IPTV services may be classified into three main groups: live television, time-shifted programming, and content (or video) on demand using store and forward systems.

We have been, and will carry on, monitoring the development of IPTV services for maritime use. We have worked alongside a couple of companies developing systems with 2-3 live, time dependant, feeds for news and live sport with the rest of the programming as a store and forward service. Both of these developments have come to a halt due to  licencing issues.

Some cruise ships have a small number of channels live such as Fox News provided via their VSAT services onboard.

The best service we have for IPTV is by using The Jetstream service which is an IP media delivery mechanism.  The Jetstream uses leased data lines rather than the public internet and data houses to provide and guarantee a high quality, data delivery service. Thus it is possible to place shift the content from one or more satellite TV decoder boxes in different locations worldwide to a vessel.

This is a challenging technology but it is compulsive when you see live TV running on a vessel mid Atlantic or the ability to watch home TV on the other side of the world. 

There are other systems in development and we will review them in time and if we recommend any we will list them here.

How does The Jetstream work?

The Jetstream is the first private, full service interactive media delivery platform.

You can use it to access your TV channel of your choice anywhere in the world.

The Jetstream technology runs through a super video highway that enables customers to view their favourite television channels around the world – regardless of where you may live or travel. With a laptop, your personal login details and a reasonable quality broadband connection your media is at your finger-tips with full functionality of any TV package you subscribe to.

Watch your home TV anywhere in the world!

MEC is an JETSTREAM supplier so we can make this available on your yacht, in your ski chalet, on safari or anywhere using our premium eVSAT broadband and e3G & HSPA services.

We offer eVSAT services that will support The JETSTREAM so you can watch your TV with no nasty surprises in the most off-the beaten track locations. If you are using MEC eVSAT services we can offer attractive bandwidth upgrades when you want to use The JETSTREAM.

In order to fully appreciate the Jetstream service compared to other IPTV products you need to see a live demonstration. This can be arranged remotely at any time by your regular MEC contact or contact us to arrange it.

Short Term Jetstream Contracts

As of November 2010 we can now offer short term Jetstream Contracts of 2 weeks or a month, which are ideal for charters. We also offer a combined Jetstream 2 week Contract and our Yacht Charter Support Contract.

When you see the demonstration it will delight you and now you will need to know how to make it happen on your yacht. MEC was the natural choice for Jetstream as without a quality communications partner, it simply doesn’t work. And that is where MEC comes in.

What type of communications do you need? – A high speed data connection with a minimum dedicated bandwidth of 256Kbps per second per The Jetstream service. On board a yacht, the options are:

• MTN VSAT – The first choice of most yachts requiring dedicated bandwidth with near worldwide coverage. Beware of VSAT operators who say they can offer this quality – very few actually can!

• 3G/4G – In certain areas the 3G network will support speeds of up to 1Mbps. The next generation of data services offered by the mobile phone operators will offer download speeds up to 100Mbps. MEC is at the forefront of this development.

• WIMAX – Many ports and marinas are now deploying WIMAX technology with download speeds up to 2Mbps. There is competition between communications operators to provide better, faster wireless networks. This will improve the options for services such as The Jetstream.

What hardware do I need? – With a Jetstream login and password, you could watch the TV of your choice anywhere in the world on your laptop. But on your luxury yacht, you expect to be able to link this through the vessel entertainment system. MEC will guide you through the audit procedure necessary to bring your current systems up to date, checking all of the following:

• Satellite Broadband Antenna and Quality of Service
• 3G/4G, WIMAX router
• Network Bandwidth Management
• IP infrastructure
• NEW JetSet box now available

JetSet box

When cruising the oceans of the world we can provide expert advice as to what you will be able to watch and where either using conventional satellite TV services or by watching TV services over the Internet (IPTV) using broadband services such as 3G, HSDPA and VSAT.

Getting the TV right onboard has gone from being an interesting novelty a few years ago to being an essential part of any guest or owner charter. Just ask any captain who has got it wrong!

We now count our customers in the thousands and add to our numbers every year because vessel captains, antenna dealers, management companies, and yacht service companies all realise that a quality TV experience is a fundamental on board entertainment feature.
 

Our Sat TV management services provide:

• Guidance as to what you can watch where.  We can recommend the best service for your cruising area so you don’t end up buying a package you can’t actually watch.
• Guidance as to the limit of your cruising grounds to make sure essential TV coverage is always available for essential viewing of an owner or charter guest. eg specific soccer matches or Formula 1 events.
• Access to Pay to View services for a particular event.
• Should there be no Satellite TV services available in a specific area we can arrange for ANY programming from ANYWHERE in the world to be transmitted via broadband, should the broadband connection be available. In most cases we can also arrange this.
• You can call a dedicated support team with many years experience in maritime TV troubleshooting. They can solve contract problems and offer expert technical advice from the decoder to the stabilised antenna.
• We provide support on ALL the components of your TV system - whenever and wherever you need it.

