Honest Mega Live Question/answers Please

[BassCatBrad]

Hi all, I’m kicking the idea around of adding live imaging. I’ve been a Humminbird guy for about 12 years. Currently I run a Helix 10 si G4 at the console and a Helix 12 si G4 at the bow with a Quest trolling motor and mega 360. I want honest answers here. I really want to remain brand loyal, I like Minn Kota/Humminbird and got to know one of their reps pretty well and consider him a friend. So here is the question, is Mega Live worth the investment as compared to Garmin or Lowrances live imaging. I have 2 fishing buddies that I mainly fish with, one has the newest Garmin Livescope and I must say it is impressive. The other is a Lowrance guy and has their latest active target 2, I think it is pretty good as well. I have no first hand experience with Mega Live, but both my buddies say go with either Garmin or Lowrance because Humminbird is way behind the times with Mega Live and I will be disappointed. But I would rather spend $1000 as compared to $3000 for one of their systems and fishfinder. So Mega Live guys what are your honest no BS opinions of Mega Live. Oh, if this helps, I will be fishing 100% of the time in shallow Florida Lakes.

[Crabnbass]

Mega Live

Is it serviceable FFS? Yes
Is it as good or better than Garmin? No

[Wackyjig]

If you're not adding another graph for ffs, I'd go mega live. Especially at the current price.
Once you figure out how to adjust it, and with the recent updates, it's pretty decent. Plus with fishing shallow Florida lakes you can get alot of mileage out of perspective/landscape mode and imo mega live is the best in that view.
If you were adding another graph I'd say Garmin. Active target would not even be in the discussion for me. Something about the images is just off and the odd splotchy interference drives me nuts looking at it.

[scott c]

Megalive is a lot better than most people say. If dialed in and not getting interference the images are very good in my opinion. By far good enough to see fish to target.

[RyanJ]

You are already setup with hbird stuff. Grab the megalive while it is on sale. Much cheaper than starting fresh with garmin.

[BKF]

Second year with mega live target lock. After the last update the imaging improved. Prior to that I had no complaints. I don’t believe that any of them are just turn them on and you’re good to go. I think you have to spend some time learning how to use them. I have zero complaints with my Mega Live. It’s put fish in the boat when nothing else would.
I’ve installed Active Target for a few of my friends and tested it with them. The difference does not justify the cost if you’re already running Humminbird.

[fishon!sc]

I am a minn kota/humminbird guy. Saying that I removed one of my birds to make room for the Garmin. I have used both for hrs. It's not even close. Livescope + hands down.

[BoatBuggy]

I have had all 3 on my boat at the same time. Today I run both ML+TL and LVS-34 (and Mega 360).

If you are fishing open water chasing stuff around or casting at what you see, they are all comparable and anyone who thinks one is head and shoulders above the other in open water is little more that a brand cheerleader or someone who hasn't seen ML for a while and is talking out of their ass. If you want to see fish in grass, get an LVS-34 - there is no comparison.

[06 SB]

I had ML but ended up selling it mainly due to network issues. It slowed everything down and random units locked up. I had a ethernet hub, 3 Helix units, iPilot Link, M360 then ML. It was the older hub and I think it could not handle the load. I sold a Helix unit and ML then bought a Garmin and LVS34. Everything is all good now. The Garmin is better period, but that does not mean the ML is bad. I could get acceptable images even before the more recent updates but my network was crap.

If I were in your situation, just get ML and the new ethernet hub and call it a day. If you want the best and you have the $, get a Garmin.

[SLYDoggie]

I see this question over and over, so I have formulated some thoughts from a person who has a significant Humminbird and One Boat Network investment. For others out there who are like me, I don't think there is enough advantage to Livescope to warrant having a totally standalone unit for just "live".

Apologize in advance for the long post, but it isn't a simple answer... Here are my thoughts:

• Although I do believe that Livescope currently has a slight edge on distance to see your lure as well as actual detail of the fish themselves, I don't believe it is enough to overcome the advantage of having Mega Live viewable and usable from other Humminbird units on the boat. I troll for Stripers and have Mega Live, Mega 360, SI and DI running the whole time I'm trolling. I have an Apex 19 and an Apex 13 at the helm, along with an Apex 16 at the bow, so I can choose which control head I want to view any of these images on (and in pretty much any combination). I can also control my Bluetooth-connected Cannon Optimum Downriggers and Ulterra Quest trolling motor from any head unit as well. If you have Talon Anchors, you can also control those from any networked unit from any place in the boat.

• Mega Live is continually improving as new firmware and control head software releases come out... just like Livescope has done and continues to do. As this happens, any advantage Livescope might currently have would be lessened or maybe even eliminated.

• I'm spoiled by the clarity I get on my Humminbird units and all the "clutter" and "stitching artifacts" on Livescope drives me nuts. While the Livescope image can be cleared up, when you do that, you negatively impact the distance and detail advantage of Livescope. With Mega Live you can have clarity without damaging imaging quality.

