Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2014-2015 - 44

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Continued from page 43

its high-gain antenna . This is a large, heavy and complex
unit mounted under a radome on top of the largest business
aircraft; on Falcons and Gulfstreams they are mounted on
top of the vertical stabilizer . The system also can use a
medium gain antenna, according to Elofson, but it, too, is
fairly sizeable, so it won't work on smaller airplanes . For
them, there is a low-gain blade antenna .
Aircell offers an air-to-ground Internet connection, Gogo
Biz, whose proprietary network of ground stations covers
the contiguous U .S ., portions of Alaska, and is coming to
Canada . A full mobile broadband connection, it provides a
full range of services, including access to a company's VPN,
or virtual private network .

With over-current/
over-voltage protection, EMTEQ's
intelliUSB SR recognizes a specific PED and
charges it to the maximum allotted speed, and has
an LED over-current indicator.

Internet Connections
An Internet connection is what allows people with PEDs
to use their iPad on an airplane the same way they use it
at home, according to Brian Wilson, director of avionics at
Banyan Air Service . They want the ability to send a movie
on their iPad to a larger high-definition monitor, so they
don't have to hold their tablet . And if others are interested
in the same film, they want to share it with the other iPads
on the flight .
There are a number of certificated aircraft Wi-Fi systems
that make this work, but specific to iTunes content, it starts
with an Internet connection to "ping" iTunes for the DRM
(digital rights management) key that "unlocks" the iTunes
content, or authorizes the iPad to stream the movies
stored on it . And all the content is stored on the iPad
or the aircraft's media server, because unlike terrestrial
broadband systems, those on the aircraft do not yet have
the bandwidth to stream HD movies from the cloud .
Content licensing is an important aspect of IFE that
continues during the life of the system . With or without
an Internet connection, many IFE systems incorporate a
media server that delivers audio and visual content on
demand (AVOD) to wired HD monitors and wirelessly to
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PEDs . Compared to an iTunes account, AVOD content
licensing, downloading the content and loading it on the
aircraft server is time and labor intensive, according to
Wilson . "It's not something a typical passenger would want
to bother with ."
Not everyone has an iPad, so some operators of IFEequipped aircraft have one for each passenger, according
to Wilson . A docking station offered by Flight Display
Systems accommodates 10 iPads, charging the batteries
and synchronizing their content to an iTunes account that
belongs to the airplane . While the market leader, iTunes
isn't the only source of content .
"If you're a Droid person," said Wilson, without going into
detail, users can copy their content "to a USB drive, plug it
into the media driver on the airplane and stream it to nonApple devices without the Inmarsat ping," the content's
original source for DRM authorization .
With a PED in almost every passenger's hands, keeping
them charged in flight is a prime IFE consideration . This
is no simple challenge because lithium-ion batteries
power most PEDs . Improperly charging them can trigger
thermal runaway that can culminate in an open flame .
A number of original equipment manufacturers, such as
Astronics, EMTEQ and Flight Display Systems, make USB
receptacles that step the aircraft 28-volt system down to
the PED's 5 volts and 2 amps, according to Wilson . But
they also incorporate a recharging circuit that prevents
possible problems by "reading" the lithium-ion's status and
adjusting the flow of current to the device accordingly .
IFE Big Picture
Despite the focus on the PED's growing contribution to
IFE, they have not, and will not, replace traditional bulkhead
mounted monitors . A moving map that shows the flight's
location is one common component of IFE, and rehearsing
a business presentation, or getting one during the trip, is
a prime example of IFE's office and productivity mission .
And sharing a movie, either from the onboard media
server or streamed from a PED, for everyone's enjoyment,
typifies its entertainment and relaxation mission . In regular
and high definition, aviation-grade monitors range from 7
inches to the 52 incher found in many home theaters (but
not any small airplanes) .
Like a home theater, the equipment that delivers the
multitude of IFE services, from media servers and wireless
routers to DVD and Blu-ray players, the technology
is constantly evolving, according to Wilson . And what
people have at home, they want in the air . Staying
current is important, said Wilson, and to gain "insights
to the next thing passengers will bring aboard," Banyan
religiously attends the annual Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas . And it is a sure bet that the IFE equipment
manufacturers are there, as well . q

Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2014-2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2014-2015