Where other companies only offer a part of the service, MEC customers can count on the full package.

This includes:

• Pre-sales consultancy to advise on options.
• Choice of DVB broadcast via satellite and IPTV
• Choice of pay TV and Free to Air options.
• Selection of original language services in English, Italian, Greek, Russian, Arabic, German and others on request.
• Selection of regional coverage service to make sure your TV footprint matches your itinerary.
• Advice on packages for single antenna and dual antenna systems.
• Full service details including channel packages, options, contract upgrades and downgrades to keep costs to a minimum and performance at maximum.
• End to End fault finding service.
• Front line service along the Croatian coast and via the MEC Partner network worldwide.
• Classroom training and video tutorials for first line support of TV systems.
• Remote support of IP based systems.
• Integration with MEC communications products, media servers and on board networks.
• Single point of billing.
   

Depending on the requirement, we have supplied Russian, Italian, Arabic, Greek, German, Dutch and French TV in the last year from well known satellite provides such as Sky UK, Sky Italy, Nova, RTVi, DirecTV and many others.

If there is a TV service available where you want to cruise, we will get it for you.

We also gain an enormous amount of knowledge on what works, where it works and what are the local tricks and tips from our huge client base as well as our technicians field service and telephone support call reports.

Marine Stabilised TV Antennas - MEC is an authorised Sea Tel distributor and installation, service, support, warranty work, fault finding are all taken care of in our house.

Know-How - You cannot know everything but you can shorten the odds. Whether it is a question about a particular service, coverage area, antenna tuning, contract terms, receivers, on board distribution, or power, MEC is more likely to have the answer.

Whatever the TV requirement, MEC will provide advanced satellite TV solution including IPTV.
 

The eDSC v.2 now allows the connection of different data services to different User groups on the network simultaneously. This provides the most flexible bandwidth allocation and control with the benefit of being able to allocate more bandwidth to the network on board by adding additional connections immediately.

It provides network and thus bandwidth management of applications by User Group or VLAN.  It will automatically monitor and log data used by connection and by User Group and provide a warning to avoid large data bills on expensive connections.

The eDSC v.2 Admin Control has been upgraded to a simple, multi-platform user interface that will run on any device including PC, MAC, iOS (iPhone or iPad) and any Android device.

The eDSC v.2 uses an industry standard Cisco router and includes worldwide hardware and software support for four years.

The eDSC v.2 has 4 main features:

1. Connection Control

The user interface web app provides an easy way to select the data communication channels to be used on the yacht from the options available.  These could include VSAT, Fleet Broadband, Fleet ISDN and MPDS, 3G, Iridium, Wi-Fi, and ADSL.  These different devices can be connected to the eDSC via 9 Ethernet ports, an ISDN port and a Serial port for Fleet MPDS. Each device is given a friendly name.

Each device can then be connected to a different User Group defined within the eDSC with a friendly name such as "Owner", "Guests" or "Crew".

The eDSC records the connections through each device and keeps a running log of data used and a historic record.

The web app run from the browser of any device is used to connect each device to one or more User Groups using a very simple user interface.

2. Traffic Routing

Traffic Routing allows the connection of different devices to different User Groups thus bandwidth can be shared around the vessel. 

For example the "Owner" and "Guests" can be given access to the VSAT, the "Captain" to the Fleet Broadband and the "Crew" to the 3G. 

Bandwidth upgrades can be made during the season without the need to wait for availability by adding in different additional devices, such as 3G SIMs.

3. User Groups

User Groups can be defined for logical groups of users accessing the vessels network for whom a data counter will be shown and for whom access rules can be set. A User Group can have exclusive access to a data connection or share it with other User Groups.  Users will be able to automatically log on to a specific User Group in a wireless environment making administration very simple.

4. Bandwidth Use Monitor

This feature quickly tells you which connections are currently active, how much is being used through each connection and which User Groups are currently sharing your connections. It also tells you which User Groups are currently active and how much is being used by each User Group.

High data usage User Groups can easily be identified at a glance. Hidden consumers, such as Windows Updates connect to the Internet automatically. It will help you identify if any of your computers and laptops that haven't been optimised to prevent this kind of behaviour.

