, it's not as simple as just walking into a hotel and signing them up. If you're interested in closing a deal for a hotel, you have to do a really, really serious site survey. You have to test every cable in the wall and know where all the connection points are. No hotel is going to let you tear into the walls for this, so there has to be a better way.
DIRECTV mandates that you use a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) which actually measures the amount of time it takes electricity to get from point A to point B. This will tell you how long the cable is, and when combined with other measurements it will also tell you how "healthy" the cable is and whether there is a hidden splitter or tap. That's extremely important because when you install the new DRE, every old splitter and tap must be removed and replaced with a DIRECTV-compatible one. The cable stays, but the ends don't.
TDR devices aren't cheap, but every tech who does a site survey will need one. Right now DIRECTV is finalizing the list of approved devices and they will be offered by Solid Signal. If you're curious and want to learn more about TDR and other methods of measuring cable, check out this article at CEPro.