Changing Standard RV TV for a smart TV?

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Rbertalotto

What type of cellular service are you guys using to be streaming Netflix and HuLu from your cell phones and HotSpots?

I'd imagine you need unlimited monthly data?

I have a grandfathered, 3G service from Sprint for $30 a month. I don't think 3G would even get me into the game if I was streaming video....

3G will work for steaming I have a Verizon 4g jackpack, I never get connected to 4g except rarely, 95% of the time I only get 3G's. I have a 5 gig data plan and tried streaming a move on netflix. It streamed fine but it will eat just about all my gigs up for 1 or 2 movie's. You can go into your netflix account and change the streaming to a lower usage of gigs, but then you buffer every few minutes. I have never heard of an unlimited Data plan before, If someone has that they better keep it, It's like gold... PS: Verizon might have the largest coverage of 4 LTG network but that doesn't mean you will find it in the outer city limits.

[stacyrus]

We are looking at changing our TV to a smart TV. We are full time RVers and I was going to use the parks Wifi but I am reading that this is not a good idea. I have the AT&T unlimited plan (you have to have Direct TV and you cannot use phone as a hotspot).
Should I look into getting this Apple device someone mentioned or just forget it while traveling? Unfortunately our DVD player has never worked in our RV.

[dan-nickie]

Originally Posted by stacyrus

We are looking at changing our TV to a smart TV. We are full time RVers and I was going to use the parks Wifi but I am reading that this is not a good idea. I have the AT&T unlimited plan (you have to have Direct TV and you cannot use phone as a hotspot).
Should I look into getting this Apple device someone mentioned or just forget it while traveling? Unfortunately our DVD player has never worked in our RV.

It would be cheap to try the Apple cable mentioned above. And you don't even need a smart TV, just a spare HDMI input.

[Gidyupgo]

We use the apple plug mentioned above, with our coach tv on one end and wife's Ipad with Sprint unlimited tablet plan on the other. Works great if we are in the trees where the dish can't find the birds but we have a cell signal.

[rracer5]

I bought a smart Tv and got it to connect twice without an internal WiFi setup. 1 CG we were at apparently has a completely open WiFi system & we watched Netflix & Amazon Prime all week. The resort we are at now I got in once the first day here. Since that first day, the Tv will connect with the WiFi but a test of the connection shows "No download available". Not sure how their WiFi system knows it's a Smart Tv.

So, I just connect my laptop to the Tv via HDMI and watch Netflix/Amazon Prime that way. It does "buffer" and "step down" in picture quality once in a while but, it's watchable.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by rracer5

I bought a smart Tv and got it to connect twice without an internal WiFi setup. 1 CG we were at apparently has a completely open WiFi system & we watched Netflix & Amazon Prime all week. The resort we are at now I got in once the first day here. Since that first day, the Tv will connect with the WiFi but a test of the connection shows "No download available". Not sure how their WiFi system knows it's a Smart Tv.

So, I just connect my laptop to the Tv via HDMI and watch Netflix/Amazon Prime that way. It does "buffer" and "step down" in picture quality once in a while but, it's watchable.

Do you understand
that when you stream video over campground WiFi you are being a HOG and limiting the bandwidth available for everyone else in the park?

[Tiggerdad]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Do you understand
that when you stream video over campground WiFi you are being a HOG and limiting the bandwidth available for everyone else in the park?

Agree. I was wondering who was eating up band width. Not fair to others and not fair to the CG owners.

[Rkloud9]

If your tv has an hdmi plug and you have your own wifi hotspot (we have one from Verizon) pick up a ROKU player... we got a ROKU express for about $30. This little gadget picks up pretty much all the favorite streaming sites. Note that Netflix has a feature where you can set the download quality... each user of the account can change this setting. So, we have a "home" user with the highest definition setting for our "sticks and bricks", and a "road" user for the RV. For the road we use the lowest resolution, which cuts data usage in half. Our unit has a 32" screen, and the quality is fine. With this lowest setting, a one hour program uses about 400mb, whereas HD is closer to 1gb. Most of the time we are too busy to watch TV, but it is a nice feature to have. If we watched lots of tv, we would need to get a satellite.


Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400W
Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Do you understand
that when you stream video over campground WiFi you are being a HOG and limiting the bandwidth available for everyone else in the park?

Originally Posted by Tiggerdad

Agree. I was wondering who was eating up band width. Not fair to others and not fair to the CG owners.

Yup, me and the 27 kids running around, at the pool & sitting around the campfire with their noses buried in their tablets, iphones etc. watching videos, gaming or whatever. Seems to me that if you bring kids camping, they should be engaged in activities that they don't normally engage in at home. When we have our grandchildren, they are at the playground, pool etc. & not being babysat by an electronic device.

BTW, if I do watch a movie which is maybe once or twice a month, it's always very late at night, cause I can't sleep that particular night.

Also, this particular resort recently spent $$$ & upgraded their entire WiFi system & service through high speed fiber optic. They used to restrict bandwith by giving out "passcodes" for each device & only 2 per reservation regardless of how many devices you brought with you. Now, it's a completely open WiFi system with no restrictions as far as I know.

So, before everyone jumps, lets get all the facts just like we do for everyone else on this forum when seeking advice.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by rracer5

Now, it's a completely open WiFi system with no restrictions as far as I know.
So, before everyone jumps, lets get all the facts just like we do for everyone else on this forum when seeking advice.

Seems like you already provided the facts:

The resort we are at now I got in once the first day here. Since that first day, the Tv will connect with the WiFi but a test of the connection shows "No download available". Not sure how their WiFi system knows it's a Smart Tv.

Seems like you ARE the guy who regardless of campground will try to watch movies which suck the bandwidth from others. And yeah there are lots of inconsiderate people so you're arent the only one...but it does not make you right.
Whats the name of the first campground with unlimited bandwidth for everyone? I want to visit.

[dan-nickie]

Originally Posted by Rkloud9

If your tv has an hdmi plug and you have your own wifi hotspot (we have one from Verizon) pick up a ROKU player... we got a ROKU express for about $30. This little gadget picks up pretty much all the favorite streaming sites. Note that Netflix has a feature where you can set the download quality... each user of the account can change this setting. So, we have a "home" user with the highest definition setting for our "sticks and bricks", and a "road" user for the RV. For the road we use the lowest resolution, which cuts data usage in half. Our unit has a 32" screen, and the quality is fine. With this lowest setting, a one hour program uses about 400mb, whereas HD is closer to 1gb. Most of the time we are too busy to watch TV, but it is a nice feature to have. If we watched lots of tv, we would need to get a satellite.


Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400W
Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

X2 there is no need to swap out televisions. Just get a Roku for a lot less and it will do all you need.

[ACMN]

If you have direct TV you can get a device called a "stream beam" (best buy $50) & you can stream without using any data, per DTV, should be good along as you have wi fi, no smart tv needed.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by ACMN

If you have direct TV you can get a device called a "stream beam" (best buy $50) & you can stream without using any data, per DTV, should be good along as you have wi fi, no smart tv needed.

And what is the only way of getting wifi without your phone data plan?
ANSWER: By being a bandwidth hog and using the PARK wifi in ways it is not designed to be used, thereby making it unusable by others.
Please don't do that!

[ACMN]

Oohhh, never thought of that, not sure i understand that...

[5picker]

Originally Posted by ACMN

Oohhh, never thought of that, not sure i understand that...

What's not to understand?
Streaming movies and TV shows over campground WIFI uses a tremendous amount of resources (bandwidth) so there is none for anyone else.

[ACMN]

Thanks for clarification

[camaraderie]

Yup...Typical RV Park condition of use:

"You may not.... Use the Wi-Fi System for high volume data transfers, especially sustained high volume data transfers such as, Online Gaming, Streaming Video, Streaming Music, Streaming Audio, Hosting A Web Server, IRC server, Chat Programs & Video Chat of any kind or any other server as this slows the whole system down for other users."