The eDSC v.2 Controller components:

Hardware: Cisco router 1812 (other Cisco routers may be considered upon request)
Software: this is a web application that is resident on the router and can be accessed from any browser, without an internet connection.

The Cisco router is a reliable and extremely flexible device, which can be adapted to most of the requirements of any vessel. The main features of the Cisco 1812 are:

• Up to 11 external data connections. Most yachts need mainly VSAT, Inmarsat Fleet  MPDS or Fleet Broadband, 3G and wi-fi connections.
• Inmarsat Fleet or Fleet Broadband ISDN and MPDS connections.
• Static firewall options can be configured during setup. VPN configuration options.  Remote support and WAN to WAN access. Port forwarding, Sea Tel DAC remote service. Intrusion prevention. Secure web proxy.

This combination of experience and volume gives our GSM and 3G customers certain advantages that are just not available from the service provider direct.

Both in terms of saving cost, maximising performance and quality support, the MEC service stands out for the following reasons:

• Post pay Contracts for Spain, France, Italy and Croatia specifically designed for the yachting industry.
• We provide normal Contracts. You don't need to make a call and then wait to be called back.
• Simple sign up: a credit card, signature and deposit are all that is required. Payment by bank transfer is also offered for management companies.
• We do everything in English. We remove the hassle of having to deal in multiple languages when in the Mediterranean.
• Experienced support team (Quote from Vodafone ‘Your staff know more about these services than ours do!’).
• We provide unlimited high speed Internet throughout the Spain, France, Italy and Croatia.
• We have designed our own "roaming warning system", to save you money.
• One stop shop for billing, installation, equipment, support. MEC also provide all these services for VSAT, Inmarsat, Iridium and wi-fi.
• Expert technical backup from MEC IT and Communications technicians.
• Local support from the MEC or trough Partner Network.
• All our communication solutions can be fully integrated with other networks and other products such as satellite and wi-fi.
• Advice and supply of phones, modems, routers, gateways, PDA, Blackberry & Apple to suit your needs.
• Future proof, reliable, mobile technology. 
  
   

We'll provide you with the ultimate end-to-end solution, which is guaranteed to work, fit your vessel and meet your requirements. Simply tell us what you want to do and we'll provide a complete package, including training and support.

Full VSAT package from a single, expert source!

All it takes is one phone call: everything is provided from a single source, whether for a yacht or a commercial vessel, from email and internet to IPTV and VPNs.

Available from MEC and our Partners, eVSAT is based on our extensive experience. It removes the need to approach individual VSAT service providers or dealers and compare offers, a time-consuming, confusing and unreliable method.

eVSAT Application Options

Choose what you want to do on the yacht from the options below:

Any of the following Applications can be used with your eVSAT solution:

• Welfare services for the owner, guests or crew
• Fast and reliable email, Internet and social networking services
• Voice services via VoIP with home country telephone numbers
• Use of own GSM cell phone
• Watch home TV
• Print home newspapers
• Provide enhanced medical support
• Increase comfort by improving security

Business services for the owners, managers or guests

• VPN connection to the owners' and / or managers' office
• Video conferencing
• Live financial video/TV feeds
• Current financial newspaper printing before it hits the news stands

Vessel management, safety and security services

• Automatic chart updates and navigation warnings
• Communication cost control and management for data and voice
• Ship security alarm now with live video from the ship to shore security office
• Weather services and weather routing
• Passage planning
• Telemetry integration and preventative maintenance

Or your bespoke Applications?

eVSAT uses the best of breed products and services as chosen and supported by MEC as one of the most experienced regional VSAT solution providers.

A selection of our chosen best of breed Partners are:
Jetstream, NewspapersDirect, Da Gama, Chartco, Transas, Passage Weather, Met Manager, Ocean Medical International, Modern Security Solutions.

Our eVSAT recommendations will use the following antennas:

Sea Tel -  Cobham SatCom

We have been working with Sea Tel for 12 years and have risen to become a preferred regional dealer over the last 2 years as we supply, install, commission and support Sea Tel antennas, both TV and VSAT, worldwide. In 2009 Sea Tel had 75% of the global maritime market and their nearest rival had only 17%. By ComSys 2009 report.

With over 30.000 TV and VSAT antennas on every type of vessel, we recommend Sea Tel because we know the products well and have the expertise to get them working at maximum performance.

At MEC we have trained Sea Tel engineers and can install, commission and support all Sea Tel antennas.  Our service office holds a stock of spares and test equipment. Our Partners around the globe also have a further twenty plus Sea Tel trained engineers.

Apart from our own capability Sea Tel also boast a worldwide network of Sea Tel dealers that none of their rivals can match.