• I like dealing with a single menu interface and software update process on all my units. Having a totally different "one off" setup to deal with, just for "live", complicates things.

• The actual mount on the Mega Live is superior to the Livescope mount, especially after adding the perspective mode mount addition to Livescope. There are definite advantages to be gained by tweaking the Transducer angle a click or two... especially in Landscape Mode. It's very easy to do that, as well as physically switch from Landscape Mode to Foreward Mode or Down Mode.

• With no extra black box to contend with, the physical installation is easier and cleaner. There are those who say, how can you get all that power into the Mega Live Transducer without the black box? If you look at the Livescope and Active Target black box, most of the "bulk" is in the cooling fins and connection ports. Neither of these are needed in the Mega Live sealed water-cooled approach. That's like saying how can a phone do as much as a tablet because it's so much smaller... They do because, with electronics, size can be overcome.

Bottom line... If you have Humminbird, buy Mega Live. If you have Garmin, buy Livescope. If you have Lowrance, buy Active Target. There are advantages to integration with your infrastructure which makes any differences less significant.

Mega Live has definitely closed the gap on Livescope significantly with recent updates. It's the best of the 3 on image clarity but target separation is more like the Livescope LVS32. The LVS34 still has a leg up on Mega Live... but it isn't night and day as some would claim.

[78Staff]

I have had all 3 on my boat at the same time. Today I run both ML+TL and LVS-34 (and Mega 360).

If you are fishing open water chasing stuff around or casting at what you see, they are all comparable and anyone who thinks one is head and shoulders above the other in open water is little more that a brand cheerleader or someone who hasn't seen ML for a while and is talking out of their ass. If you want to see fish in grass, get an LVS-34 - there is no comparison.

This is why I moved from an all Lowrance setup with AT2 to adding a Garmin unit with LVS-34 (and a Helix with M360). "Single Brand" integration is nice to have for sure, which is the main reason I fought against switching for so long. But the Ghost 360, while on par with M360 image wise, is a joke in actual use b/c of being connected to the TM. And AT2, while good does not perform well looking at/through grass. Which is very useful down here in Fl. So I finally made the decsions to give up the benefits of the single brand system and diversifed, so to speak. It's only been a few weeks but it has been mostly succesful. The only sticking point for me at this point are issues I'm having connecting my Helix to my NEMA 2000 network so it can use my Point 1.

But as mentioned, it appears by all reports HB has definitely improved Mega Live, so the gap is not near as wide as it was intially.

[kybluebullet]

Mine does a pretty good job at bait tracking and seeing fish. The target lock is awesome. With that being said, I can't keep anything running long enough to use it. Excessively worse since the last update with freeze ups and just crazy acting units doing silly stuff constantly. I added the new Ethernet switch and it changed nothing that I can tell. If I were starting over it would be with Garmin. I like the features of my humminbird but it has been a constant state of update and fix, sometimes I just want to go fishing without a project lol. As much as it will probably hurt my wallet I will probably jump ship soon just because of the network issues. The last update really improved the ML ability to track and see fish but it has just wreaked havoc on my network ever since. With the reduced price and already having birds it may be worth it but that's the only way I would recommend it.

[FishingwithRusty]

ive had ML since it came out and the new updates continue to improve the capabilities and i think it will continue to get better.

[22RangerZ520R]

Megalive is a lot better than most people say. If dialed in and not getting interference the images are very good in my opinion. By far good enough to see fish to target.

+1

[BassCatBrad]

Thanks for all the feedback. I really like the idea of sending $1000 as compared to $3000 and learning new head units. I think I’m going to give Mega Live a shot. I like the idea of using 360 to find the cover and then the Live to see what’s there.

[Bjxds]

Are you planning to run M360 and Live from the single Helix 12 on the bow or are you going to have a dual bow setup?

Also it cant hurt being friends with an account rep. You can probably get some very good hands on instruction with setup up and dialing in from those that know the product and its capabilities very well.

[BassCatBrad]

Are you planning to run M360 and Live from the single Helix 12 on the bow or are you going to have a dual bow setup?

Also it cant hurt being friends with an account rep. You can probably get some very good hands on instruction with setup up and dialing in from those that know the product and its capabilities very well.

Good question, to start with, yes I will run it from a single Helix 12. I will probably add a second 12 or a 10 down the road.

[aero320]

I agree with the others … give Mega Live a try for $999. My new boat has everything Humminbird including TargetLock and I really like how everything works. Mega Live is not as good as LVS34 but similar to LVS32 (I caught a lot of fish with LVS32). Since I already had the Garmin stuff, I keep a system mounted in a self contained ArcLab shuttle. And I carry (stowed) an LVS34 on a Fishing Specialties pole just in case. If someone fishes with me, they get to use the Livescope setup and I use Mega Live.