Delivering DIRECTV to a huge cruise ship is quite an undertaking. David Ross of Signal Connect, a division of Solid Signal, recently brought this satellite TV service to two cruise ships. One has 658 rooms and the other has 750. Despite David’s vast experience in delivering satellite TV to luxury vessels, working boats, and marinas, these were his first installation for a cruise ship company. Being the marine satellite TV expert he is, David was able to deliver DIRECTV to these luxury cruise lines. He can bring satellite TV to your ship, too.
David’s involvement in the marine industry brought him this opportunity. He recalled, “The company purchased these two cruise ships and began to upgrade them. They wanted DIRECTV as part of these improvements.” Since Signal Connect is a DIRECTV dealer with extensive marine installation experience, the cruise ship company naturally reached out to David for the job. “I was very excited about the opportunity!” he added.
Delivering DIRECTV to ships with that many rooms is much different than bringing this same service to a 100’ yacht, David says. “Generally speaking, the larger the installation, the more equipment the boat owner will need,” he explained. “In the case of these two cruise ships, we created a solution of 10 receivers, one for each channel, placed in a headend system.”
These headend systems, also called satellite master antenna television (SMATV) systems, supply and control a satellite TV sources sent out to a large number of receivers. These installations are used in any facility or structure that has many rooms, including cruise ships, hotels/motels, schools, and more. David added, “Basically, if you need to deliver satellite TV to more than just a few rooms, you need to develop a headend system to do it.”
“The great thing about this installation is that the ships were already pre-wired for satellite TV,” David explained. “Each vessel even had a satellite dome from the previous owner.” The company’s IT team installed the DIRECTV system using the blueprint that David and the Solid Signal crew designed for the job. Once that was done, they turned back to David for the account activation. “Because I work with DIRECTV on a regular basis, I knew who to call to these accounts activated quickly,” he added. “What could’ve taken their IT team hours to do, I did in less than 20 minutes.”
By getting DIRECTV from Signal Connect, the cruise ship company gets David’s account management services for the life of the account. “If they ever have an issue or need something fixed with their account, all they have to do is give me a call,” David said. “We offer all of our clients this level of account management service for free.”
Are you a representative of a cruise ship company who’s wondered if DIRECTV or DISH would be a good addition to your fleet? If so, David would like to talk to you. He can recommend the best satellite TV package for your luxury cruise lines based on how many rooms you have, where the vessels travel, and other important factors. He’s also more than happy to help you bring satellite TV to your yacht, trawler, or tugboat, as well as any other vessel. To get your questions answered, call our DIRECTV marine specialist at 248-565-5574.
