"New" in-cabin entertainment system?

[sofietucker]

So we always bring a bunch of music as the various stations available in the staterooms are pretty iffy (once recently, the jazz station played only country--as did ALL the stations). We used to bring DVDs--and then once, our suite's proclaimed fabulous Bose setup turned out to be for iPhones only. That  was a quiet cruise... So we started streaming. But last 2 times, the internet--even our "fast" wifi--was so slow that it kept being messed up. So: does the "new" system they're bragging about--on Riviera and Marina--include a DVD player? We have a small old portable one we can bring, but try to use luggage space and weight for the wine, lol...  Thanks

Edited December 4, 2021 by sofietucker

[PhD-iva]

PH on Riviera (17 November sailing) did not have a DVD player. The TV system was quite nice with a good menu and functionality. While I did not make use of it, I believe there were extensive music channels available. Certainly in the gym using the elliptical machine, the included interactive screen included tv channels and about 25 music channels (audio only if I recall).

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, sofietucker said:

So we always bring a bunch of music as the various stations available in the staterooms are pretty iffy (once recently, the jazz station played only country--as did ALL the stations). We used to bring DVDs--and then once, our suite's proclaimed fabulous Bose setup turned out to be for iPhones only. That  was a quiet cruise... So we started streaming. But last 2 times, the internet--even our "fast" wifi--was so slow that it kept being messed up. So: does the "new" system they're bragging about--on Riviera and Marina--include a DVD player? We have a small old portable one we can bring, but try to use luggage space and weight for the wine, lol...  Thanks

The paid internet is no faster than the free internet. The only difference is that “streaming” is blocked on the free internet.
 

The new TV has both the scheduled movies (3? Channels like in the past) and On Demand movies, etc plus some broadcast TV.  

[sofietucker]

4 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The paid internet is no faster than the free internet. The only difference is that “streaming” is blocked on the free internet.
 

The new TV has both the scheduled movies (3? Channels like in the past) and On Demand movies, etc plus some broadcast TV.  

Thanks--so no DVD player? 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

Thanks--so no DVD player? 

After the changeover to “On Demand,” some DVD players were still kept at Guest Services along with an ever-dwindling library of DVDs. 
How much of each varied by ship. That was pre-Covid.

For music, we preload our iPhones and bring a JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth speaker. Of course, we do not use it on the balcony out of courtesy for our neighbors.
 

 

[sofietucker]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

After the changeover to “On Demand,” some DVD players were still kept at Guest Services along with an ever-dwindling library of DVDs. 
How much of each varied by ship. That was pre-Covid.

For music, we preload our iPhones and bring a JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth speaker. Of course, we do not use it on the balcony out of courtesy for our neighbors.
 

 

Yep, that's about what we'll end up doing too.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

For music, we preload our iPhones and bring a JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth speaker. Of course, we do not use it on the balcony out of courtesy for our neighbors.

 

Thanks – all I want to hear on my balcony is the sound of the sea!

[sofietucker]

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thanks – all I want to hear on my balcony is the sound of the sea!

Lol. We once were exposed to nothing but 80s music from the balcony below, during the entire cruise, plus their cigarette smoke... That was on a cruise line That Shall Not Be Named--and never again.

[Dourobert]

Are there any accessible HDMI ports on the TV?  We often snuggle and watch downloaded shows on my iPad but there have been times I've wanted to connect my iPad or portable to the TV. 

[CptBoatface]

Just.got a jbl  charge 4. I'll keep the volume low

[Flatbush Flyer]

26 minutes ago, Dourobert said:

Are there any accessible HDMI ports on the TV?  We often snuggle and watch downloaded shows on my iPad but there have been times I've wanted to connect my iPad or portable to the TV. 

I haven’t tested that on the new TVs. But, I expect the HDMI connections are disabled.

Note however that there really are quite a lot of On Demand movies.

[Jockocruiser]

7 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 But, I expect the HDMI connections are disabled.

Really?  How would they do that?

Couldn’t you display photos on the tv if you have an iDevice to a connector to a HDMI cable to the HDMI port?

[LHT28]

6 hours ago, Jockocruiser said:

Really?  How would they do that?

Couldn’t you display photos on the tv if you have an iDevice to a connector to a HDMI cable to the HDMI port?

We tried a few years ago   with our computer  to TV & it would not work

 Maybe the newer TV have that option  but at the time the controls were blocked

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 hours ago, Jockocruiser said:

Really?  How would they do that?

Couldn’t you display photos on the tv if you have an iDevice to a connector to a HDMI cable to the HDMI port?

“Institutional” TV sets (e.g., hotels, cruise ships, etc) often have many “ports” (e.g., HDMI) and remote control menu (e.g., screen ratio) functions disabled. This prevents guests from misusing/experimenting with them and creating a FUBAR situation.

[Kate-AHF]

17 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

I haven’t tested that on the new TVs. But, I expect the HDMI connections are disabled.

Note however that there really are quite a lot of On Demand movies.

Just off Marina - IMO the catalog of on-demand movies is not that large.

[Dourobert]

10 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

“Institutional” TV sets (e.g., hotels, cruise ships, etc) often have many “ports” (e.g., HDMI) and remote control menu (e.g., screen ratio) functions disabled. This prevents guests from misusing/experimenting with them and creating a FUBAR situation.

That has been my experience in many hotels but I was hoping Oceana would be more open.  Oh well, one less cable & adapter to lug around.

[babysteps]

On 12/7/2021 at 1:46 PM, Kate-AHF said:

Just off Marina - IMO the catalog of on-demand movies is not that large.

Agree, not huge, especially some of the categories. There *are* a lot of documentaries (really well selected) and also many classic movies (Bogart, Hitchcock, etc). Compared to the old check-disc-out-at-reception, it's a lot easier with plenty of selections. Definitely isn't netflix lol. Spouse found a whole bunch of destination-related shorts but when I scrolled on my own I didn't find them