Geez, anyone know where the “Big Belly Reduction” Tool is in PhotoShop? Also, what’s the drill when your full res photo reveals a half-naked Florida boat guy? At any rate, here’s another FLIBS product intro, this one splendidly orchestrated by Raymarine’s well oiled marketing machine. Simultaneous to this “VIP preview” event in a nicely shaded and catered boat shed, Raymarine “insiders” got the news via HTML e-mail (you can be an insider too). In fact, there’s no need for me to repeat the awesome specs on the new 17” and 19”, nine-input monitors, nor mention the spectacular prices. But I will point out how neatly they can work with an E-Series VGA Out port (pictured) or a PC running RayTech 6.0, though apparently you can’t do both with the same cool dedicated keyboard. They look similar but one is SeaTalk2 and the other is USB. And I’ll add that a trustworthy Raymarine Product Manager told me that he’s seen these puppies in direct sunlight head-to-head with the competition and with an E-120, and “they rock”.
I’m still thinking, and writing a PMY column, about my TracVision M3 experience. I called Chris Watson, KVH’s Communications Manager, yesterday and wasn’t surprised to learn that the company has two full time technical writers on staff. They’re good too! I just can not imagine a better written or illustrated installation guide (full install image here), not to mention the hole drilling template, list of items shipped (w/photos), receiver user guide, etc. A nearly foolproof installation. In fact, KVH even supplies several extra of the various small fasteners that a fool like me is apt to flick overboard! Now I’m not sure how many owners will actually install a $5,000 system like this, though it is an almost-guaranteed satisfying experience. But KVH’s attention to detail could also make it quicker, and hence less expensive, for a pro to install, plus it speaks so well of the company’s style. More evidence is an M3 white paper (available from the M3 product page) that details all the technical innovations required to get a 14.5” dish antenna to perform as well as an 18” one, as shown in the test result graph below. It also lists all the testing this thing went through, which Watson says has resulted in near zero repair issues. So what’s wrong with the M3? Well, it only does DirectTV and it will not do High Definition (HD), plus of course you can find stabilized 18” dishes that cost less, especially if you go to a really unknown brand like the SeaSharp SeaVision that was aboard Shanghai Baby. Which I was looking forward to trying…except it was DOI (dead on install). Even if it had worked fine, as the first eight purportedly have, I’d still question the savings. Especially as I’ve seen other small sat TV companies show up at a boat show or two and then vanish. Of course there are several much less expensive, much lower performance, boat TV options (which I’ll discuss later), or the very simple NO-TV choice Andrea and I are tending toward. While I can easily picture cruising without TV (as always), I would like a fast Internet connection. For ‘work’ you know, though I might sometimes enjoy watching, say, Crooks & Liars clips, or YouTube nonsense. Which makes me wonder if a product like KVH’s own TracNet 100, previewed here last winter, and now fully detailed and shipping, will end up competing with TracVision?
Continuing on the subject of testing KVH’s M3 TV system, pictured above (and bigger here) is the nifty little 12v Direct TV receiver and RF remote that are included. The 3 LEDs along the top left of the receiver tell you most everything you need to know about voltage status, antenna activity, and overall system happiness. In the background you can make out the single coax cable that both powers the antenna and brings back the signal. And then there’s that Navman 8120 multifunction display (MFD) I’ve been testing recently. Pretty cool that you can watch TV on a 12” plotter/sounder/(radar soon) that seems to be selling for around $2,200 on the street.
But the video quality did seem to vary noticeably and in price order, with the Garmin 3210 below (and bigger here) in the middle, and the E-120 pictured last week—which has a video coprocessor—at the top. Hence my cute You Get What You Pay For title. Incidently, none of these MFDs seem able to use their full screens for any sort of video display. But, of course, if you did have a KVH M3 aboard, watching it at the helm would be very much secondary to using it with a nice flat screen TV or two (which I just don’t happen to have on Ralph).
It doesn’t even look as silly as I thought it would (bigger here
) on my 25’ Ralph (still for sale, people!). The KVH M3 Satellite TV dome is some svelte at less than 18” high and 16” in diameter, supposedly the world’s smallest fully stabilized antenna system. But, think about it, it takes more than small size to succeed on a smaller boat; staying locked onto, say, a DirectTV satellite (the only service so far supported) is harder when a boat’s motion is quicker. Yet I did donuts in Ralph, even got sideways in a wake that snap rolled me so badly I almost fell down… and the M3 retained lock. It was also incredibly easy to install. I’ll have more on this impressive (if somewhat pricey) unit soon, but for now will close with an image of how the M3 output looks on the E-120. It’s bigger here, but do note that a still picture of video never does it complete justice. This was very sharp, saturated, and smooth moving TV.
Looking at the animated version of this graphic too long may make you ill, but it does nicely illustrate the very different schemes that Sirius and XM chose in their efforts to blanket North America in audio and data, including, of course, our recent obsession…live marine weather. Both schemes seem to work fine around the U.S., especially on boats with their naturally wide open sky views, but how far offshore, north, and south can you receive Sirius or XM? A lot of cruisers would like to know, but the company Web sites seem vague on the subject. For one thing, I don’t think they themselves are positive about their footprint edges, and don’t want to over promise. Another issue is that XM and Sirius may broadcast into countries where they are not licensed to, and where someone thinks they should be. You may recall a long period when Canadians could only subscribe to satellite radio using U.S. addresses, even though most could get it fine. XM and Sirius were not bragging about their Canadian coverage then! Both Audio services are now licensed in Canada but, head’s up, Sirius Weather isn’t yet. Which brings us to some legalese in the Raymarine Sirius literature suggesting that your expensive weather receiver might not work if you go outside U.S. territorial waters. Not true; I checked! And judging from the unofficial footprint map kicking around the Internet (right, and slightly bigger here), Sirius will deliver fine service in Canada, out past Bermuda, down to around Antigua, across to maybe the Canal, and actually further into Alaska than shown (so I’ve heard). I understand that XM is similar except that it doesn’t reach as far south, which seems confirmed by the unofficial XM footprint map below, created by WxWorx, the company that’s developed a PC hardware/software system for XM Weather. They’d like to hear more reports from XM users on the edge, and I’d like to hear from anyone who knows more about how far either service reaches. Thanks.
