Abstract:
A hotel entertainment system adaptable to provide entertainment services to a large or small lodging facility is provided. The system comprises a master host and several slave subsystems, which communicate via a network backbone. The slave subsystems provide entertainment services to guest rooms, and the master host coordinates communications between the slave subsystems and other components of the hotel entertainment system. The master host can connect to a number of slave subsystems with the slave subsystems providing services to a subset of the guest rooms in a lodging facility, allowing the system to be scaled to provide entertainment services to lodging facilities of varying sizes. The master host contains a room map and a property management system daemon. The room map allows the master host to determine which guest rooms are by a particular slave subsystem, allowing accurate tracking of which guest room receives services. The property management system daemon communicates this information to the hotel property management system, which tracks billing and room information for all the guest rooms in a lodging facility. The slave subsystems include a slave host and several services subsystems. The slave host has a property management system interface daemon, which communicates with the property management system daemon in the master host to receive guest room status updates and send guest room services information. The master host also coordinates delivery of new video content schedules to the slave subsystems. A slave subsystem failure only affects the guest rooms that a particular slave subsystem services, and the slave subsystems are capable of providing entertainment services to the guest rooms when the master host is off-line, thus reducing the effects of any system failures.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to hotel systems, and, in particular, to scalable systems capable of providing entertainment and/or information services to a large number of hotel guest rooms.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    In recent years, the use of hotel service systems to provide in-room entertainment and/or information services has become increasingly widespread. Such entertainment systems often include the provision of free television programming, pay-per-view movies, video games, and Internet access. Such systems often also allow the guest to order hotel services such as laundry services and room service, and can provide alternative check-out services. Further potential uses of such a system not envisioned today may also be available in the future.  
           [0003]    Such systems typically include a host computer which is connected to different subsystems which provide the entertainment services to a guest room. The host computer manages the requests from the guest rooms and sends commands to the different subsystems which in turn provide the service to the guest room. Thus, the host computer does not directly provide the services, but manages the requests and commands for the services.  
           [0004]    There are typically subsystems for each type of entertainment service provided. For pay-per-view movies, for example, there is a video content server (VCS), or a digital content server (DCS), which provides the movies for viewing in the guest room. When a guest orders a pay-per-view movie, the host computer records the order, and gives a command to the video or digital content server to provide the movie to that particular guest room. Likewise, if a guest wishes to play a video game, the host computer receives and records the request and coordinates with a video game engine which provides the video games to the guest room. Also, if a guest wishes to use an Internet based service, the host computer receives and records the request, and coordinates with an Internet browser which provides the Internet service to the guest room.  
           [0005]    The host computer also typically coordinates with a property management system (PMS). The PMS is the system used by a hotel to track room status and charges. When a host computer records a services request, it also communicates this information to the PMS, which in turn adds the charge for the service to the bill for the room. The host computer can then also provide services to the guest room which come from the PMS. For example, a guest can access a list of current room charges and check out from the guest room. Additionally, a guest can use this feature to perform other functions, such as laundry services or room services.  
           [0006]    By means of the host computer controlling a number of service sub-systems, a single computer can coordinate the services for a number of guest rooms. Typically, in such a system, the host computer can control the services for up to 1200 guest rooms. The host computer typically includes a CPU, a memory, an intelligent communications processor card (ICP), a serial port board, a SCSI board, and a network interface card (NIC). The ICP functions to connect the host computer to the guest rooms. The SCSI board connects the host computer to the video game engine subsystems. The NIC connects the host computer to an ethernet switch which connects to several Internet browser subsystems. The serial port board connects to devices which use serial communications, such as the PMS and a modem.  
           [0007]    The ICP is capable of connecting a preset number of guest rooms to the host computer, with each room having a connection to the ICP. Thus, if an ICP has 200 connectors, it can serve 200 rooms. If a hotel has more than this amount of rooms, additional ICP boards may be added to the host computer to serve the additional rooms. For example, if a hotel has 1200 guest rooms, six ICP boards would be needed to service all of the rooms. The ICP board typically connects to the host computer via an ISA interface in the host computer. As a host computer has a limited number of ISA interfaces, a facility may have more guest rooms than can be connected to a host computer. For large hotels, the number of guest rooms may be greater than the total number of ICP-to-guest room connections. Using the above example, if a host computer has six ISA slots available, the system can service a maximum of 1200 guest rooms. Thus, for a large facility, the system must be modified, or a different system must be used, to accommodate all of the guest rooms.  
