Segment Information (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013
Summary of segment information
Revenues	$ 121,480	$ 120,915	$ 266,178	$ 250,652
Gross profit	38,228	36,618	95,082	71,575
Gross margin	31.00%	30.00%	36.00%	29.00%
Income from operations	3,785	6,770	23,456	8,693
Interest expense, net	(4,934)	(2,756)	(9,731)	(3,822)
Equity in earnings (losses) of investments	(1,781)	(6,338)	(3,469)	(5,222)
Other income (expense), net	6,066	(107,118)	74,592	(106,091)
Income (loss) before income taxes	3,136	(109,442)	84,848	(106,442)
Solutions [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	62,634	88,619	151,875	177,789
Gross profit	12,269	21,890	45,280	42,087
Gross margin	20.00%	25.00%	30.00%	24.00%
Income from operations	(1,419)	11,021	17,693	18,378
Systems [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	22,405	23,848	47,253	55,695
Gross profit	9,748	8,802	21,165	17,182
Gross margin	44.00%	37.00%	45.00%	31.00%
Income from operations	3,547	1,504	6,918	2,438
Software [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	10,533	8,448	20,572	17,168
Gross profit	7,805	5,926	15,062	12,306
Gross margin	74.00%	70.00%	73.00%	72.00%
Income from operations	5,630	4,955	10,758	10,116
Ocean Bottom Services Segment [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	25,908	0	46,478	0
Gross profit	8,406	0	13,575	0
Gross margin	32.00%	0.00%	29.00%	0.00%
Income from operations	6,494	0	10,656	0
Corporate and Other [Member]
Summary of segment information
Income from operations	(10,467)	(10,710)	(22,569)	(22,239)
New Venture and Data Library [Member] | Solutions [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	38,940	54,770	84,895	112,654
New Venture [Member] | Solutions [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	25,315	33,249	58,053	81,685
Data Library [Member] | Solutions [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	13,625	21,521	26,842	30,969
Data Processing [Member] | Solutions [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	23,694	33,849	66,980	65,135
Towed Streamer [Member] | Systems [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	10,265	12,570	22,116	26,119
Ocean Bottom Equipment [Member] | Systems [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	0	383	0	7,148
Other [Member] | Systems [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	12,140	10,895	25,137	22,428
Software Systems [Member] | Software [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	9,308	7,464	18,462	15,405
Services [Member] | Software [Member]
Summary of segment information
Revenues	$ 1,225	$ 984	$ 2,110	$ 1,763