Segment and Geographic Information (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended						12 Months Ended			15 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues	$ 173,070	$ 136,323	$ 105,214	$ 111,710	$ 88,532	$ 90,552	$ 526,317	$ 454,621	$ 444,322	$ 159,883	$ 115,654
Gross profit	72,744	55,958	45,943	41,156	33,631	31,139	215,801	173,445	165,733	64,617	44,058
Gross margin							41.00%	38.00%	37.00%
Total	24,863	25,049	12,972	11,643	8,800	6,071	74,527	66,795	52,847	33,428	18,496
Interest expense, net	(1,146)	(1,237)	(1,364)	(1,518)	(1,187)	(1,615)	(5,265)	(5,784)	(30,770)	(1,600)	(1,382)
Equity in (earnings) losses of INOVA Geophysical	(4,264)	(1,684)	3,777	2,468	(4,173)	(860)	297	(22,862)	(23,724)	(13,018)	(4,811)
Other income (expense)	17,851	(936)	895	(686)	497	(2,999)	17,124	(3,447)	(8,249)	(1,144)	199
Income (loss) before income taxes							86,683	34,702	(9,896)
Solutions [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							351,265	263,450	276,954
Gross profit							132,950	84,647	93,804
Gross margin							38.00%	32.00%	34.00%
Operating income loss before goodwill and intangible asset impairment							88,589	50,620	60,632
Solutions [Member] | New Venture [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							147,346	98,335	81,293
Solutions [Member] | Data Library [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							88,085	76,332	87,664
Solutions [Member] | New Venture and Data Library [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							235,431	174,667	168,957
Solutions [Member] | Data Processing [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							115,834	88,783	107,997
Systems [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							131,996	153,004	114,226
Gross profit							50,790	61,109	48,557
Gross margin							38.00%	40.00%	43.00%
Operating income loss before goodwill and intangible asset impairment							10,132	33,034	27,749
Systems [Member] | Towed Streamer [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							77,769	111,453	83,567
Systems [Member] | Ocean Bottom [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							14,823	960	1,876
Systems [Member] | Other [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							39,404	40,591	28,783
Software [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							43,056	38,167	36,631
Gross profit							32,061	27,689	24,356
Gross margin							74.00%	73.00%	66.00%
Operating income loss before goodwill and intangible asset impairment							28,129	24,463	21,936
Software [Member] | Software Systems [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							39,738	36,031	34,465
Software [Member] | Services [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							3,318	2,136	2,166
Corporate and Other [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Operating income loss before goodwill and intangible asset impairment							(52,323)	(41,322)	(47,847)
Legacy Land Systems (INOVA) [Member]
Reclassified its previously reported results to reflect segment changes
Revenues							0	0	16,511
Gross profit							0	0	(984)
Gross margin							0.00%	0.00%	(6.00%)
Operating income loss before goodwill and intangible asset impairment							$ 0	$ 0	$ (9,623)