           [0008]    Traditionally, to overcome this performance problem, systems have been modified to suit the specific needs of an individual hotel. These customized systems may include modified systems which can accommodate additional ICP cards, or two or more separate systems installed for a facility which are coordinated to provide services. However, this creates a new set of problems. For example, the amount of time and resources to design and install the custom designed system increases dramatically, as each system for a large hotel is unique. This increases the cost of the system, and also can also degrade the quality and reliability of the system. Additionally, if problems do arise, they can be more difficult to troubleshoot since the system is not uniform, and a technician servicing the system needs to learn the differences of that particular system, possibly increasing downtime associated with a failure. Thus, it would be advantageous to have a scalable system, capable of using standard configuration host computers to connect any number of guest rooms.  
           [0009]    However, even with standard systems, a host computer can suffer periods of downtime. This downtime may be the result of a hardware or software failure, or routine maintenance on the system. For a lodging facility, this may mean that all of the rooms are without the services of the system during the period of downtime. This may cause customer dissatisfaction and loss of revenue for the facility. Additionally, as the guests may no longer check out of the hotel directly from the room during these downtime periods, more guests must come to the front desk to check out, causing increased wait times for the check-out, which can also cause customer dissatisfaction. Thus, it would also be advantageous to have a system which reduces system downtime, and also minimizes the effect of downtime to as few guest rooms as possible.  
           [0010]    Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an entertainment services system which: (1) has standard components which are configurable to meet the needs of both small and large facilities, (2) is more resistant to failures, and reduces the effects of such failures, and (3) is scalable such that it can accept additional guest rooms, and/or additional services without costly modifications to the system.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    The present invention is designed to overcome the aforementioned problems and meet the aforementioned, and other, needs. The present invention provides a system and method for providing entertainment services in a lodging facility. The services can include entertainment services and/or information services, which may be provided in a large or small lodging facility.  
           [0012]    The system includes a plurality of slave subsystems, including at least a first slave subsystem having a first slave host and a second slave subsystem having a second slave host.  
           [0013]    Each slave subsystem is associated with a group of rooms in the lodging facility, with the first slave subsystem being associated with a first group of rooms and the second slave subsystem being associated with a second group of rooms. Each of the slave hosts performs a first set of functions. The system also includes a master host, which performs a second set of functions. The master host is connected to several master host subsystems. A communications interface enables communications between each of the slave hosts and the master host.  
           [0014]    The master host subsystems include a property management system interface, a front office terminal, an Internet router, and a modem. The functions performed by the master host relate to communications and control of the master host subsystems. The master host controls communications between the property management system and the slave hosts via its property management system interface. The master host also supervises access to the front office terminal to enable terminal related communications to be received by a desired slave host. Additionally, the master host secures a connection to the Internet for one or more of the slave hosts, and provides a connection to the modem which may be used for remote access to the master host which may in turn provide access to any of the slave hosts.  
           [0015]    In one embodiment, the system includes one or more digital content receivers also, a digital content server is included in at least one of the slave host subsystems. The slave host is configured to receive content from the digital content receiver and store it on the digital content server. When the content transfer is complete, the slave host notifies the master host. When the master host receives notification that all of the slave hosts have transferred the content, it coordinates the removal of the content from the digital content receiver.  
           [0016]    The master host stores room map information that correlates each room of the lodging facility with one of the slave hosts. The master host also has menu information related to identification of the first slave host as being responsible for the first group of rooms and has menu options for producing reports to obtain data from each of the slave hosts. Additionally, the master host has menu options that allow configuration changes to be propagated to all of the slave hosts. The master host is also capable of installing configuration changes to the slave hosts.  
           [0017]    The slave host controls several functions for the group of rooms it is associated with. These functions include controlling game engine operations, controlling playing of movies, receiving transaction information, and storing guest information. Each of the slave hosts are associated with host-specific configurations and global configurations. The host-specific configurations include information related to an Internet browser service, including a number of browsers to be associated with each of the slave hosts. The global configurations include an Internet protocol (IP) address for each slave host. These slave host IP addresses are not routable over the Internet. The master host has an IP address, which is routable over the Internet, thus all Internet communications are routed through the master host.  
