(1:19) What do you think was Apple's fastest growing product in 2013? If you guessed the iPhone, you'd be wrong. And it wasn't the iPad, the iPod, or i-anything else either. It was Apple TV which generated $1 billion (yes, "b") in sales last year, with sales nearly doubling over 2012. This should get your attention. The world is digital and it's not going back.(1:09) One of our boat projects this winter was to replace our entertainment system on our boat. We had a couple of goals - high definition, HDMI components, using equipment that was smaller and used less power, and installing a Smart TV system.
(1:02) If you're not familiar with Smart TV, it's a television that receives normal over-the-air programming but also directly connects to the internet over WiFi. It lets me watch TV, movies, browse the web, keep my photos, and much more. In short, it allows me to cut my ties to cable and satellite TV. Of course there are ways for "dumb" TV's to become smart through the addition external boxes such as the Roku...and Apple TV. This is a mainstream trend and not something geeky or technical.
(0:52) Users of Smart TV will be placing an even higher demand on your WiFi. The good news is that you can offer far more performance than they need by diverting money you spend on cable to your WiFi setup. In general, you'll actually save money doing this. I know many of you are thinking that cutting your cable TV capability will cause a revolt. But that's not necessarily true, and here's why.
(0:42) Fewer and fewer transients are utilizing the cable connections offered by marinas. We know this from talking to marinas and boaters, and from observing how many boats actually have a cable running out to the dock. This trend will continue and only accelerate in the future.
(0:35) We have heard from marinas that their long term/yearly slip holders, particularly if the marina is their home port, are the most frequent users of cable. For those customers, there is a fantastic solution that will give them more and better functionality at a reduced cost to the marina. It's the perfect win-win situation.
(0:26) There are devices, such as SlingBox, that allow boaters to remotely view and control their home's cable, satellite, or digital video recorder system from their boat over the internet. What that means to the boater is they can have access to all of the entertainment options they have at home. That includes any premium channels such as sports, HBO, etc., that the marina is unlikely to provide. Plus they can do cool things like watch a DVD they've placed in their home player or watch shows they've saved on their DVR/TIVO. These are things they can't get at the marina today but will soon want.
(0:14) All of these features hinge on having exceptional WiFi which is possible and affordable today. Now is the time to begin getting ready. Don't guess - find out how many boaters are actually using your cable setup. We'll help you educate boaters about the advantages of "cutting the cable."
(0:06) Begin planning for this new generation of WiFi. It's coming and if you don't offer it, your competitors will.
(0:02) And that's the marina minute.
