Hot spot and data drain

Depends on image quality. High quality will burn a lot of data really quickly. Not sure if you have any control with the Roku.

We might go thru 0.3-0.6 GB watching a movie. If you've only got a 4-5 GB plan, it won't last long.

Turn the resolution down to the minimum on the Roku. Shows will load faster and use less data.

Not sure I get the connection between a cable service and a wifi hotspot.

2oldman wrote:
Not sure I get the connection between a cable service and a wifi hotspot.

He's using the ROKU to stream his home cable channels in a remote location...

2oldman wrote:
Not sure I get the connection between a cable service and a wifi hotspot.

From the Roku web site:

Who is Roku?
Roku is the company that pioneered streaming for the TV.
We make Roku® streaming players that connect to your TV as well as Roku TVs™ that have the streaming experience built in. Just connect them to the Internet, set up a Roku account, and start streaming. Roku is a more convenient and cost effective way to watch TV.

What is streaming?
Have you ever watched a YouTube video on your smartphone or a Netflix movie on your laptop? That’s streaming. It’s the way video and audio content is delivered over the Internet, and has become a popular way to watch TV.

Why? Because streaming lets you watch what you want, the moment you want to. You don’t have to wait for a download to finish, your DVR to record, or the show to come on the air.

Roku products bring the fun and convenience of streaming to your big-screen TV. The choice of what to watch and what to pay for is up to you. We like to call it TV on your terms.

On our recent 11 week road trip, we used about 40 gig a month just web surfing and e-mailing. Blew through the FMCA Verizon 25 gig limit in 20 days. We even got some decent park WiFi every once in a while.

2oldman wrote:
Not sure I get the connection between a cable service and a wifi hotspot.

Spectrum has hotspots in areas around the nation. You can sign into one of those hotspots using your cable subscription logins. I've never tried it.

A feature-length HD motion picture will consume 1.5 - 2 GB of data streaming at the best resolution from NetFlix or Amazon Prime Video. (As a retired IT person, I don't understand how anyone can use 40 GB in a month with just email and web surfing, though...)

Verizon has just come out (last week) with some newly-structured prepaid plans that includes one with unlimited data (truly unlimited - not throttled past a certain point) for MiFi hot-spots. We just switched our MiFi and and two phones over from a post-paid plan, got unlimited data on the MiFi (3GB/month on each phone which is MORE than enough for us) and cut our monthly bill in half. We use an Amazon Fire Stick TV device and are now streaming from the above sources plus YouTube, etc., without worrying about data usage.

Rob

My phone plan has unlimited data, but limited Hot Spot. It's not unusual for me over a period of a week to blow throw 25G of hot spot data. Sooooo, my smart TV hooks to my phone and I use data to my hearts content, streaming through my phone.

a lot of parks have some limited internet, and usually a weak signal. i made a repeater for a friend of mine, and it seemed to work good for him. Since my park now has internet, I might have to make one for myself.

At 1080p resolution (HD) you will burn through 1.0 to 1.3gb/hr of programming. If you have a 4K TV that useage jumps to 1.9 to 2.3gb/hr depending on transmission compression quality.