           [0018]    Communications between the property management system and the slave hosts are conducted through the master host. The master host and slave hosts communicate over a network using Internet protocol. The first slave host includes a first server application, and the master host includes a second server application. The first server accepts requests from other applications and transfers requests for communications with the property management system to the second server on the master host. The first server also obtains information in connection with fulfilling requests associated with the first slave subsystem. The second server formats requests based on protocol of the property management system and interprets responses based on requests sent to the property management system.  
           [0019]    In one embodiment, a slave property management interface daemon (Slave PMID) is executed using the first server. A host property management system interface daemon (host PMID) is executed using the second server. The first slave host thus receives commands from the guest rooms, and stores guest information, which includes transactions for a first group of rooms associated with the first slave host and identification information associated with the first group of rooms. The first slave host communicates this guest information to the master host. The master host formats this guest information and provides the information to the property management system. The master host also transmits command information from a front terminal to the slave hosts.  
           [0020]    In one embodiment, the master host and the slave hosts use the same server. On the slave host, the server operates in slave mode, relaying requests to communicate with the property management system to the master host. On the master host, the server operates to receive and format the requests. The master host server then sends the requests to the property management system and interprets the responses.  
           [0021]    Based on the foregoing summary, a number of advantages of the present invention are noted. A standardized system is provided which may be used to provide entertainment services to a large number of guest rooms in a lodging facility. The system is scalable such that additional guest rooms may be added to an existing system without the need to make substantial modifications to the original system. Likewise, additional entertainment services may be added without the need to substantially modify the original system. Additionally, the slave hosts can buffer transactions, allowing the master host to go down without disrupting entertainment services to guest rooms. Likewise, if a slave subsystem goes down, the group of rooms associated with that slave subsystem are affected, limiting the services interruption to less than all of the guest rooms in a lodging facility.  
           [0022]    Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]    [0023]FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of the large hotel entertainment system of the present invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2 is a block diagram representation of the master host and associated subsystems;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of a slave subsystem;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting the communications from a slave host to the PMS;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the communications from the PMS to a slave host;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 6 is a block diagram representation of a digital content transmitter and digital content receiver;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting the distribution of video content and schedule information from a digital content receiver to the slave subsystems; and  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 8 is a flow chart depicting the automated upgrade installation of one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0031]    With reference to FIG. 1, a block diagram representation of a system of the present invention is shown. The hotel entertainment system  10  includes a master host  14  and a plurality of slave subsystems  18 . The slave subsystems  18  connect to a plurality of guest rooms  22  and provide entertainment and other services thereto. The master host  14  is connected to a hotel property management system (PMS)  26 , a front desk terminal  30 , a modem  34 , and a router  38 . The master host  14  and the slave subsystems  18  communicate over a network backbone  42 . The network backbone  42  may be a wire or fiber optic network connection, or may be a wireless connection such as a radio or optic connection. In one embodiment, the network backbone  42  is a 100 Mbit ethernet connection. Also attached to the network backbone  42  is at least one digital content receiver (DCR)  46  and a printer system  50 . The DCR  46  receives digital content from a digital content transmitter  48 . The printer system  50  is used for various print jobs in which a paper copy of a document is needed.  
         [0032]    With reference now to FIG. 2, the master host  14  is next described. The master host  14 , as mentioned above, is connected to a router  38 , a modem  34 , a PMS  26 , and a front desk terminal  30 . The router  38  is used to connect the master host  14  to a wide area network (WAN)  54 , such as the Internet. The router  38  is connected to the master host  14  through a network interface card  58 . The IP address for this network interface card  58  is routable over the WAN. Thus the master host  14  can communicate over the Internet or other network which operates using Internet protocol. The modem  34  is connected to the master host  14  through a serial communications interface  62 . The modem  34  is used to connect the master host  14  to a serial communications network over a standard telephone system  64 .  
