Can you get cable TV without cable box with smart TV

[imscott]

Thank you!

[New2aBus]

Your smart TV is to allow you to "stream" video similar to cable via a WIFI connection provided that you have a strong WIFI signal and have paid for access to the streaming video providers on the internet. This is not a cable connection... and most RV Park WIFI connections are not capable of providing enough throughput to allow you to "stream" video on thier platform or if you are lucky enough to get it to work no one else in the park will have internet as you have used all of the bandwidth available.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by imscott

Hi, what is the spectrum smarty tv app?

You have to be a subscriber of Spectrum Cable and your phone has to have a data or WiFi signal good enough to stream video. In many campgrounds, neither is available.

[fenton04]

Originally Posted by imscott

Hi, what is the spectrum smarty tv app?

I have the spectrum app on our Ipad and to date if I can get Wifi our use my hotspot I can get cable. But Its cable light as I don't get the channels I get at home. Out of my area I get a basic cable which is a lot better than the free stuff off the antenna. Yes that was a problem at the Myakka campground in Florida. No cell nor Wifi. Kind of like camping in the old days. We listened to satellite radio. OBTW looked at the stars.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by fenton04

I have the spectrum app on our Ipad and to date if I can get Wifi our use my hotspot I can get cable. But Its cable light as I don't get the channels I get at home. Out of my area I get a basic cable which is a lot better than the free stuff off the antenna. Yes that was a problem at the Myakka campground in Florida. No cell nor Wifi. Kind of like camping in the old days. We listened to satellite radio. OBTW looked at the stars.

Our Dish Anywhere app allows us access to all our home channels, including the premium channels. No Dish Lite.

[fenton04]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Our Dish Anywhere app allows us access to all our home channels, including the premium channels. No Dish Lite.

We have the same results with E-books!

[KeithQ]

Originally Posted by imscott

Hi, what is the spectrum smarty tv app?

The one we use is embedded in the Roku streaming stick we bought from Amazon. It has lots of different service apps you can connect to. We currently use Spectrum, Apple TV, HBO, Disney, Hulu and Netflix I think. Some of those are shared subscriptions by the way.

[bbells]

Use your phone as a wifi hotspot. Pair with your TV.

[junior1954]

Hi! We have a smart tv in our rv also-it doesn’t have wifi so we plug an Amazon Firestick into it, which connects to the internet. I have been pleasantly surprised to find GREAT wifi at the last 2 campgrounds we stayed at-they didn’t even have cable hookups at the campsites. When we don’t get good wifi I use my phone as a hotspot-with 125gb/mo X2 (wife’s phone) we’ve never run out of data, even while “camp streaming”.

[BigHand]

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that you must subscribe to a service like Netflix, Sling, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or one of the other streaming services. Your smart TV may have those apps built in or the ability to download them. You will then connect to the park wifi through the app, so it is not traditional "cable" tv.

If your tv does not have the apps or can't download, then you need an additional device that will let you download. I have used both Apple TV and Roku, never used a Firestick or one of the others. I am most happy with the Apple TV. You spend the money once and enjoy your media.

You may also be able to download the streaming apps to your smart phone and then stream that feed to your TV, saving the cost of the extra device.

Of course the assumption is that your TV has wifi capability, if not you have to use one of the devices above and connect it to your TV.

[rwriley1053]

One of the things Smart TVs have a problem with is "Captive Portals". Sometimes campgrounds require you to agree to terms or enter another password. Roku and/or travel routers have a workaround for that.

[desuhu]

Originally Posted by flugelboneman

Here is the question: I have a smart TV in the RV. Everywhere we go we must get a cable box from the park office, pay your deposit, go through the machinations of hooking it up. This is repeated in every park, IF they have cable boxes. Is there any way when the park offers Wi-fi that your smart TV can receive a cable signal without the cable box. This could be a Canadian problem, as we have noted in many American parks they still have the standard coax hookup where you connect the cable to an outside post and you have reception without a cable box.

There is a system that RV parks could get called CheckBox. Woodalls did a whole article on it a few years ago. We've only stayed in one park that had it and it was awesome. Lightening fast. I wish more parks would get this system. You can google it and read about it.

[frankraney]

Originally Posted by flugelboneman

At last a voice from the wilderness. Perhaps I do not explain myself. I have a smart TV. The park has Wifi. My question is: will the "smart TV" hook up to the wifi, thereby allowing me to download cable or watch TV throught the wifi. I have heard that people actually download movies from the park wifi, which will often overload the wifi capabilities of the park. I do not wish to do this, but what I would love to learn how to do is make the wifi connection with the smart tv and not have to bother with a cable box.