PS, 7/28: We’ve been kindly sent links to a good collection of footprint maps and to a related forum discussion in which one poster describes getting XM in the Azores using a dinky home antenna (though it was before some changes in XM’s satellites).
What really gets me is that when you click on a movie, it starts instantly where you want it to…no fooling with a disk, no previews, no FBI warning. That’s luxurious. Of course it’s cool as hell to have your entire DVD collection organized by cover art, actors, genre, etc. Pick one of those films above and all the other covers will dance around for a moment, then show you the movies most like your pick. The brawn behind all this is the Kaleidescape Entertainment Server with twelve 400 meg hard drives able to hold, and back up, 660 full res DVDs (or 6,000 CDs, and you can chain on more servers as needed). The brains is a reader that hooks via Internet to Kaleidescape’s master database of cover art, categories, and the bookmarks that start the movie just so. Ethernet sends the goods to as many as 25 players around the boat. These babies are becoming quite popular on megayachts. Perfect accessory: a huge Crestron touch screen remote. The whole deal, preferably enjoyed on a sky lounge off the Italian Riviera, almost makes a guy want to be filthy rich.
The music screen above is from a Lowrance iWay automobile mapping system. It has a touchscreen and a 20 gig hard drive—partitioned so that 10 gigs are for onboard maps, 10 for tunes. PC Magazine made the iWay its Editor’s Choice in a May roundup review that included units from Garmin, Magellan, and Navman. I just came across it and was reminded of how Darrell Lowrance enthused about touch screens for multifunction marine displays during a press conference at the Miami Boat Show last winter. Lowrance’s best 2005 plotter/fishfinders are already similar to the iWay series in many aspects, like the hard drive; will they get touchscreens and MP3 players next year? There’s a ferocious competition going on to be a dominant player in the car plotter market, which has got to explode at some point. What are the manufacturers learning and developing that might migrate to boats?
I hesitate to report RUMORS, but given that strong caveat, these seem worth a “head’s up”: supposedly Lowrance’s NMEA 2000 GPS sensors have trouble with radar transmissions, and supposedly its NauticPath marine charts don’t properly show obstructions that are awash between high and low tide. Mind you, these are only rumors and, even if true, may have been fixed already or are about to be.
I tried plugging a regular household DVD player into two video capable plotters last week, and the results were quite viewable, confirming the value of helm stereos that can also play video discs. That’s a Standard Horizon CP1000 10” above and a Raymarine E120 12” below. Both have some control over picture brightness, contrast, and color saturation, though the E’s is easier to find and use. The E also has a choice of aspect ratios, but I still couldn’t get the picture to fill the full width of the screen. And yes, that is the actor from Friends who now mocks his acting career on the TV show Joey. This particular job, Lost in Space, must have been inspirational. I have no idea why the DVD is lying around my house.
I’ve already noodled on my theory that the proliferation of video capable plotters will stimulate more and more boaters toward helm stereos that can also play DVDs. Well, here’s a new one from Jensen that would fit the bill even installed in a place that sometimes takes spray. The MDV6115 has a dual gasketed CD door and conformal coated circuit boards, and its LCD is supposedly sunlight readable. Besides AM & FM, the 200 watt stereo plays VHF weather stations. Besides regular CDs, the deck will play MP3 CDs, and of course DVDs. You can even select the PAL region, meaning it should work with DVDs rented in any country you travel to. It comes with both wired and wireless remotes, all for a suggested retail of $500. The Jensen site doesn’t have info on this model yet, but an interesting online store called Rock the Boat Audio does, though not in their marine video section (we’re all just getting used to this video thing).
I’ve been lucky to experience many kinds of boating over the years, but, man, I’ve missed a lot too. For instance, I know zip about the high end ski boats which might sport this Infinity 6000M system, made by Prospec and an entry in the MAATS Innovation contest. The watertight speakers can blast a 100 watts of music out to the skiers in the boat’s wake, but the driver can cut in with his mic as needed. This wouldn’t go over well on some quiet Maine lakes, and no one skiis on the cold salt water here, but imagine the big lake scenes in the really hot parts of the country. In fact, check out this New York Times piece on Party Cove, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, where 3,000 boats often “gather for weekends of sun-drenched, alcohol-fueled, sometimes X-rated revelry”. Yike. Google “Party Cove videos” for a peek at what the Times only hints at. Party Cove is definitely not On Golden Pond (which, by the way, is a wonderful play my wife opens in tonight at a local community theater…much more my speed, and maybe yours).
Looking at the 
go outside U.S. territorial waters. Not true; I checked! 
The brawn behind all this is the 
I’ve been lucky to experience many kinds of boating over the years, but, man, I’ve missed a lot too. For instance, I know zip about the high end ski boats which might sport this Infinity 6000M system, made by