TracVision Tv3

Hmm.....just read and replied to a thread on another forum.
Before you invest a lot of money you may want to see how long these satellite services are going to be around.
A big part of the topic there is how these satellite TV services aren’t launching anymore satellites.
DirectTV (the satellite service I have) is pushing their streaming DirectTV Now streaming service.
Same company, but two different kinds of service.
I can tell you that their satellite support is terrible for boats. When you call their customer service they won’t be able to comprehend that the system is on a boat.
 
I can’t comment on the TV3 specifically, but I did install a new TV5 on my boat at the beginning of last season. It is great, and we love it. The old system we had on the boat (original from 2005) was obsolete and unrepairable.

As for streaming service, I don’t see that working in a marine environment. Sure we use it at our homeport for things like Netflix and Prime Video, but when we pull lines and are offshore or in most marinas/anchorages with little or no internet bandwidth or cable tv, we have ours for evenings and rainy days.

And as for telling them it’s for a boat - DON’T!! You will never get anywhere. Buy as many boxes as you want for TVs and add them to your home account or a relatives home account. They don’t know the difference that it’s on your boat.
 
JVM225 said:
Hmm.....just read and replied to a thread on another forum.
Before you invest a lot of money you may want to see how long these satellite services are going to be around.
A big part of the topic there is how these satellite TV services aren’t launching anymore satellites.
DirectTV (the satellite service I have) is pushing their streaming DirectTV Now streaming service.
Same company, but two different kinds of service.
I can tell you that their satellite support is terrible for boats. When you call their customer service they won’t be able to comprehend that the system is on a boat.
Click to expand...

I have an older TracVision M1 and it still works great. I got it 6 seasons ago from a gentleman who was getting out of boating.. Anytime I have had issues I asked for Tier Two support on the phone. It gets me to the right knowledge base for Boat Dish applications. That being said, I imagine it will quit working altogether eventually when the Satellite finally gives up the ghost
 
Thanks all.
tc410 said:
I can’t comment on the TV3 specifically, but I did install a new TV5 on my boat at the beginning of last season. It is great, and we love it. The old system we had on the boat (original from 2005) was obsolete and unrepairable.

As for streaming service, I don’t see that working in a marine environment. Sure we use it at our homeport for things like Netflix and Prime Video, but when we pull lines and are offshore or in most marinas/anchorages with little or no internet bandwidth or cable tv, we have ours for evenings and rainy days.

And as for telling them it’s for a boat - DON’T!! You will never get anywhere. Buy as many boxes as you want for TVs and add them to your home account or a relatives home account. They don’t know the difference that it’s on your boat.
Click to expand...
What’s the biggest difference between 3 and 5?
 
dpvandy01 said:
I have an older TracVision M1 and it still works great. I got it 6 seasons ago from a gentleman who was getting out of boating.. Anytime I have had issues I asked for Tier Two support on the phone. It gets me to the right knowledge base for Boat Dish applications. That being said, I imagine it will quit working altogether eventually when the Satellite finally gives up the ghost
Click to expand...
The only hang up I have is the monthly subscription. We don’t have any of the services at home because our HOA pays for comcast which you cant get on the boat. So I will be paying $35 month plus taxes for TV well use once in a while. In the grand scheme of Bust Out Another Thousand its not that much and I imagine the comfort factor will outweigh the cost.
 
JPGator said:
The only hang up I have is the monthly subscription. We don’t have any of the services at home because our HOA pays for comcast which you cant get on the boat. So I will be paying $35 month plus taxes for TV well use once in a while. In the grand scheme of Bust Out Another Thousand its not that much and I imagine the comfort factor will outweigh the cost.
Click to expand...
So, I own my equipment (M1 and Box) and given that I have no contract with DishNetwork and I can cancel anytime. I also put it on "vacation" mode while the boat is Laid up for the winter. A simple call to Dish and they ping my receiver and I am up and running. I don't even have to speak to a human or vice an account number. It's all tied to my cell so if I call from that number it is all automated. Super easy and hassle free
 
That could totally be worth it. I didn’t look at Dish yet. What box did you buy?
 
