streaming movies to my tv

Many want to stream movies from the net.. Bad idea usually Here is why:

First: if you are using campground WI-Fi.. You are branded a LEACH as you are sucking up major bandwidth,, You won't make your neighbors very happy.

And if you use your own cellular wireless internet.. Well, if your service provider sets bandwidth limits and over that amount you have to PAY PAY PAY..

Count on PAY PAY PAYING.

So, not the best way.. but the ONLY way, is to bring your own UNLIMITED bandwidth high speed internet with you from a cellular provider.

Of those.. I can not tell you who is best since I only stream 5 hours a month if I have the bandwidth.

PC needs to have an Internet connection, video processor (with appropriate outputs) and CPU capable of doing the job. What is appropriate video and CPU depends on what is the target display, SD or HD, and what inputs it has.

I stream HD OK with Intel i5 dual core and Intel HD graphics, daughter does it on AMD dual core with AMD 2400 graphics.. I have other PCs that can't do the job, Pentium 4 with NVidia graphics, Celeron with pre-HD Intel graphics.

If you have to upgrade a PC, consider that a Roku box (or other branded competitor) will do the whole job for less than the cost of upgrading an older PC to stream video. Even a cheapl BluRay player may cost less than a graphics card doing HD video.

No way you are going to surf and stream HD video on the same PC. Even with four or six CPU cores, and the fastest video processors available, there will be bottlenecks somewhere, e.g. sharing the processing of the network stream, and focus ( video app usually has to freeze for you to communicate with your browser).

I surf while streaming Netflix on the PC by using another device like IPad or a second PC. Unless bandwidth is very good, either surfing will be slow or your streaming video will degrade quality to the smaller available stream.

I've never been able to stream satisfactorily anywhere I've RVed, except my own driveway, whether I'm trying to use a MiFi I bring along, or campground WiFi. Places I choose to camp are well outside the realm of 3G/4G wireless, far from any cable or DSL. If I can't buy the bandwidth, neither can the campground. If your RVing is about parking in the metro areas of our 20 largest cities, you can probably do a lot better, you'll just pay wireless prices for the data you use.

Most Bluray players these days can also stream net videos from NetFlix, Hulu, YouTube, etc through an Ethernet connection. Many also have wireless WiFi capability, but some require a separate optional adapter. One advantage of Bluray is that you can also playback DVDs.

i have netflix and amazon, and occasionally watch Hulu for a missed TV program

forget using the PC for surfing while streaming a movie

you need a constant data stream for the movie
trying to do other things will be a competition for bandwidth and data , a conflict of interests

in order to view streaming from the PC and surf
also you will have to set the TV as an external 2nd monitor that is an extension of the desk top, NOT a mirror of the desk top two displays, other wise only ONE thing will show on both at the same time

you need an external media player for the TV, connected via personal network to the internet
but you will still have the competition for bandwidth

few IF any mobile services can provide any simultaneous dual use , unless you want LOW quality video

i don't surf while i'm watching a movie, it just doesn't work well

The Roku, Boxee Box or a similar device is the way to go. If you are opposed to downloading, many new dvd's come with digital copies. Put the digital copies on a hard drive and watch them at will. This will take your computer out of the mix when viewing and allow the devices to do the work.

I have a similar set up in my house and it would work well in a mobile application like you are looking at.

Bheffington wrote:
Im new to the full time RV world. Im wondering what would be the easiest way to stream a movie from netflix, hulu or Prime from my PC to my TV? I would rather have my laptop be available for web surfing while the TV is playing a show.

If the internet connection is not an issue here, then you just connect the PC to the TV via any number of cables. If you want to wirelessly stream, then buy a Roku box.

Bheffington wrote:
Im new to the full time RV world. Im wondering what would be the easiest way to stream a movie from netflix, hulu or Prime from my PC to my TV? I would rather have my laptop be available for web surfing while the TV is playing a show.

DVD player and a handful of DVDs.

While there may be folks full timing and "streaming" in many cases it is going to mean that you are willing to PAY dearly for the data used from your Cell plan or a "hot spot".

Streaming from a free WiFi source will be a source of frustration since streaming WILL require a decent and consistent speed through out the entire streaming session. You ARE NOT going to find a lot of free WiFi sources which are going to work well if at all.

Basically in a nutshell, not going to happen on the cheap...

I will stay out of the bandwidth discussion but from a device standpoint the one we use at home for those three services is a Roku box

Www.roku.com

Doing what you want uses a lot of GB and and you will probably be limited a very few movies per month.
Satellite accounts limit your use to so many MB per day depending on your plan. More expensive plans have more MB allowed. I don't know of any plans that would allow a lot of movies each month.

Aircards/cellular modems also have limits. I think Millenicom has one of the more generous plans available. They resell Verizon and Sprint. Their best Verizon plan offers 20 GB per month and an "unlimited" plan with Sprint. Sprint doesn't have nearly the coverage Verizon does and people have complained that Millenicom has threated to cut them off if they consistently use what they consider too many GB.