Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions - Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Jul. 04, 2014	Apr. 04, 2014
Accounts receivable, net:
Accounts receivable, Billed	$ 131,010	$ 129,794
Accounts receivable, Unbilled	149,755	143,651
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(1,617)	(1,554)
Accounts receivable, net	279,148	271,891
Inventories:
Raw materials	49,241	42,786
Work in process	21,876	22,279
Finished goods	57,450	54,536
Inventories	128,567	119,601
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
Prepaid expenses	36,477	41,341
Other	4,204	2,729
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	40,681	44,070
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	191,553	166,537
Less accumulated amortization	(135,447)	(131,140)
Other acquired intangible assets, net	56,106	35,397
Other assets:
Capitalized software costs, net	97,316	91,022
Patents, orbital slots and other licenses, net	17,000	15,700
Deferred income taxes	114,282	110,711
Other	38,913	39,535
Other assets	267,511	256,968
Accrued liabilities:
Collections in excess of revenues and deferred revenues	82,937	69,127
Accrued employee compensation	14,206	23,954
Accrued vacation	24,249	22,550
Warranty reserve, current portion	9,207	9,368
Current portion of other long-term debt	1,783	1,856
Other	34,283	49,119
Accrued liabilities	166,665	175,974
Other liabilities:
Deferred revenue, long-term portion	8,418	10,097
Deferred rent, long-term portion	8,766	9,758
Warranty reserve, long-term portion	7,688	7,655
Deferred income taxes, long-term portion	834	816
Other liabilities	46,178	48,893
Technology [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	68,371	57,084
Contracts and customer relationships [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	99,873	88,853
Satellite co-location rights [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	8,600	8,600
Trade name [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	5,940	5,680
Other [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	8,769	6,320
Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	845,827	804,794
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(186,673)	(173,958)
Property and equipment, net	659,154	630,836
Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	797,985	781,752
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(383,424)	(360,086)
Property and equipment, net	414,561	421,666
Satellite - WildBlue-1 [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	195,890	195,890
Capital lease of satellite capacity - Anik F2 [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	99,090	99,090
Satellite - ViaSat-1 [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	363,204	363,204
Satellite - ViaSat-2 (under construction) [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	187,643	146,610
Equipment and software [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	468,028	452,197
CPE leased equipment [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	222,037	221,017
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(86,900)	(79,800)
Furniture and fixtures [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	19,578	18,773
Leasehold improvements [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	64,755	62,159
Building [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	8,923	8,923
Land [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	1,621	1,621
Construction in progress [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	13,043	17,062
Satellite Performance Incentives Obligation [Member]
Other liabilities:
Satellite performance incentives obligation, long-term portion	$ 20,472	$ 20,567