Streaming solutions vs satellite

[jasin1]

I’ve searched through the forum and there is more combinations for watching television then a Chinese carry out menu ...I would prefer to stream youtube,Netflix and Amazon prime. .. basic internet surfing I can do with my iPad or phone that both have cellular...
I am going to replace my summit television with a TCL roku tv..I have one at the house and love it.
Is it better to just get a Verizon mifi hotspot or should I invest in the winegard WiFi modem for my 360+?
Some of the posts go back to 2018 and earlier and technology is constantly changing so I’m asking what is currently the best option.
For my home I have Verizon Fios.
Lastly I see some people just get a satellite tailgater or equivalent...can you access other apps from this ? Netflix etc. or are you limited to the channels offered by satellite provider only?
I’ve tried tethering my phone to the summit with cables and screen mirroring but the signal is throttled down so slow

[wiredgeorge]

Dish has the Netflix app in the menu. If you add a specific wifi adapter, it will pick up a wifi signal you provide and you can stream Netflix. My camper sits about 100 yds from my home and the adapter can pick up the 5 gHz wifi signal and stream Netflix easily, just like the house. This is with the Wally receiver. The main receiver in a house is a Hopper and through it you can stream Netflix, Prime and YouTube.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Dish has the Netflix app in the menu. If you add a specific wifi adapter, it will pick up a wifi signal you provide and you can stream Netflix. My camper sits about 100 yds from my home and the adapter can pick up the 5 gHz wifi signal and stream Netflix easily, just like the house. This is with the Wally receiver. The main receiver in a house is a Hopper and through it you can stream Netflix, Prime and YouTube.

Ok thanks.. I looked at the dish packages and that may be an option if I can shut off programming when I’m not traveling..ie paying monthly
Lately I’ve been watching YouTube and that satisfies my need to learn new things ...It’s really confusing as far as mobile internet solutions that support streaming so I have to figure out something.
I know some people have tried using the winegard with a Verizon SIM card but I don’t know if that wil work for streaming or just for surfing.

[rhagfo]

Streaming eats data, most cellular data packages are “unlimited data” BUT there is a limit on High Speed data, so can get costly.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

Streaming eats data, most cellular data packages are “unlimited data” BUT there is a limit on High Speed data, so can get costly.

The biggest mistake I’ve made as far as cell phones is letting Verizon cancel my grandfathered unlimited plan a few years ago.. I went to upgrade phones and they said I couldn’t transfer my unlimited plan..had to get the NEW unlimited plan...they never said it would be throttled ... unless I kept the old phone. I should have kept it and just put on my family plan and used that for streaming. Still could have purchased a new phone and just switch my numbers after it was mine.

[sourdough]

jasin what you are looking for is something I've been unable to find a good answer to. I've talked to multiple cellular carriers and they all throttle back your date after 10-30mb. Won't work for streaming much AND when you get cut back to 128kb (old dial up speeds) trying to up/download files is impossible.

Looked at the different satellite options but the ones I've found also carry some sort of TV package which I don't want. I cancelled every DirecTV and Dish account I had years ago. We take care of personal business (which often requires those big files), stream netflix, Amazon, news and you tube videos to learn new things - that's all I want.

I'm continuing to look. As we travel one of the highlighted items in our journals is if they have decent wifi or not. Many advertise it but in reality it is non functional unless you go stand in the driveway at the office which doesn't work for me.

Hopefully you (we) can find something that works. I'm beginning to believe that the satellite TV companies are starting to collaborate with the internet providers so they can integrate some sort of internet into their platform...but you have to buy their TV packages. yuk

[ewbldavis]

We use a fire stick in the Summit TV that came with unit. Maybe try that or a Roku stick instead of replacing TV.

We'll hot-spot to our phones to watch TV. We have YoutubeTV at home, and can use it in camper. NOTE: We used to have Hulu+Live, but you can't use it in camper unless watching on phone - which is why we switched to Youtube. This setup has worked well.