It is kinda like having a firewater line that serves 100 hydrants...and one person decides to open 50 of them. Not much left for the other 50 people who need to use the hydrant near them.
Thanks for your consideration.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Yup...Typical RV Park condition of use:

"You may not.... Use the Wi-Fi System for high volume data transfers, especially sustained high volume data transfers such as, Online Gaming, Streaming Video, Streaming Music, Streaming Audio, Hosting A Web Server, IRC server, Chat Programs & Video Chat of any kind or any other server as this slows the whole system down for other users."

It is kinda like having a firewater line that serves 100 hydrants...and one person decides to open 50 of them. Not much left for the other 50 people who need to use the hydrant near them.
Thanks for your consideration.

I am plan on buying a QNAP Video server to watch recorded TV shows. I have a QNAP TS-870 Pro with 9Tb of TV shows at home. I play reruns of classic TV shows like: Simon & Simon, A-Team, Adam 12, Knight Rider, etc. I can run Chrome, Firefox, & YouTube on it also.

I am looking at either a QNAP HS-251+ or a TBS-453A for my new FR3 28DS. Both are silent, 12VDC & HDMI.

QNAP ALL-IN-ONE MULTIMEDIA CENTER

I am sure there are other brands but I am using a QNAP daily at home. I use a QNAP app on my iPhone as a remote.

[ScottBrownstein]

Lots of misinformation here. First off, most "free" WiFi networks are are setup to block access to many of the streaming sites, like NetFliX, Amazon, etc. This is to defend their networks against people using them for bandwidth intensive applications. Most of the parks that I have visited have such poor network connectivity that this limitation is enforced by the very low bandwidth anyway. I normally don't even both connecting to park networks for even email or web browsing.

If you have an unlimited bandwidth plan from your cellular carrier (either you spend a lot monthly or are grandfathered from an old plan) you can easily setup your phone to act as a hotspot for a SmartTv, AppleTv, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, etc. and watch streaming video without using any bandwidth from the park.

Finally, while it is true that if you are an AT&T cellular subscriber and also subscribe to DirecTV (now owned by AT&T) you can stream video to your cellular device and not have the bandwidth used apply to your monthly bandwidth allotment. HOWEVER, you cannot use this free bandwidth to operate your device in hotspot mode. This means that unless you play the video on your contracted device (using its own screen, or connecting it to another screen with a cable, Screen Beam, which is, in effect, a wireless cable), you will be charged normal bandwidth fees.

In short, there is no free lunch here, unless you happen to be in a park that offers high bandwidth WiFi. If that is the case, that bandwidth will probably degrade rapidly during the day and early evening, since others will stream as well and you will be left with irritating pauses and glitches. It is not the device that matters, it is the network connection bandwidth!

If you, as some have indicated, install a networked video server in your RV, as long as the content is already on that machine and you have an internal, private network in your RV, all will work as designed. However, without your own private RV network, your devices will not be able to see each other on the park network, and even if they could, the network would not handle the traffic due to bandwidth limitations.

We have come a long way from my old 1997 Bounder that had a big tube TV over the dash and a couple of 6 volt house batteries. Streamed to a Roku on that over cellular once and it cost me $10.00 to watch each movie on my data plan. Today it would cost a lot less, maybe $2 a movie, but definitely not free!

[Gohawks]

[Finally, while it is true that if you are an AT&T cellular subscriber and also subscribe to DirecTV (now owned by AT&T) you can stream video to your cellular device and not have the bandwidth used apply to your monthly bandwidth allotment. HOWEVER, you cannot use this free bandwidth to operate your device in hotspot mode. This means that unless you play the video on your contracted device (using its own screen, or connecting it to another screen with a cable, Screen Beam, which is, in effect, a wireless cable), you will be charged normal bandwidth fees.


https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/...er_1139478.jpg
As stated above only way to do it with ATT and DTV. Works fine as long as there is 4g signal.