Almost all parks have internet that is not capable of doing this they do not have the bandwidth. Those that do charge extra for the internet you pay daily weekly or monthly then you can stream because you pay for the bandwidth. If you don't pay extra you cannot stream because you'll be too many people on it and it'll slow it way down and no one else can use it bandwidth is the problem.

[frankraney]

Originally Posted by flugelboneman

Here is the question: I have a smart TV in the RV. Everywhere we go we must get a cable box from the park office, pay your deposit, go through the machinations of hooking it up. This is repeated in every park, IF they have cable boxes. Is there any way when the park offers Wi-fi that your smart TV can receive a cable signal without the cable box. This could be a Canadian problem, as we have noted in many American parks they still have the standard coax hookup where you connect the cable to an outside post and you have reception without a cable box.

I have never been to an RV park that I had to use a cable box not even in Canada. All I've ever done is hook up a coax cable to their fitting into mine and scan the channels.

[KeithQ]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Our Dish Anywhere app allows us access to all our home channels, including the premium channels. No Dish Lite.

One note about Dish network costs. If you are a home subscriber already with Dish, you can add a mobile package for $7 a month, billed only when your RV antenna and receiver are activated in that month.

So if you take one trip, set up your satellite antenna up, run your coax, turn on and 'wake up' your receiver for your one weekend trip, you pay 7.00 that month. If you use it 29 times for a month long stay somewhere, you pay 7.00 a month (extra, added to your home bill).

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by rjshiflet

X2 - normally park-provided WiFi is pathetic at best...unbearable at worst.

That's not the real problem. The bandwidth at most parks would be more than adequate except for one thing. (The available bandwidth at the campground where the 38P is permanently sited is huge.)

The problem is due to ignorant and inconsiderate users who don't realize that their phones/tablets are transferring data ALL the time. The devices are doing updates, backing up photos to the cloud, checking email and voicemail, and pinging cell towers continuously, even if the phone is not being handled at all.

People who don't turn their phones and tablets off when not in use in this concentrated environment are electronic slobs.

By design, Apple products seem to be much worse data hogs than competitive products. Remember how they took the AT&T networks down when first introduced?

[frankraney]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

That's not the real problem. The bandwidth at most parks would be more than adequate except for one thing. (The available bandwidth at the campground where the 38P is permanently sited is huge.)

The problem is due to ignorant and inconsiderate users who don't realize that their phones/tablets are transferring data ALL the time. The devices are doing updates, backing up photos to the cloud, checking email and voicemail, and pinging cell towers continuously, even if the phone is not being handled at all.

People who don't turn their phones and tablets off when not in use in this concentrated environment are electronic slobs.

By design, Apple products seem to be much worse data hogs than competitive products. Remember how they took the AT&T networks down when first introduced?

Not entirely true. Phones and tablets DO NOT USE THE PARKS WIIFII, unless you connect it to the parks WIIFII, which is unnecessary because cell phones use cell phone towers, not park Wiifii. I never turn on Wiifii on my phone unless for some reason I do not have phone coverage, which is VERY seldom.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by frankraney

Not entirely true. Phones and tablets DO NOT USE THE PARKS WIIFII, unless you connect it to the parks WIIFII, which is unnecessary because cell phones use cell phone towers, not park Wiifii. I never turn on Wiifii on my phone unless for some reason I do not have phone coverage, which is VERY seldom.

The campground is pretty remote. While there is cellphone coverage (perhaps a single tower), it gets saturated pretty quickly on the weekends. People then switch to Wi-Fi (open, no password required), and saturate that.

[frankraney]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

The campground is pretty remote. While there is cellphone coverage (perhaps a single tower), it gets saturated pretty quickly on the weekends. People then switch to Wi-Fi (open, no password required), and saturate that.

It must be really remote and popular. 3-400 people? Where is this at?

[Old Forester]

flugelboneman: I might add another reality that we have experienced using CG supplied WiFi in more than one "State/County/Municipal" run CG. These IT folks who setup and monitor the park's WiFi simply "BLOCK" all the TV streaming services from being accessed via WiFi. All they need is a list of sites and presto, I could not even access YouTube. Some "filters" are so sophisticated that you can't even sneak past them trying to use a VPN bouncing out of Sweden.
The ROKU don't get the HULU........... Just hits an electronic brick wall...
I CANNOT WAIT FOR Mobile STARLINK!!!!