         [0033]    The PMS  26  is a system used by the lodging facility to provide billing and room information for all the guest rooms in the lodging facility. The PMS  26  is connected to the master host  14  by a serial connection through the serial communications interface  62 . The PMS  26  receives and provides information, as will be described in detail below, to the master host  14  as well as the slave subsystems  18 . The PMS  26  records the activity and status of each room in the lodging facility. For example, if a guest orders a movie, the PMS  26  records the time and date of the movie order, and adds an appropriate charge to the bill for the room. Within the master host  14 , there is a room map  66  which maps particular rooms in the lodging facility, and a master database daemon (DBD)  69  which provides updates to room status. The creation and maintenance of the room map  66  and master DBD  69  will be described in more detail below.  
         [0034]    The front desk terminal  30  is also connected to the master host  14  through the serial communications interface  62 . The front desk terminal  30  is a user interface to the master host  14 . In one embodiment, the master host  14  and slave subsystems  18  operate using a UNIX platform, and the front desk terminal  30  is a standard user terminal for a UNIX system, such as a WYSE terminal. The front desk terminal  30  user interface may be a menu interface or a graphical interface. In the embodiment shown, the user interface is a menu interface, with the master host  14  containing a menu front  67 . The menu front  67  provides a menu interface for the master host  14  and for the slave subsystems  18 , allowing a single front desk terminal  30  to be used to provide user access to the master host  14 , as well as all of the slave subsystems  18 . The master host  14  also includes a second network interface card  68 . The second network interface card  68  is used to communicate with the slave subsystems  18 , printer  50  and DCR  46  via the network backbone  42 .  
         [0035]    With reference now to FIG. 3, the slave subsystems  18  are now described. FIG. 3 shows a block diagram representation of a slave subsystem  18 . Each slave subsystem  18  includes a slave host  72  which is connected to several guest rooms  22  and also coordinates with several components to provide services to the guest rooms  22 . Each slave host  72  has an intelligent communications processor (ICP) card  76 , and a serial communications card  80 , which connect to each guest room  22  served by that particular slave subsystem  18 . The ICP  76  and the serial communications card  80  receive communications from the guest rooms  22 , as is well understood in the art.  
         [0036]    Each slave host  72  also contains a SCSI interface board  84 , and a third network interface card  88  connected to an ethernet hub  92  and a fourth network interface card  96  connected to Internet browser engines  100  through an ethernet switch  104 . Additionally, each slave host  72  contains a slave property management interface daemon (slave PMID)  108  a slave database daemon (DBD)  109 , and a slave room map  110 . The functions and operation of the slave PMID  108  slave DBD  109 , and slave room map  110  will be described subsequently.  
         [0037]    Each slave subsystem  18  is coordinated with several components which provide services to a guest room  22 . One of these components is a keystroke router  112 . The keystroke router  112  is connected to both the serial communications interface board  80  and the ICP board  76 . The keystroke router  112  is connected to each guest room through a switch  116 . A guest in a guest room  22  communicates to the slave host  72  through the keystroke router  112 . The keystroke router  112  may receive input from several places. One method is a menu which may be operated through the guest room television, in which the guest can select and order services to be provided to the guest room  22 . The guest room  22  may also communicate to the slave host  72  through an Internet browser interface such as a mouse and keyboard. The Internet browser interface may also include other types of interfaces, such as touch screens. The Internet browser interface communicates to the slave host  72  through the switch  116 , the keystroke router  112  and the serial communication board  80 . Additionally, if game services are provided, the guest room will have a game controller pad which sends input through the switch  116 , the keystroke router  112  and the serial communications board  80 .  
         [0038]    Each slave subsystem  18  also includes a number of game engines  120 . Each game engine  120  is capable of providing a video game service to a guest room  22 . The slave host  72  controls each game engine  120  through the SCSI interface board  84 . The game engines  120  are connected to guest rooms  22  via a modulator  124  and switch  116 . Each slave subsystem  18  also includes a number of Internet browser engines  100 . The Internet browser engines  100  are connected to each guest room  22  via a modulator  124  and the switch  116 . The Internet browser engines  100  are connected to the slave host  72  via an ethernet switch  104  which is connected to the fourth network interface card  96 .  
         [0039]    In one embodiment, the slave host  72  is connected to a second front desk terminal  130 . In this embodiment, the slave host  72  provides a connection to the master host  14  for the second front desk terminal  130 . This allows the second front desk terminal  130  to be located, for example, in a property building that is remote from the master host  14 . Thus, front desk terminal access can be obtained without exceeding the length that a serial connections line will permit.  
