Garmin has been crushing it in the Live imaging market recently, however they are losing big time in another area. It’s been just over a year since Garmin has discontinued the HomePort Application without any reasonable replacement. If you are unfamiliar with the application, it made it possible to plan routes and see detailed map information on your computer. Additionally, HomePort software was the only way you could review your recorded tracks and sonar recording from a Garmin device.
Garmin claims that the ActiveCaptin app replaces the HomePort software, however the functionality of ActiveCaptin is nowhere even close to what HomePort had, plus ActiveCaptin only runs on a tablet or phone.
For someone like me that makes videos and records the screen from a sonar device, having the ability to record, review and edit on a computer is a necessity. I would imagine all of you tournament guys out there would also need this functionality from their sonar. You can check out Dan Richard Fishing Youtube Channel from 2020 that explains the software and how useful it can be.
I have contacted customer support and confirmed there is no way to playback sonar recordings. Garmin support insist that a third-party software can do playback but refuse to tell me what this magical third party software might be. The file format looks to be proprietary and was specifically designed to only work with the HomePort software.
Come on Garmin this was feature sold to me when purchasing the product, but now you take it away? I just have to say that Garmin may not have sharks circling the boat yet, but a bunch of lawyers might be soon.
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https://support.garmin.com/en-CA/?faq=g52jIchoB75fM270xn4Sx6
