DirectTV Service

Sat Internet on boats??? Have you looked at the costs?

I don’t think Sat Tv is dying. At least not in the near future. When cellular networks offer true widespread inlimited broadband service then maybe but that’s at least a few years away.

And it s not just boats but all the rural communities without cable and very limited cell service
 
I would suggest you look at the story I posted, the subscriber losses and the price per gig at sat internet over the past two year. ALL of those numbers are in a steep descent.

The real driver of decreasing prices on sat internet is the airlines as they refit their fleets. 2Ku 709mps) is already fitted and 3Ku is coming. In addition there are new providers with ViaSat breaking into the business driving down prices.

Simply put, the switch over is unavoidable and happening quick.
 
The article you posted is about the decline of Sat TV, I am not disputing that

I would suggest you look up the costs of marine satellite internet before suggesting it as an alternative. . I hasn’t gone down significantly and is nowhere near affordable except for low bandwidth mission critical tasks. Average plans run $1000 a month with at best a couple of GB. Additional data runs $0.15 to 0.50. PER MB. Yes per megabyte

Nobody is going to stream movies at these rates ... TV and Movies over the Internet require 100 to 200 GB a month for the average user who doesn’t use sat or cable

Cellular is the solution although at this time many unlimited plans throttle you down after 10 or 20gb. At least in the US. In the Bahamas we now have truly unlimited cellular data for just $75 a month which has been a game changer this winter.

But sat Internet for TV? Nobody can afford it
 
No doubt it is high now. I payed 1500 dollars for my first VCR.........in 1980. However the growth is huge. Virtually every transoceanic airliner is connected to internet now and not just for customers. Just before I retired we were getting ready for video link with crews on their iPads. Real time weather and turbulence are coming in via that channel. Equally so, data enabled AED's are on line. Go-Go's transoceanic internet service has dropped by 30% this year alone. It will be in the sweet spot soon. Believe me, these guys want to amortize their birds.

Look at this fleet recognizing these birds have about a 15 year life. Look at the launch dates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirecTV_satellite_fleet
 
Hopefully 5G along with development of less expensive and uncomplicated mobile/marine equipment to reliably bring a strong signal to a moving boat will evolve before Satellite services become obsolete.
No fooling around with settings or multiple things you have to stash or find places to plug in.
Basically they need to develop an antenna that is reasonably priced with everything needed for it to get the cellular signal built in and transmit it throughout the boat so users can login with their devices and the monthly cost for unlimited data has got to be reasonable too.
A perfect product would have that same antenna capable of receiving OTA DTV signals too to get the user that option.

BTW: I use my iPad to stream content from Netflix and Amazon Prime while on the boat and it works great connected to a boat TV via HDMI when I have a good cellular signal. That’s why I think a focus on stronger and simple cellular is the way to go.
 
I would agree that ultimately for inshore 5G will be the bomb. Off shore going to have to stream. The reality is really off shore you have no SAT TV coverage either. Airliners traveling between NYC and Florida loose DirectTV and Dish signals when they get routed further out on what is known a WATRS routes. Simply put, DirectTV and Dish for some strange reason does not think there are many subscribers in the Western Atlantic Ocean LOL!
 
How far offshore you get sat TV coverage depends on the size of the dish. We had a KVH M7 now replaces with the equivalent Intelian I6 (24”) and get solid signal beyond Georgetown Bahamas which is about 300nm offshore. So I wouldn’t say that you get no reception offshore. Larger boats that go further away install larger dish.

How big are the dishes installed on airliners anyway?
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

How big are the dishes installed on airliners anyway?

Click to expand...

Some are pretty big

600px-E-3_Sentry_exercise_Green_Flag_2012_%28Cropped%29.jpg
 
It is true that the larger the antenna the greater the "over the horizon" reception distance is, however eventually you run out of dish size. I believe the airplanes are 13" which already punches the largest hole ever made in a pressurized fuselage. Here is the range per KVH. Note that you can double the antenna size and get only a few hundred miles over the horizon.

https://www.kvh.com/Pages/Satellite...ion-Maps/North-America/DIRECTV-US-Marine.aspx

Remember DirectTV and Dish put up their birds to serve the largest subscriber base they can, but at some distance they will call it quits because it becomes uneconomical. Believe me I know this when I used to walk up and down the aisles and some idiot says "Why can I get live TV from LA to ATL but not ATL to Rome." My answer is, "How many subscribers in the middle of the Atlantic do you think there are?"
 
when you guys say "mirroring", do you mean "casting"?
 
Apple term for putting the iPad or Mac screen on the TV screen simulataneously.
 
I ve checked that chart before. Indeed I can attest the 24” gives coverage past Georgetown and up to Long Island. That’s 300+ nm. Enough for the majority of boaters

Mirroring is ok. But I much prefer using an AppleTV and run apps like Prime, Hulu, apple movies etc from the AppleTV. Quality is much better

I recently got a stand alone DVR with pass thru. It goes between the source (AppleTV, DirectTV box etc) and lets you record to a USB atick. Works very well
 
If LEO sat networks get going with data, streaming can be done without a dish, and all the gimbal stabilization etc so those stupid domes can go the way of the dodo. All it will need is a GPS position input.
 
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