         [0040]    Each slave host  72  is also connected to a digital content server (DCS)  128 . The DCS  128  provides movies, and other video content, to the guest rooms  22  via a modulator  124  and the switch  116 . Each DCS  128  can serve a number of rooms, and communicates to the slave host  72  via the ethernet hub  92  and the third network interface card  88 .  
         [0041]    In a preferred embodiment, communications between the master host  14  and the slave hosts  72  are conducted over an ethernet connection. In this embodiment, the network interface cards are 10/100 Mb ethernet network interface cards. The preferred network speed is 100 Mb to facilitate the transfer of large files. If the master host  14  and slave subsystems  18  are all located within the same building, all of the hosts will communicate via a switched 100 Mb Ethernet loop. If a site includes several buildings, hosts in different buildings may communicate over a wireless link if an Ethernet loop is not available. If the speed of a link is slow, thus making transfer of large files impractical, each building may also be equipped with its own DCR. In one embodiment, each of the master host  14  and slave hosts  72  is assigned an IP address from the RFC 1918 network 192.168/16. These addresses are not routable over the Internet. The master host  14  serves as the Internet gateway for the Internet browser services running on the slave subsystems, therefore the default route of each slave will be set to IP addresses of the master host.  
         [0042]    With reference now to FIGS.  1 - 4 , the communication between the slave subsystems  18 , master host  14  and PMS  26  will now be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the steps for communication between the slave subsystems  18  and the PMS  26 . First, as shown in block  200 , the slave host  73  receives a command from a guest room  22 . As mentioned above, each slave host  72  contains a slave PMID  108 . The slave PMID  108  is a daemon program which runs in the background of each slave host  72 , and implements functions related to collecting information required by the PMS  26 . In one embodiment, the master host  14  and slave host  72  use the same PMID server. On the slave host  72 , the slave PMID  108  operates in slave mode, relaying requests to communicate with the PMS  26  to the master host  14 . On the master host,  14 , the host PMID  70  operates to receive and format the requests. The host PMID  70  then sends the requests to the PMS  26 , and interprets the responses. When a slave host  72  receives a command from the guest room  22  to provide a service, the slave PMID  108  receives and validates the command, shown in block  204 . The slave PMID  108  then sends the command to the host PMID  70 , shown in block  208 . Like the slave PMID  108 , the host PMID  70  is a daemon program which runs in the background of the master host  14  computer, and implements functions related to collecting information required by the PMS  26 . The host PMID  70  forwards the command to the PMS  26 , as shown in block  212 . The PMS  26  then receives the command and sends a response to the host PMID  70 , as shown in block  216 . The host PMID  70  forwards this response to the slave PMID  108 , as shown in block  220 . The slave PMID  108  then processes the response, and forwards it to the slave host  72  which will then coordinate for the service to be provided to the guest room  22 , shown in block  224 .  
         [0043]    With reference now to FIG. 5, the communication from the PMS  26  to the slave host  72  will now be described. Such a communication typically contains information regarding changes in guest room status, which is stored in a database within the slave PMID. First, the PMS  26  sends a command to the host PMID  70 , as shown in block  228 . The host PMID  70  validates the command and forwards it to the slave PMID  108 , shown in block  232 . The slave PMID  108  then updates its database, shown in block  236 . The slave PMID  108  verifies the update status, and returns this status to the host PMID  70 , as shown in block  240 . The host PMID  70  receives the update status, shown in block  244 . The host PMID  70  then forwards the response to the PMS  26 , shown in block  248 .  
         [0044]    As mentioned above, the master host  14  also contains a room map  66 . The master host  14  must know which rooms each slave host  72  controls. For example, if the hotel PMS  26  checks in a room and sends the PMS  26  a check in message, the master host  14  must find out which slave host  72  owns the room in question before it can relay the message to that slave host  72 . To provide the master host  14  with the room map  66 , the customer record in the customer database contains a location field that holds a room number. In addition to the location field, the customer record contains a slave field to record the number of the slave that owns the room. The customer database on the master host  14  can then be used as the room map  66 . To insure that the room map  66  is accurate, the host PMID  70  modifies the room map  66  whenever a room status is changed. Since the master host  14  may be offline when a room change occurs on a slave host  72 , any changes made to rooms must be updated on the master host  14  when it is returned to service. Likewise, a slave host  72  may be offline when a room change occurs, in which case any changes must be updated on the slave host  72  when it is returned to service.  