FWIW - we haven't had any issues with throttled data (Verizon).

[travelin texans]

After 10 years fulltiming we finally gave up trying different options. Streaming from our cell Mifi was way to costly & could hardly finish 1 movie before constantly buffering. Most places we could get several OTA channels with the HiDef winegard batwing antenna usually finding something to watch. Or use the park cable which most times the OTA had much better picture & more channels.
Wasn't going to pay for satellite that if parked in the trees was useless & paying for a bunch of crap we'd never watch.
The $5 bin of DVDs at Wally World became a regular stop while shopping, we now have quite a collection of western movies & crime dramas.
To be quite honest we spent most of our time outdoors visiting, reading, touring the areas or just napping in the sunshine so a couple hours late evening was the only tv watching we typically watched.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

After 10 years fulltiming we finally gave up trying different options. Streaming from our cell Mifi was way to costly & could hardly finish 1 movie before constantly buffering. Most places we could get several OTA channels with the HiDef winegard batwing antenna usually finding something to watch. Or use the park cable which most times the OTA had much better picture & more channels.
Wasn't going to pay for satellite that if parked in the trees was useless & paying for a bunch of crap we'd never watch.
The $5 bin of DVDs at Wally World became a regular stop while shopping, we now have quite a collection of western movies & crime dramas.
To be quite honest we spent most of our time outdoors visiting, reading, touring the areas or just napping in the sunshine so a couple hours late evening was the only tv watching we typically watched.

This is kind of where we are (or have been). We don't watch "TV" (regular TV channels) due to the incessant, silly commercials and so much unwanted garbage. We have shelves of DVDs at home but for each trip I fill 2 long lockable plastic boxes with something for that trip (about 120). We just get tired of watching the same things over and over.

We typically turn on the TV about 7:30pm in winter and watch until about 10pm. Different hours in summer because I like to be outside if the sun is shining - of course I eat late because I cook after the sun goes down.

I've got Rokus, Firesticks, extenders and I don't know what else that I try to use as we move around - usually to no avail. I once had a "used" Verizon Jetpack in my hand that the dealer said I could get with a "true", grandfathered unlimited plan and I told him to go for it. After about 30 minutes on the computer he came back and said he could not give me the "grandfathered" plan the used Jetpack had....so, here we are.

[KimNTerry]

First off, we are weekenders not full timers. Second, we gave up on Satellite and Cable a few years ago now stream exclusively. Tired of paying too much for content I don't want and then having to constantly renegotiate the bill once a contract period was up.

All of our DVDs over 200 have been downloaded to an old laptop with a large HDD and an HDMI output that connects directly ton an input on the TV. That is the basic library and it connects to the TV nicely, if we want to watch a movie in bed, we disconnect from the TV and bring the laptop with us, it has enough battery to do a movie or 2 so the inverter can be shut down and we use less battery.

We have connectors to view or tablets on a TV. Plan ahead and download content from Amazon, Hulu or Netflix on a tablet and view offline.

If I can't find something to watch out of that, I should go do something else or go to sleep anyways.

At one time we tried using satellite while camping but between trees and mountains most of the places we camp typically had poor satellite reception anyways and the fiddle factor of setting it up was not relaxing for me.

Again, we're weekenders so this is a solution that works for us.

[jasin1]

I think I’m gonna look at it a little more before committing to something..as many people that stream now you’d think it would be an easy upgrade.. I feel like the cable and internet/cell company’s are keeping things murky until they get a solid all in one solution that will cost “$149 + a month with 200 channels and internet combined with equipment rental and taxes and over the air fees of course with a 2 year min contract”
We do not watch a whole lot of tv but I do like YouTube because it’s like having access to a wealth of knowledge and experience...( some are not that knowledgeable ) we spend a lot of times outdoors and we both love to read..old bookstores are my favorite..BUT I do like to watch tv when I’m eating breakfast or if it’s raining ...my wife likes Netflix and between that and Amazon prime I have access to documentaries and things that interest me

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by sourdough

This is kind of where we are (or have been). We don't watch "TV" (regular TV channels) due to the incessant, silly commercials and so much unwanted garbage. We have shelves of DVDs at home but for each trip I fill 2 long lockable plastic boxes with something for that trip (about 120). We just get tired of watching the same things over and over.

