Improve campground WiFi signal
Would like to use my Roku streaming device on campground WiFi signal. What do I need for hardware? Is it practical? or do I need my own Hot Spot? If so what would I need for that? Would like to stream...
Forum Discussion
All too often questions on this forum about streaming are answered judgmentally rather than with facts. You asked a question and IMHO you deserve an answer.
There is no particular reason why you can't use your Roku and let it directly connect to an RV park's wifi. It may or may not have enough transmit and receive capability to do this well, in which case you might want to invest in a router with what is known as "WiFi as WAN" capability. It would be able to access the park's wifi and then redistribute it to the network inside your RV which would include the Roku. Such routers typically have better antennas and higher transmit power which make their wifi connections more reliable. I happen to work for one such company, WiFiRanger.com but there are several others that make similar devices.
It's worth noting, however, that many RV parks lack the bandwidth in their wifi systems to sustain even SD streams. No router or other device can improve that situation. Furthermore, the larger the number of people using the wifi, the smaller the bandwidth is for everyone. If you managed to stream you would be taking bandwidth from other campers.
If you use your cellular connection it is possible to stream even with a 3G connection (SD only). We happen to have an unlimited data plan so we stream quite often; with 4G HD streaming is easy. If you do have a limited data plan you can conserve it, at least on Netflix, by changing your My Account settings so that your streams are limited to SD. If you do that the usage is roughly 1GB per two hour movie. My wife and I like to stream TV shows we haven't seen many of which were only broadcast in SD so our usage levels are about the same even on services such as HuluPlus and Amazon on which you can't directly control the data rate.
My advice ignore those who tell you streaming isn't possible or that it will cost big bucks on a data plan. If you pay $10/GB a two hour movie (in SD) will cost roughly $10 which is not all that much more than a pay per view on TV. If you have any questions feel free to post or PM me.
Joel
There is no particular reason why you can't use your Roku and let it directly connect to an RV park's wifi. It may or may not have enough transmit and receive capability to do this well, in which case you might want to invest in a router with what is known as "WiFi as WAN" capability. It would be able to access the park's wifi and then redistribute it to the network inside your RV which would include the Roku. Such routers typically have better antennas and higher transmit power which make their wifi connections more reliable. I happen to work for one such company, WiFiRanger.com but there are several others that make similar devices.
It's worth noting, however, that many RV parks lack the bandwidth in their wifi systems to sustain even SD streams. No router or other device can improve that situation. Furthermore, the larger the number of people using the wifi, the smaller the bandwidth is for everyone. If you managed to stream you would be taking bandwidth from other campers.
If you use your cellular connection it is possible to stream even with a 3G connection (SD only). We happen to have an unlimited data plan so we stream quite often; with 4G HD streaming is easy. If you do have a limited data plan you can conserve it, at least on Netflix, by changing your My Account settings so that your streams are limited to SD. If you do that the usage is roughly 1GB per two hour movie. My wife and I like to stream TV shows we haven't seen many of which were only broadcast in SD so our usage levels are about the same even on services such as HuluPlus and Amazon on which you can't directly control the data rate.
My advice ignore those who tell you streaming isn't possible or that it will cost big bucks on a data plan. If you pay $10/GB a two hour movie (in SD) will cost roughly $10 which is not all that much more than a pay per view on TV. If you have any questions feel free to post or PM me.
Joel