         [0045]    In one embodiment each slave host  72  also contains a customer database which serves as the slave room map  110 . This database contains a room record for each room under the control of the slave host  72 . The room record includes the room number, occupancy status (checked in/out), payment method (cash/credit), and any other pertinent information. The master host  14  also contains a customer database which serves as the room map  66  for the master host  14 . The room records in the master host  14  customer database contain a slave field to notify the master host which slave host  72  controls the room. The master host  14  requires this information to perform such tasks as routing menu control to a particular slave. Another reason the master host  14  requires the room map  66  is to store occupancy and payment method information about a room in case a slave host  72  is down. The PMS  26  sends checkin/checkout commands to the host PMID  70 . When a customer checks in, the PMS checkin command also indicates the payment method (cash or credit). The master DBD  69  monitors the master host  14  customer database for changes and sends all updates to the correct slave, if possible. If the slave has been down and returns to service, the slave host DBD  109  server will request a customer database update from the master host DBD  69  server. The slave hosts  72  contain a transaction database that contains all information about transactions and adjustments. Several applications can query this database to create different reports as required for hotel management. In order to create these reports, a read-only copy of the slave transaction databases is created on the master host. In one embodiment, the slave host DBD  109  server sends all new transaction information to the master DBD  69  server. If the master host  14  is down and returns to service, the host DBD  69  server requests a transaction database update from all slaves to ensure it is up to date. By having a copy of all transactions on the master host  14 , transaction report applications can be executed on the master host  14  to produce site-wide reports.  
         [0046]    Whenever a customer receives a service through a slave subsystem  18 , each slave host  72  stores customer and transaction data in a local database, and forwards this information to the PMS  26  through the master host  14 . Each slave host  72  creates a transaction ID for all transactions, with each transaction including information on the slave host, the room, the day and year, the service and the time. In one embodiment, the transaction ID is a 10 digit code. The first digit is the slave ID number, which is a 1-9. Thus, in this embodiment, nine slave subsystems could be used, however, the system could be easily modified to accommodate additional slave subsystems beyond nine. The next two digits in the transaction ID are the last two digits of the year number, starting as 00 for the year 2000. The next three digits are the Julian day of the year, and the last four numbers are a sequence number for the slave for the day. Thus, the transaction ID which is forwarded to the master host  14  contains unique information regarding the room, service and time the service was provided. The host PMID  70  then uses this information to transfer information to the PMS  26 . The host PMID  70  correlates the slave host field in the transaction ID with the guest room that is stored in the transaction ID. The host PMID  70  then forwards this information to the PMS  26 , which in turn records the charge to the guest room  22 .  
         [0047]    The guest may also perform a check out of the facility from the room, in one embodiment. In this embodiment, the guest can initiate a video check out (VCO) procedure from the menu of services available in the guest room  22 . The slave host  72  receives the VCO request, and transmits this request to the master host  14 , which, in the host PMID  70 , correlates the VCO request from the slave host number and room id to correlate the room to the room map  66 . The master host  14  then forwards the VCO request to the PMS  26 , which sends a folio showing current room charges to the master host  14 , which in turn forwards this information to the slave host  72  and the guest room  22 . The guest can approve these charges, which is sent to the slave host  72  and the master host  14 , and then to the PMS  26 , thus completing the check out procedure.  
         [0048]    In the event that the master host  14  is not available or cannot communicate with the slave host  72 , the slave host  72  will buffer transactions. In this case, the slave host  72  will allow the service to be delivered to the guest room  22 . The slave host  72  will record the transaction and will transfer it to the master host  14  when the master host  14  can again communicate to the slave host  72 . In one embodiment, the master DBD  69  will request a database update from the slave DBD  109  to get any buffered transactions. In such a case, many services will not be disrupted to the guest room  22 . Services which will be interrupted are services which require interaction with the master host  14 , including the Internet service which needs to go through the master host  14  since the master host  14  has the only IP address which is routable to the WAN. Other services which would be unavailable if the master host  14  was down include the VCO service, as well as other services requiring information from the PMS  26 , such as laundry or room services.  
