VSat providers- we love them and we hate them! My new boat has a newer KVH system aboard, and we are having trouble with both the VSat and TV systems. The VSat is slow and unreliable (mini-Vsat with a 42" dish). KVH requires you to use their service, so there are no options to shop services. They don't disclose their contention ratio, so you never know how many other boats are sharing your bandwidth. Regardless, it's gotta go! We also have a KVH HD11 TV system with two dishes (because of mast blockage). There is a switch that is meant to hand off one dish to the other when it goes into blockage. Not only is this handoff slow, but it is also unreliable. Sometimes one dish will wander off on it's own, creating a terrible racket in the VIP stateroom below the mast. So- I am looking at options. We are willing to change the system and do whatever is necessary. Any suggestions? Does anyone know what the commercial vessels are using? How about high-altitude applications (we spend most summers in Alaska). Has anyone had experience with using multiple dishes with Seatel? How is the handover for both TV and VSat amongst multiple dishes? Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks, Ken
Hi Ken. We are currently NSSL VSat customers and all I can say is I am planing to switch to MTN when our contract runs out. I have used MTN previously and have been very happy with their customer service and product. As for switching TV antennas, I have used a pair of Seatel antennas previously and was very happy with the switching system, never had problems. We currently have a single KVH HD antenna and although it seams to work OK, its seems a bit Micky Mouse compared to the Seatel stuff. Hope this helps. Cheers Mike
I don't know about the internet side of it. But we had a HD7 KVH dish on one boat I manage. We never had an issue with any delay or anything like that. But keep in mind up in AK you're getting to the outskirts of the coverage area. Bell Canada might be a better fit than direct tv.
Hi Guys, sorry to semi-hijack this, but I have a similar question... VSat has been somewhat ok... We had good experience with Omniaccess in the caribbean and another one right now in europe (but probably goign back to omniaccess)... Question about "worldwide" sat tv though... what service do you guys recommend? We have DirecTV in the US, but it drops off in many places of the caribbean due to the signal footprint, and also Sky UK in europe, which has the same problem in southern areas of spain and italy where the footprint doesnt quite cover it... Are there better options for "full" coverage at least in the US (east coast), Caribbean & Europe (as full as possible)? The VSat is a Seatell 4009 antenna, and the TV is a KVH G8. any suggestions greatly appreciated... thanks!
Hi, I have used Seatel antenna for TV and V SAT in multiple arrays, I have encountered very few issues with the switching which is auto these days. MTN seems to be top of the tree for access at the moment. If you want streaming TV everywhere try JetStream | Our Products | IP Streaming Works very well if the required bandwidth is available.
hi ken the sat tv coverage in AK is not as good as you would hope. we have found that depending on where we are a lot of the signal is blocked and the magnetic disturbance in some area's has an effect. we also use Alaska dispatch for communications. it seems to be the most reliable. there are also some other issues that you might not be aware of john
Make sure you give them 90 days notice before contract renewal. They chased me around for a bogus year because of a couple of calendar days.
Hi Ken, My VSAT provider is SeaSatCom. Our boat has a KVH U25 system aboard. Our Vsat system runs smoothly everywhere we are, even in Alaska. We also have Sky UK and DirecTV in the US: DirecTv HD Box (HD Satellite receiver for Caribbean and US TV). We never had an issue. Hope this helps and good luck for changing
Makes one post. Includes a link. IP is Paris, but bio says Nice. Sat provider is in Nice also. Hhmmm...
Yes NSSL did the same to me. They renewed our contract without notifying me and then refused to allow me to cancel until 90 days prior to the next years renewed. It is this devious business practices and poor customer service that has chased me away from them. We are installing MTN equipment as we speak.
I've always been a KVH fan...but my electronics guy tells me that Intellian is the way to go, they are the up and coming deal...not sure who their provider is. He carries both and is sold on the latter.
we have both Sky Uk in europe and DirecTv in US. I don't know why Intellian is the way to go but KVH works well for this moment
