Mid-sized yachts (and workboats) hungry for connectivity have to be pleased with KVH's introduction of the TracPhone V3 mini-VSAT in Miami. The appeal is fast "Internet access and e-mail for just $0.99 per MB along with crystal-clear voice calls worldwide for only $0.49 per minute with no fine print and no hassles" via an antenna only 14.5" in diameter and 25 pounds. The original V7 was way smaller than other VSAT antennas when it was introduced in 2007 -- still is, I think -- and check the difference. Note too how much KVH has extended its mini-VSAT service coverage. The hardware cost is still pretty high, but if you watch the animated V3 presentation, it's clear that KVH now sees mini-VSAT's low service prices as a real challenge to even Inmarsat's small Fleet Broadband systems (which it also sells)...
Clarion recently announced the "all new" CMD7 Marine CD Receiver (along with a pacel of other marine stereo gear) and its main new feature seems to be a direct iPod interface. According to the CMD7 product page, you "just connect your iPod's USB cable to the CMD7's rear USB input and you get complete key control of your iPod including genre/album/song title search and you can also use iPod's control wheel (simple control mode). The same connection can also be used to play back audio files stored on USB memory." Now this isn't truly new, given what Fusion has been up to for years now, but that sure is a handsome stereo and there are many Clarion fans out there. Maybe the next version of the mighty CMV1 (in action here) will easily manage iThing videos like Fusion's SonicHub and MS-RA200 do? Meanwhile, some boaters are pretty pleased to simply stream tunes into their existing stereo's aux port using a Bluetooth gadget...
At first glance Standard Horizon's new CPN may look like a fairly standard multifunction display, but note the "turn page" screen graphic at lower right, the small (but purportedly powerful sounding) stereo speakers, and the "Multimedia Chart Plotter" designation. The 7- and 10-inch CPNs have touch screens not only to help manage charting, optional radar, and so forth but also to select audio and video entertainment stored on front or back connected USB sources, or streaming over WiFi. And, yes, there is a Web browser in there too!
An interesting gadget I tested a bit on Gizmo before her late haul out (tomorrow, actually) is the Simrad (and Lowrance) SonicHub "Marine Audio Server" discussed here in May. I'm pretty impressed so far. The screen above may be a bit disconcerting because the NSE had a little trouble displaying the (difficult) title of the iTunes TV show I'd selected (which should read, "El espectáculo ¡Seamos saludables ahora! (The Get Healthy Now Show)") and Elmo seems disjointed in the particular frame captured (though the video looked fine in motion), but I'm now confident about the concept. That is to say, I can arrive at the boat with all sorts of music and video on an iPod or iPhone, stick the device safely away in the SonicHub dock, and then manage it all from any NSE (or NSO) on the boat's SimNet/N2K network. And of course there's more...
Here's what excites me about innovations like the Navico's SonicHub: If you're going to spend fairly big bucks on what is essentially a dedicated waterproof computer with goodies like an extra bright screen and custom soft keys -- like a Lowrance HDS or a Simrad NSE -- plus a rugged NMEA 2000 sensor network running around your boat, why not have them do as many display and networking tasks as possible? I first heard about SonicHub last weekend -- in a very pleasant way -- and now that I understand more of the details, it sure looks like a winner...
Synchronicity! No matter what I'd get a big kick out of this photo taken yesterday at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show in Australia. But in fact I spent part of the day installing a Fusion stereo on Gizmo and I'd meant to write soon about the company's just released iPod/iPhone docks. Plus there was a major marine entertainment product launch at the show which Fusion may have something to do with...
This handsome Clarion CMV1 was announced more than a year ago, but I missed it somehow, even though it does all sorts of things that I think could be great on some boats. It can play DVDs on that 3.5-inch 480x234 pixel screen or output the video via RCA cable to a bigger screen, like an MFD that isn't doing much else when you're parked. And it can do the same thing with iPod/iPhone video, though that feature mysteriously entails a special cable. It even has an RCA input so you could use it to display an onboard video camera. Of course, there's more...
What's it going to take before more boaters realize how thoroughly Fusion is reinventing marine stereo? The new RA-200 introduced in Miami is not only an attractively smaller and less expensive ($170 retail) unit, but it includes neat new features that aren't even in the higher-end series yet. These guys can't help themselves!...
The lighting was tough for photography, but the quiet, sunny Camden breakfast spot was a fine place for Todd Crocker to demo Fusion's latest 600 series of "True Marine" stereos. When Todd visited in 2008, he had the very innovative 500 series to show off, which I later tested myself and then wrote up for PMY. If you check the links, you'll know I liked the MS-IP500 a lot; but I like the new models even more...
Of course the big news about KVH's new TracVision HD7 is that it can receive all three of DirecTV's main satellites at once, which means that using multiple TVs/DVRs at once -- or keeping up with Guide data coming down from sat 101 -- are not the problems they can be with a one-satellite-at-a-time solution like the Intellian D4. But first check out the iPhone/iTouch app that communicates via WiFi to the HD7's antenna control unit. Not only can it be used to switch the dome to one of the secondary satellites that carry some oddball channels, but also to download system updates at home, or wherever, for later one tap transfer to the ACU. There are alternate ways to accomplish these tasks, to be sure, but isn't this a slick option? Not that a HD7 user should need to mess with it much...
