The prospect of the multi-channel TV world in moving vehicles has been lurking on the horizon for some time, and now it looks like it will be here in Canada soon.
How soon? Well, if the CRTC doesn't give its approval for satellite radio soon, satellite TV will beat it to the punch.
RaySat, Inc. hopes to have its SpeedRay 1000 system on the market in Canada and the U.S. by this summer, says Jim Robnett, the Virginia-based firm's vice-president of sales. It will be sold by AudioVox dealers across the country, under the SkyBox brand.
Speaking by phone as he crossed Michigan on his way to Detroit, Robnett said that the company's SpeedRay 3000 system would also be available in Canada within a year, providing WiFi internet service as well as satellite TV.
Both systems use a ''low-profile'' antenna that sits on the roof of a vehicle and captures any digital broadcast service coming from satellites over the southern part of the hemisphere (a clear line of sight in that direction is therefore critical) that can then be viewed on an in-vehicle monitor, but not of course where the driver can see it.
The SkyBox TV satellite alone should cost Canadians about $3,000, with the satellite TV service then requiring a separate monthly fee.
When it becomes available, the TV-WiFi system's antenna should cost Canadians about $4,000 or more, plus satellite and internet service, of course.
While the antenna systems are smaller than they used to be, they are still not small enough that Robnett can recommend them for every vehicle on the road. Indeed, he suggests that only people with RVs, minivans or largish SUVs should be considering either of RaySat's products.
SkyBox will also work well on over-the-road transport trucks, Robnett said, but boats are out for now because their regular rocking motion makes capturing the signal difficult.
Though the size of the antenna has shrunk in recent years, the device used to operate SkyBox will still strike many people as too large. It's 1150 mm long, 897 mm wide, 150 mm high and weights 26 kg.
For his part, Robnett thinks the system's dimensions are now small enough to attract many of the millions of people who've put video systems in their vehicles in the last couple of years.
Robnett also said that TV reception was attractive to consumers because the ''customer pull is so much stronger for entertainment than for information. The entertainment model is much easier to justify than pure information.''
He said it was ''significant that AudioVox has made a big commitment to this product, and we feel this is going to give us a big presence in the market. They've got 3,500 dealers across North America. We're very pleased that they've seen the future.''
The antenna is permanently enclosed in a self-contained, weather-resistant housing that Robnett said has been proven in real world use in Europe, where it's already in use on high-speed trains in Europe. It's also been proven to work in temperatures between -28 to +45 degrees Celsius, so it should be able to function in most of Canada and the U.S.
Robnett said the antenna continually receives the satellite signal using a ''unique system of phased-array panels which rotate, pivot and swivel inside the housing at all times.''
How soon? Well, if the CRTC doesn't give its approval for satellite radio soon, satellite TV will beat it to the punch.
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Speaking by phone as he crossed Michigan on his way to Detroit, Robnett said that the company's SpeedRay 3000 system would also be available in Canada within a year, providing WiFi internet service as well as satellite TV.
Both systems use a ''low-profile'' antenna that sits on the roof of a vehicle and captures any digital broadcast service coming from satellites over the southern part of the hemisphere (a clear line of sight in that direction is therefore critical) that can then be viewed on an in-vehicle monitor, but not of course where the driver can see it.
The SkyBox TV satellite alone should cost Canadians about $3,000, with the satellite TV service then requiring a separate monthly fee.
When it becomes available, the TV-WiFi system's antenna should cost Canadians about $4,000 or more, plus satellite and internet service, of course.
While the antenna systems are smaller than they used to be, they are still not small enough that Robnett can recommend them for every vehicle on the road. Indeed, he suggests that only people with RVs, minivans or largish SUVs should be considering either of RaySat's products.
SkyBox will also work well on over-the-road transport trucks, Robnett said, but boats are out for now because their regular rocking motion makes capturing the signal difficult.
Though the size of the antenna has shrunk in recent years, the device used to operate SkyBox will still strike many people as too large. It's 1150 mm long, 897 mm wide, 150 mm high and weights 26 kg.
For his part, Robnett thinks the system's dimensions are now small enough to attract many of the millions of people who've put video systems in their vehicles in the last couple of years.
Robnett also said that TV reception was attractive to consumers because the ''customer pull is so much stronger for entertainment than for information. The entertainment model is much easier to justify than pure information.''
He said it was ''significant that AudioVox has made a big commitment to this product, and we feel this is going to give us a big presence in the market. They've got 3,500 dealers across North America. We're very pleased that they've seen the future.''
The antenna is permanently enclosed in a self-contained, weather-resistant housing that Robnett said has been proven in real world use in Europe, where it's already in use on high-speed trains in Europe. It's also been proven to work in temperatures between -28 to +45 degrees Celsius, so it should be able to function in most of Canada and the U.S.
Robnett said the antenna continually receives the satellite signal using a ''unique system of phased-array panels which rotate, pivot and swivel inside the housing at all times.''