| Public House Restaurant & Sport Bar relays on GeckoTech to distribute it’s high quality video across dozens of TVs. GeckoTech deployed technology that allows Public House staff to send video to any/all TVs from a single location as opposed to visiting each TV to “tune” it to the proper source. The solution integrated Sky, Dish, Webstream, and CATV sources! Amazing! |
| Juanita’s Restaurant opens at Jaco Walk, an exquisite Latin fusion restaurant, with the first mixology Bar in the central Pacific Coast. Juanita’s relays on Geckotech’s technology to be the perfect companion for this journey with 2 Terminals gPOS point of Sale + Audio distribution + Networking, and WiFi hotspot. |
Technology changes at an alarming rate, and to be competitive in the hospitality industry you must stay on the bleeding edge. Such is the case with Los Amigos’ video distribution system. During the original deployment of an “easily controlled” video distribution in the Los Amigos Sports Bar, GeckoTech used CATV cabling infrastructure and Composite video injectors to send the multitude of “on demand content servers” to any number of the sports bar’s TVs. This solution has served Los Amigos well for the past 6 years….. But all good things must come to an end. Or must they? Can’t we simply make a good thing better? In this case yes. Los Amigos upped its Cable Tica subscription to use High Definition Set Top boxes. This allows a better experience for the customer on “fight night”. However the HD Set Top boxes posed an integration issue as compared to the legacy video distribution technology. No worries. GeckoTech to the rescue. GeckoTech engineered a hybrid solution that allowed limited distribution of high def content without disrupting the distribution of legacy content/services.
The problem is as old as time itself. Countless TVs, countless sources of content, countless remotes. And no one who knows how to operate them all!! That is why Tim Odom, owner of Hotel Poseidon, decided to call in the “big guns” to help unify his control points for the 7 TVs he recently installed in his Sky Lounge Sports Bar. Step in GeckoTech. We designed a system that used commercial off the shelf components to redistribute HD video over CAT5 cables to each of the TVs. The key components were a video switcher and a URC KP900. These two components will allow the most naive wait staff to push any content to any TV in the SkyLounge or Poseidon Restaurant. Gone are the days of the 10PM calls to Tim’s house asking “how do I get ESPN2 on the TV4?”. Life only gets easier with GeckoTech
Costa Rica Surf Safari needed a way to bring more traffic to their website to allow higher booking rates.. Carmen, owner of Costa Rica Surf Safari, turned to GeckoTech to deliver a robust (99% uptime) streaming camera capable of delivering upto 5 FPS. Carmen decided GeckoTech’s gStream managed service was “the way to go”. Low upfront service initiation fees, and ongoing support the ensured the system remained operational. The result is a great webcam that allows surfers from around the world see real-time video of the Jaco’s surf conditions. With gStream Carmen is able to see higher “traffic rates” to her site as her western European demographic “check out her surf cam”.. Check it out yoursef: http://costaricasurfari.com/webcam-jaco-beach-surf/
GeckoTech is responsible for one of Costa Rica’s most spectacular Home Entertainment installations. The Vista La Palmas penthouse has in excess of 48 speakers (4 of which drop out of the ceiling and pivot), 8 TVs (ranging from 42 to 60 inches), 6000W of online power backup, 18 zones of audio, 4 movie on demand players. The list could go on and on. During the 2012 September 5th earthquake, the VLP penthouse, situated 17 floors above sea-level experienced more side to side movement than any other area of the pacific coast. Because GeckoTech engineers believe in sturdy/robust mounting techniques not a single TV was dislodged from the wall nor damaged. Pretty impressive given the magnitude of the quake. We wish other units (lower) in VLP had been as fortunate. “Fortune” starts with solid engineering work from GeckoTech.
In an effort to streamline operational procedures, as well minimize component support costs, Poseidon Hotel, (one of Jaco’s more established properties) has contracted with GeckoTech for the deployment of a single source, 4 zone audio system. Using ABUS technology (tried and tested) the hotel will leverage the Front Desk PC as an audio player and feed a primary ABUS hub. The ABUS hub will the feed four designated zones to allow for independent audio/volume control in each zone. The identified zones are the Restaurant, Lobby, and Pool area. The fourth zone will be a roving portable zone providing music in various locations as venue demands change.
Acqua Residences, one of Jaco’s premier properties, has contracted with GeckoTech for the deployment of music into 4 common areas. Using PCs and mobile devices, the Acqua staff will be able to control music/genre and volume for each of the four zones (common areas). The GeckoMusic system consists of discretely installed volume keypads and in-ceiling speakers. The overall experience when walking through various common areas of Acqua will improved 10 fold. The common areas receiving the GeckoMusic enhancement were: Pool-Rancho, West Elevator round-about, Gym and Theater. Guests and Unit owners have already shown great appreciation for the change in the ambiance of these common areas. GeckoMusic is a great addition for any property’s common and/or private areas.
As the “Movies on Demand” market continues to gain momentum in Latin America, there are some fundamental issues that owners of Rental properties need to take into consideration before deciding to use a specific service (Netflix or BlockBuster for example) for their rental property(s):
1) Do you have sufficient bandwidth to stream the movie realtime standard definition? (High Definition content consume far more resources than are currently available on the Costa Rica network)
2) If you make your subscription available to renters, how do you preclude them from consuming “premium” services thus “running up” your monthly subscription costs?
If you have more questions about how to successfully leverage “digital streaming content” in your rental property please feel free to contact one of GeckoTech’s sales engineers.
Long time customer Los Amigos was in need of a solution to enable all employees to easily control the content of all 7 of the bar’s TVs and projectors, eliminating the multitude of remote controls. GeckoTech stepped in and implemented a universal remote control, rugged enough to withstand the abuse of the average wait staff. As well as controlling 7 TVs and projectors, this sturdy device also works for the satellite TV, cable TV and GeckoTech’s Movies On Demand and Digital Signage services.
Owner Chris Mandel can now rest assured that even his most technically challenged employees can operate the bar’s entertainment systems and keep customers happy for hours on end. He added, “the remote has saved us valuable time and simplified a complicated system”.