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Low Profile Satellite TV Antennas for Vehicles
Brian Mattis writes "CNN is reporting a new antenna system that allows SUV's, minivans and cars to receive DirecTV video and audio programming on the road. Future plans call for internet access as well. This could be a nail in the coffin of Sirius and XM radio."
In-Car-Internet + 802.11b = mobile open wifi ap's
this is great. very cool.
From the article: "KVH's system will be marketed to current DirecTV subscribers, and sold through consumer electronics retailers. The antenna system will cost roughly $2,000 to $2,500, and the satellite programming will be less than $10 a month."
I can't see this as being an XM/Sirius Radio killer until the price for the gear lowers quite a bit. Folks in the market for digital radio aren't the same as digital TV+Radio+DirectTV subscription.
we have a TV in our car - well worth it... those 12 hour road trips to utah would be a pain with 2 little girls in the back screaming about how they want to be there already... trust me - TV in the car is one of the best things ever to happen to this world.
Um, how? I was under the impression that satellite radio offered audio-only programming.
First of all, most people who have TVs in vehicles have them for either a DVD player or a VCR. Sticking a movie in is going to keep the kids quiet for at least 90 minutes. Getting satellite TV only going to keep them quiet for 30 minutes at a time and encourage channel-surfing, which will drive the parents nuts.
Satellite radio offers the same audio channels and programming coast-to-coast; fewer (or zero) commercials, and entertainment you can enjoy without having to take your eyes off the road.
Don't get me wrong - I think satellite radio will crash and burn, but DirecTV for vehicles certainly won't be the death of it...
There is no sig, there is only Zuul.
Just not in the front seat ;)
"This could be a nail in the coffin of Sirius and XM radio"
Just like car-mounted UHF/VHF antennae drove the final nail in the coffin of FM radio?
Apples and oranges.
In california, I commute via Light Rail (Train). Now if you put one of these on train, and make it data enabled, everyone will be able to connect to the internet.
That could a good for the environment, as more people will like to travel on trains with internet connectivity.....
Consensus is good, but informed dictatorship is better
This could be a nail in the coffin of Sirius and XM radio.
Except that XM Radio has a nice thing in their music that DirectTV lacks in theirs.....really good programming. The stations and variety on XM are amazing. Fred and Ethel RULE. Throw in a little jazz, blues, all the classical, comedy and the 80s channels and you have a stunning group of stations. I traveled cross country in my truck with it 2 months ago and didn't hear the same song twice nor did I listen to a single CD.
BTW, Heidi Selexa, one of the DJs from the 80s channel is great!
Am I the only one who found this enumeration a bit odd? I mean, why not just say "vehicle"?
Vans: Vans are probably close enough to minivans that the submitter didn't think it necessary to bother mentioning them.
Trucks: It may be harder to mount such an antenna on top of a pickup truck.
Buses: Buses are commercial vehicles and need a "public performance" license for the copyrighted shows.
Mopeds: Don't even think about it.
Will I retire or break 10K?
And yet most of us survived quite well without a TV in the car.
Hell, I have many fond memories of driving around with my parents. Reading a book, playing with stuffed animals with my sister, looking out the window (Perfect for my INFP personality), pondering the world...
12 hours spent sitting immobile in the back of a car while staring at some canned entertainment doesn't sound healthy at all, especially for kids.
Perhaps you should break the 12 hour road trip into 2 six hour drives?
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
It's illegal to drive without a seat belt also but that doesnt stop 10,000 people a year from doing it.
...those of us who don't have a back seat.
Bloody discrimination!
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?
www.fogbound.net
Nail in the coffin for XM and sirius? Doubtful. In nearly every state it's illegal to have a moving picture being played within the drivers view. Most people also don't commute with other riders. XM and Sirius' equipment also don't cost $2400 bucks. In an economy such as the current one, even XM and Sirius are struggling to hang on... and wouldn't you have to pay another subscription to directTV for this? BTW> Satalite based mobile setups have been around for a while. Check out AcceleVision (I Believe that's their name). They have a small dish that sits in what looks like a cargo carrier, and tracks the satalite at up to 20 degrees a second, and works with DirecTV. It's success rate isn't high either.
XM has had most of its nails in from the beginning. Many companies have been succesful in monopolizing on something they could easily be the only to give away. But, XM fails to realize two things.
1) The majority of customers don't see enough worth in the difference between their product and regular AM/FM radio to be a good option.
2) Building off a public network like radio doesn't work all that well when the current model has been carved into our brains.
Once internet access is more common in vehicals, its only a matter of time before internet transmitted radio with location specific spliced advertisements is the norm. I welcome the change.
Question
http://www.ironfroggy.com/
A few thousand dollars vs a few hundred...who's going to win that battle?
I just bought an XM radio system...the Delphi SKYFi system with the portable boombox dock. I must say, it is the best $129.99 + $99.99 I have ever spent. $9.99/month is not much to ask for all the channels you get...especially because I'm a techno/dance freak and the hick town I live in has barely seen a paved road since the days of Henry Ford, let alone music that can be made with something other than a jaw harp and a banjo.
What kind of monthly charges are going to be incurred by someone with one of these new in-car dish systems? I spend enough money on my service at home, let alone pay more to have it in my car. Hell, an extra receiver in your home costs about $10.00 more a month.
Furthermore, if you are in your vehicle so long that you need the entertainment of television over radio, you probably have no business being distracted that much in the first place while on the road...everyone knows lengthy driving is one of the most mentally exhausting things a person can do...you honestly want to make it worse by watching TV at the same time? And don't tell me that you will just be "listening" to it...that's a flat out lie. If that's all you really wanted to do, you'd stick with a radio.
What happened to the days of practical inventions...these days we just seem to be getting off-the-wall, frivolous money-wasters that are worth less than the paper some talentless hack looking to make a dollar scrawls them out on.
In conclusion, this idea seems about as constructive for the modern driver as the drive up liquor store...and will probably be just as dangerous.
END OF RANT
Spurious comparison. When you don't wear a seatbelt you don't drive any worse, and you suffer no consequences until you have an accident. If you have a TV in front, you drive badly, and the first time a cop pulls you over and sees that TV, you're in for a big, big fine. I guarantee that the first time someone gets ticketed for having a TV on the dash is the LAST time it'll happen. You can't say that about a ticket for no seatbelt.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
But where is the fun in having commercial free satellite radio throughout your 12 hour drive? The whole fun part is listening to the different formats and sounds of radio stations as your cross the country. Oh wait, forget it, that was before the 1996 Telecommunications Act and Clear Channel and Infinity bought all the radio stations and made their formats all the same. :-) Why not just get an mp3 player for the car? 12 hours of songs per disc.