American Cruise Lines Adds IPTV Services to Six Vessels
Safety videos, required under American Cruise Lines policy and reviewed by the U.S. Coast Guard, are available on demand through the television interface.
American Cruise Lines has partnered with marine technology integrator ControlAV to deploy Visionary’s PackeTV IPTV platform on six vessels. The system gives passengers access to live television, on-demand films, safety videos, ship-location information and camera feeds through their stateroom televisions.
The project follows the operator’s evaluation of options to modernize television services aboard its ships, which accommodate between 90 and 180 passengers. Centralized content and channel management allows the line to expand programming without major infrastructure changes.
ControlAV was selected to design and deploy the onboard video-distribution system and worked with Visionary on the installation. The platform supports remote management and a consistent user interface across different television models installed aboard the vessels.
Shipboard programming available in cabins
A forward-facing bow camera lets passengers watch the view ahead of the vessel from their cabins. A separate camera in the lounge carries entertainment and presentations, giving guests the option to watch those activities without attending in person.
For navigation information, a feed from the ship’s GPS chart plotter is encoded and distributed through the television network. Passengers can use it to see the vessel’s location and route.
Entertainment options include access to first-release Hollywood films through content-provider integrations such as Swank. The system can also carry live sports coverage, including NFL games.
Safety videos are available on demand within the television interface. Those videos are required under American Cruise Lines’ company policy and reviewed by the U.S. Coast Guard. The platform also carries daily activity schedules, itinerary information and promotional programming about future cruises.
Running the system on board
PackeTV’s browser-based administration portal provides tools for managing streams, playback devices, playlists and content libraries. The software operates on premises, and Visionary says it does not require an ongoing cloud-based license. For American Cruise Lines, the centralized setup simplifies updates to movies and television channels.
The platform can also collect operational and system-usage data, which would let the cruise line assess how passengers interact with onboard content and services. No usage results from the deployment were released.
The announcement did not identify the participating vessels or specify installation dates. It also included no statement from an American Cruise Lines executive.
