V-Flyer

Was extremely disappointed by the Arcadia system on the retrun leg from CPT this Friday (340-300). Just goes to show how used to v-port we have all become. How long will it before this system is replaced.

[:(!]

This question is a regular one, on V-Flyer.

Inconsistency, is without doubt THE major cause of negative posts here. Whether this is to do with the IFE, the lounges, the service, the food or the people, it is a common theme- not too common with reagrds to the people, I am pleased to say.

With regards to when Arcadia will be replaced, I think the question is more to do with IF it will be replaced. V-Port is very expensive, and the world of IFE is a VERY fast moving one. As can be seen with the number of different systems that VS have on board their various aircraft.

None of them are THAT old, but none of the others are a patch on V-Port.

From a personal point of view I would sooner they moved towards in-seat power on economy, so that pax can use their own laptops / DVD players / video iPods, or whatever system is just round the corner.

The other option, already used, by other carriers, is in flight internet. Eventually this could lead to you downloading your own entertainment as you fly!

Whatever the future holds, I hope VS stay at the cutting edge of IFE, rather than starting to play 'catch up'. It will be interesting to see what happens when BA start to roll out AVOD into their fleet, which I understand isn't too far off.

Nick

To further Nick's post...

When I run I think about random things. Few days ago it was IFE. Well with the advent of iTunes Video with TV shows and other media delivery formats combined with the WiFi or similar internet availablity at about every airport; do you see V:Port or KrisWorld (In demand systems) having the latest news, TV shows, etc. in the future?

The systems are updated at base but an easy out station or even inflight method would be cool. Do you think VS will have a Live TV feature? Maybe even one that can show local channels, so ChuckC could watch the LA NBC feed, mcmbenjamin could watch the Nashville NBC feed and a UK member could watch the BBC line up.

So I am late to the game. LiveTV, owned my JetBlue already does this. They can upload movies, etc anywhere the aircraft is.

http://www.livetvifs.com/products_wadl.htm
- Last section at the bottom of the page

I flew JetBlue last week from MCO to JFK. I liked the IFE (about 32 channels of free US TV plus three pay movies at I think USD 5), though the satellite service sometimes went down for half a minute at a time.

JetBlue also has the IFE on for take off and landing, which would be better than the blank screen we have to put up with on VS.

If you can update the IFE content from anywhere, could we get more up to date news programmes, and how about sports highlights too.

Flew out VA last weekend on 747-400 using old IFE which was appears so out dated. I'm guessing this is the Arcadia system, stack of DAT dates behind the UC bar.

The return journey (LAX > LHR) on a A340-600 which was better with the new V-Port system. However, my one gripe would be that if you pause a movie to pop to the loo or fold the screen back to pull out the dinning table, the pause seems to timeout. Had to fast forward 3 times to resume a movie. Anyone else had this issue with pause/resume?

Mutley.

Doesn't Odyssey also rely on tapes? (Just more of them!)

I've had the timeout issue, as well. Very annoying - but I can't *quite* work out how long it needs to be left alone to resume by itself. Certainly longer than the time it takes to get a massage.

To me pause and timeout are two different things. I would expect V-Port to pause indefinitely whether the screen is stowed away or not. Let's hope they fix it or incremental FF like on Sky+ upto x30. [8D]

Originally posted by Mutley
Flew out VA last weekend on 747-400 using old IFE which was appears so out dated. I'm guessing this is the Arcadia system, stack of DAT dates behind the UC bar.

None of the 747-400s have Arcadia. It would have been Odyssey which is still leaps and bounds ahead of the IFE offered on some airlines.

I'm sure its been mentioned before but the final aircraft with Arcadia will leave the fleet in the Autumn, so we'll be back to 3 systems until technology moves on again......

I think technology will eventually get to the point where airlines can upload their own media to the aircraft in real time via sattelite. Real time TV, for international airlines might be a little ways out, simply due to the costs of the high bandwidth you'd need piping to the aircraft for media delivery.

It would certianly be nice if updated media could be downloaded every hour or so. For example, you could have a 2 hour news loop from CNN that updated every hour, so there was always newer material. I think the biggest issue is licensing though and its associated costs.

I have always seen something like a v|Port weather module useful. Allowing people to punch in a postal code or city name and get somewhat current weather information. Perhaps a download every 30 minutes or so. Connecting flight information could also be useful, although I think you'd have to limit it to VS and codeshare flights only to keep it easier. For example, when you leave LHR on VS1 to EWR and you're connecting to a CO/VS codeshare flight, by the time you get to EWR your gate information is 7-8 hours old (depending on when you checked in). It would be useful to be able to get an updated gate assignment just prior to arrival in EWR.

I think inconsistancy is always going to be present in the airline industry, simply due to the costs of changing things. I work for DL so you don't need to tell me how inconsistant things are... I think we have aircraft painted in 4 different liveries? Talk about inconsistant... but it costs so much to change.

Originally posted by Jetstreamer

Originally posted by Mutley
Flew out VA last weekend on 747-400 using old IFE which was appears so out dated. I'm guessing this is the Arcadia system, stack of DAT dates behind the UC bar.

None of the 747-400s have Arcadia. It would have been Odyssey which is still leaps and bounds ahead of the IFE offered on some airlines.

I'm sure its been mentioned before but the final aircraft with Arcadia will leave the fleet in the Autumn, so we'll be back to 3 systems until technology moves on again......

Nova is more dated than either system I thought?

As Odyssey etc all have games (unlike Nova) although the post suite nova system is better than the origonal

Originally posted by webdes03
Connecting flight information could also be useful, although I think you'd have to limit it to VS and codeshare flights only to keep it easier. For example, when you leave LHR on VS1 to EWR and you're connecting to a CO/VS codeshare flight, by the time you get to EWR your gate information is 7-8 hours old (depending on when you checked in). It would be useful to be able to get an updated gate assignment just prior to arrival in EWR.

IIRC Cathay Pacific already do this.

Originally posted by Richard28

Originally posted by webdes03
Connecting flight information could also be useful, although I think you'd have to limit it to VS and codeshare flights only to keep it easier. For example, when you leave LHR on VS1 to EWR and you're connecting to a CO/VS codeshare flight, by the time you get to EWR your gate information is 7-8 hours old (depending on when you checked in). It would be useful to be able to get an updated gate assignment just prior to arrival in EWR.

IIRC Cathay Pacific already do this.

I was unaware anyone had done it. Very cool. Do you know how often it updates, and is it available to the whole aircraft, or just J?

I cant remember the detail, but I remember seeing a TR with a screenshot of the Cathay IFE, which showed the connecting flights and gates at Hong Kong.

Have never flown Cathay so cannot elaborate further I'm afraid

A friend recently flew B/C with Cathay and told me the IFE was the best he had come across

I like SQ as the wiseman system is very simular to v-port but with connexions as well they have better IFE/comms than most carriers..