We typically turn on the TV about 7:30pm in winter and watch until about 10pm. Different hours in summer because I like to be outside if the sun is shining - of course I eat late because I cook after the sun goes down.

I've got Rokus, Firesticks, extenders and I don't know what else that I try to use as we move around - usually to no avail. I once had a "used" Verizon Jetpack in my hand that the dealer said I could get with a "true", grandfathered unlimited plan and I told him to go for it. After about 30 minutes on the computer he came back and said he could not give me the "grandfathered" plan the used Jetpack had....so, here we are.

Originally Posted by KimNTerry

First off, we are weekenders not full timers. Second, we gave up on Satellite and Cable a few years ago now stream exclusively. Tired of paying too much for content I don't want and then having to constantly renegotiate the bill once a contract period was up.

All of our DVDs over 200 have been downloaded to an old laptop with a large HDD and an HDMI output that connects directly ton an input on the TV. That is the basic library and it connects to the TV nicely, if we want to watch a movie in bed, we disconnect from the TV and bring the laptop with us, it has enough battery to do a movie or 2 so the inverter can be shut down and we use less battery.

We have connectors to view or tablets on a TV. Plan ahead and download content from Amazon, Hulu or Netflix on a tablet and view offline.

If I can't find something to watch out of that, I should go do something else or go to sleep anyways.

At one time we tried using satellite while camping but between trees and mountains most of the places we camp typically had poor satellite reception anyways and the fiddle factor of setting it up was not relaxing for me.

Again, we're weekenders so this is a solution that works for us.

We keep some dvds in the rv.. I’ve hit a point in my life where I need new content to keep interested.
I almost feel like every movie has already been made lol it’s just different actors and slightly different settings. My wife can watch a series and get hooked and stay perfectly happy ... But me... my brain says” I wonder how hard it is to do a stitch weld in a cast iron John Deere block”? ....and so I go...down a rabbit hole

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

After 10 years fulltiming we finally gave up trying different options. Streaming from our cell Mifi was way to costly & could hardly finish 1 movie before constantly buffering. Most places we could get several OTA channels with the HiDef winegard batwing antenna usually finding something to watch. Or use the park cable which most times the OTA had much better picture & more channels.
Wasn't going to pay for satellite that if parked in the trees was useless & paying for a bunch of crap we'd never watch.
The $5 bin of DVDs at Wally World became a regular stop while shopping, we now have quite a collection of western movies & crime dramas.
To be quite honest we spent most of our time outdoors visiting, reading, touring the areas or just napping in the sunshine so a couple hours late evening was the only tv watching we typically watched.

I do get a kick out of local news in the morning ota. It’s nice seeing how different places handle local issues.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by jasin1

I do get a kick out of local news in the morning ota. It’s nice seeing how different places handle local issues.

Funny you mention that!
We traveled from Florida to Arizona with some friends from Canada a couple years ago.
He carried his Shaw satellite dish with him everywhere they went so that he could get their local news & watch hockey from back home while traveling. He set that thing up everyday once we got parked, he was very good at getting aimed & good to go in very short order & had it connected to every tv onboard his 5th wheel.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by jasin1

I do get a kick out of local news in the morning ota. It’s nice seeing how different places handle local issues.