         [0049]    With reference now to FIGS.  1 - 3 ,  6  and  7 , the receipt and delivery of video content will be described. Initially, video content is received at the DCR  46  from the digital content transmitter  48 . The DCR  46  contains a receiver interface  250  and a network interface card  254 . The receiver interface  250  is used to interface with the digital content transmitter  48 . In one embodiment the receiver interface  250  is a satellite receiving antenna and associated hardware, although other receiving apparatus for other modes of communication could also be used. The NIC  254  connects the DCR  46  to the network backbone  42 , and in one embodiment is a 10/100 Mb Ethernet network interface card. When content is received at the DCR  46 , the content must be transferred to the different DCS  128  units on each of the slave subsystems  18 . When content is delivered, the DCR  46  stores the new content and waits to transfer the content to the DCS  128  units. When the master host  14  receives a new content schedule, it initiates a routine which will provide this new content to each of the DCS  128  units in the slave subsystems  18 .  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 7 shows a flow chart depicting the routine for delivery of new content and new schedule information, such as a new movie which is offered at preset times, to each of the slave subsystems. The DCS  128  units are controlled by the slave host  72 , and typically offer certain movies at certain times. When a new video content schedule becomes available, the new content must be loaded on each DCS  128 . Alternatively, the DCS  128  may be a video on demand system, in which there is no preset schedule, and when a guest orders video content to be delivered to the guest room  22 , the delivery occurs immediately, and not on a preset schedule. Even in this case, however, each DCS must receive the new video content, and the title of the new content must be made available for a guest to select in ordering, thus the routine for delivery of content is applicable to both scheduled video content and video on demand.  
         [0051]    Initially, a new content schedule is sent to the master host  14 , shown in block  300 . The new content schedule may be delivered via the modem  34 , the WAN  54 , or via the DCR  46 . The master host  14  then delivers the new content schedule to each slave host  72 , shown in block  304 . Each slave host  72  then determines whether the new content is available on the DCR  46 , shown in block  308 . If the new content is not available, the slave host  72  waits for a predetermined time period, shown in block  312 , and checks again for the new content, shown in block  308 . When the slave host  72  determines that the new content is available, it downloads the new content to its DCS  128 , shown in block  316 . When the slave host  72  has successfully downloaded the new content, it sends a notification to the master host  14 . The master host  14  waits for notification from each slave host  72 , shown in block  320 . Finally, shown in block  324 , after receiving notification from each slave host  72 , the master host  14  sends a command to the DCR  46  to delete the new content from DCR  46  memory.  
         [0052]    Additionally, in one embodiment, now described with reference to FIG. 8, the system can automatically upgrade the software that is operating on the system. In such a case, the master host receives the upgrade package from a central location. This upgrade information can come from a remote location via the Internet connection, or the modem, for example. Once the master host has the software upgrade package, it executes the package to install the software upgrade on the master host, shown in block  350 . The master host then checks to verify that the install was successful, shown in block  354 . In the event of an unsuccessful upgrade, the routine ends, shown in block, and user intervention is required. If the event that the upgrade was successful, the master host copies the upgrade to slave host number  1 , shown in block  362 . The slave host number  1  then installs the upgrade, shown in block  366 . The slave host  1  then checks to verify that the software upgrade was successful, shown in block  370 . In the event that the upgrade was not successful, the routine ends, and user intervention is required, shown in block  358 . In the event that the upgrade was successful, the slave host number one sets an internal counter, X, to one, as shown in block  374 . Slave one then copies the upgrade to slave host number X+1, shown in block  378 . The slave host number one then increments the counter, shown in block  382 . Slave host number X then installs the upgrade, shown in block  386 . If the upgrade was not successful, the routine ends, shown in block  358 , and user intervention is required. If the install was successful, the slave host X checks to determine if the internal counter, X, is equal to the total number of slave hosts present in the system, as shown in block  394 . If X is equal to the total number of slave hosts, the routine ends, shown in block  358 , and no user intervention is required. If X is less than the total number of slave hosts present in the system, the slave host X copies the software upgrade to slave host number X+1, and the steps shown in blocks  378  through  394  are repeated.  
         [0053]    The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Further, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain the best modes presently known of practicing the inventions and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the inventions in such, or in other embodiments, and with the various modifications required by their particular application or uses of the invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.