Love our TV3. Tried all the other ways, streaming through phone, streaming over Wi-Fi adapter setup......none of it really worked well for us. TV3 works and tracks great while underway. KVH customer service and tech support has been great too.
 
I have the basic DirectTV package that they give me a small discount on because I’m an AT&T cellular family plan subscriber. The bills are combined. HBO is included with my basic package because of some sort of promotion.
I had considered freezing the service from December 1st through March 31st each year but the thought of dealing with them every year was a deterrent. Plus I use the subscription to watch news on DirectTV through their app on my iPad in the gym 4 or 5 mornings a week year round so I feel like I get my money’s worth.
But if my system died on me or I didn’t have one at all on the boat I’m not sure I would invest in one right now. It would be a tough call.
I like having the option on the boat but I’m concerned that with the rapid growth of streaming the satellite equipment on the boat might become obsolete in the near future.
In another thread on another forum a poster linked to info about DirectTV not putting up any more satellites.
I believe it because they’ve been pushing their DirectTV Now streaming equipment and service pretty hard to me as an AT&T customer the last year or so.
The real trick would be to get a consistent strong, reliable and fast mobile connection to the internet on the boat so streaming would work as seamlessly as it does at home.
Could 5G be the answer?
Hopefully that type of marine equipment will evolve rapidly and my current M3 equipment will last until it does.
 
flyboycj84 said:
Love our TV3. Tried all the other ways, streaming through phone, streaming over Wi-Fi adapter setup......none of it really worked well for us. TV3 works and tracks great while underway. KVH customer service and tech support has been great too.
Click to expand...

KVH was great for me too. When I bought the boat I spent the better part of two days trying to get my account up and running with DirectTV. They were useless. They couldn’t comprehend boat and mobile.
Got KVH on the phone and they handled it for me.
Not bad. Especially since I got the system used with the boat and didn’t buy it from them.
Another great group I’ve dealt with is Solid Signal. Very helpful.
 
I guess with millions of subscribers currently on satellite TV the likelihood of it disappearing in the next 5-10 years is low. If I had to compare it how long did it take for companies to stop supporting the old rabbit ears we used to use? Not sure what the answer is.
 
JPGator said:
Thanks all.

What’s the biggest difference between 3 and 5?
Click to expand...

Beyond the antenna/dome size, I’m not exactly sure. The TV5 was a direct replacement for what I had right down to the bolt pattern. The TV3 is smaller - better suited for smaller boat applications with limited mounting space?

As for WiFi streaming taking over satellite, I have to believe that’s years away. Even if they aren’t launching new satellites up, the ones already in service should last years. Remember how long the Hubbel telescope was working past the predicted end of life?

There are so many rural areas that still don’t have the infrastructure for broadband WiFi. This is one of the main reasons for using a satellite provider because these same areas don’t even have access to cable tv.
 
Has anyone simply bought a dedicated hotspot, attached it to the boat somewhere and streamed video from that?
 
JPGator said:
Has anyone simply bought a dedicated hotspot, attached it to the boat somewhere and streamed video from that?
Click to expand...
I've done this as recent as this past weekend. I have a VZ and an ATT and find the VZ works in most places that we go. The drawback is i fell alseep with the tv on and woke up to 10gb use out of my data plan. I'll have to set the tv's to time out with no input to avoid this. However i find that you have to manage your data usage carefully otherwise it can get pricey or they will just throttle down your data to the point where its useless for streaming.
 
I think all the cable/satellite providers are in trouble due to streaming services. However the internet services providers will now have you over a barrel until they roll out "true" 5G and provide good reliable services at a decent price. I recently got rid of cable at home and we absolutely love it. I just could not justify adding a satellite service with new hardware to the boat for what they want for an HD KVH system. I had the tv3 system on our old boat and directv warned us that our particular dish may be obsolete sometime this year.
 
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