Funny you mention that!
We traveled from Florida to Arizona with some friends from Canada a couple years ago.
He carried his Shaw satellite dish with him so that he could get their local news & watch hockey from back home while traveling. He set that thing up everyday once we got parked, he was very good at getting aimed & good to go in very short order & had it connected to every tv onboard his 5th wheel.
As far as me watching local news, it's a bit ironic, seems it was the very same s##t just different towns, killings, corrupt politicians/public officials, same as everywhere else.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Funny you mention that!
We traveled from Florida to Arizona with some friends from Canada a couple years ago.
He carried his Shaw satellite dish with him so that he could get their local news & watch hockey from back home while traveling. He set that thing up everyday once we got parked, he was very good at getting aimed & good to go in very short order & had it connected to every tv onboard his 5th wheel.
As far as me watching local news, it's a bit ironic, seems it was the very same s##t just different towns, killings, corrupt politicians/public officials, same as everywhere else.

Lol yeah I guess your right about that too

[dutchmensport]

Streaming video over your computer or over your phone or over your Roku television requires a connection to the internet ... somehow. Where the internet is provided, is where the issue rests.

The other option is paid satallite television, like Direct TV, or Dish TV. Then you are limited to only the stations offered. You cannot stream from the internet, nor will you have any internet connectivity by these services.

The only other satellite "internet" service that I am fully aware of is Hughes Net. It's a true internet provider that uses satellites.

All those strange options, like Pandora, Roku, and the various "free television and movie channels" advertised, are all dependent upon having an internet connection.

There are 3 sources for television/movie watching:

1) Over the air with a normal antenna.
2) Satellite Internet
3) HotSpots or WIFI connections (really, these are the same thing).

Again, all those confusing options are all dependent upon having an internet connection.

For all the above choices, we have found, using our phone hotspots with an unlimited data plan work very well for our Roku Television in the camper when we want to watch something other than over-the-air local programming. In the house, we use our internet provider which requires a modem and a router, either hard wired (which we have one computer hard wired) or wifi (all the other computers, televisions, and Ipads we have).

If you select satellite or cable television, you are limited to only the channels in your plan level.

It really is just that simple.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

Streaming video over your computer or over your phone or over your Roku television requires a connection to the internet ... somehow. Where the internet is provided, is where the issue rests.

The other option is paid satallite television, like Direct TV, or Dish TV. Then you are limited to only the stations offered. You cannot stream from the internet, nor will you have any internet connectivity by these services.

The only other satallite "internet" service that I am fully aware of is Hughes Net. It's a true internet provider that uses satallites.

All those strange options, like Pandora, Roku, and the various "free television and movie channels" advertised, are all dependent upon having an internet connection.

There are 3 sources for television/movie watching:

1) Over the air with a normal antenna.
2) Satallite Internet
3) HotSpots or WIFI connections (really, these are the same thing).

Again, all those confusing options are all dependent upon having an internet connection.

For all the above choices, we have found, using our phone hotspots with an unlimited data plan work very well for our Roku Television in the camper when we want to watch something other than over-the-air local programming. In the house, we use our internet provider which requires a modem and a router, either hard wired (which we have one computer hard wired) or wifi (all the other computers, televisions, and Ipads we have).

It really is just that simple.

Thanks I do understand how it works The confusing part to me was finding the BEST way to get the internet into the trailer with the supporting hardware to go along with it...there is about 25 different options and combinations.. I was looking for what others have had success with.. I didn’t want to drop $500 on a mifi or winegard and find everyone is using something better..I’ve never had to deal with semi mobile internet options

[sourdough]

The issue isn't "how" it all works, the issue is how to make (get) internet work so you can do those things that require it. The only true cellular unlimited plans are long gone. If you don't have a grandfathered plan you will get throttled at a certain point in usage; ATT, Verizon, TMobile etc. So access to a large enough "pipe" via internet is the issue, and a very real one when moving around the country. At home, no, it's not an issue and we are hooked up all kinds of ways but traveling in an RV is a whole different animal.

[jasin1]

So I guess that brings me back full circle.. I’m thinking either a weboost and use my phone as a hotspot or the winegard 360+ with the extra WiFi modem and Verizon SIM card ...I may just get the weboost anyway because I’ve been places where we didn’t have a cell signal and like to be able to check in with the kids.