Abstract: A lodging entertainment system provides a variety of products and services, including free television, pay-per-view movies, video games, guest services, and guest-selected recording of television programs for time-shifted viewing. Through the use of an interactive program guide, the guest may select programs being aired during the guest's stay at the hotel for later viewing, or may elect to record a television program while watching the same or another program.

Abstract: A lodging entertainment system has a head end connected via a distribution system to a plurality of guest terminals. The head end includes a satellite dish and a plurality of integrated receiver decoders connected to the satellite dish for decoding programming received from the satellite dish. The lodging entertainment system includes a method for providing an interactive session between a guest terminal and a selected one of the integrated receiver decoders. In implementing this method, the system receives buy data indicative of a guest's purchase of programming available via the satellite dish. The system then allocates a selected one of the integrated receiver decoders for exclusive use by the guest terminal. The system then provides the guest terminal with access to and control of the selected integrated receiver decoder.