Using Apple TV in an RV?

TInmania wrote:

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Haven't checked out FireTV - but I love my Roku2 and if it broke would get a Roku3. It won't break! :) Roku makes a USB stick as well but I haven't tried it.

Not sure if you thought it was but the FireTV is not a USB stick. Its little brother, the FireTV Stick, is a USB stick. But the FireTV is more powerful and has more features.

In my opinion Amazon has really done a great job on the FireTV. I'd choose it over a Roku at these stage.



Mike

No, I just meant that Roku comes in two flavors, puck and USB stick. I have some device (PS3, etc) that is attached to every TV and I haven't added anything since the FireTV came out. Will check it out if I add on. I do Amazon Prime so familiar with their streaming.

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Haven't checked out FireTV - but I love my Roku2 and if it broke would get a Roku3. It won't break! :) Roku makes a USB stick as well but I haven't tried it.

Not sure if you thought it was but the FireTV is not a USB stick. Its little brother, the FireTV Stick, is a USB stick. But the FireTV is more powerful and has more features.

In my opinion Amazon has really done a great job on the FireTV. I'd choose it over a Roku at these stage.



Mike

Haven't checked out FireTV - but I love my Roku2 and if it broke would get a Roku3. It won't break! :) Roku makes a USB stick as well but I haven't tried it.

Now, if AppleTV updated the interface, I would probably buy one for home because I'm all Apple with phones, iPads, Macs. Airplay is nice but not enough reason to bump up.

Road, I'll check that out.. sounds great... thnx

Before buying a Roku, take a look at the FireTV. I've had both, and gave the Roku away in favor of the Fire TV. 4X the memory, 8 gigs of storage, and with the latest update, Bluetooh headphone compatibility, and the option to add an external hard drive. Also, UHD (4K) will be added in the near future. There is also an app for mirroring Apple devices.
I'm not knocking the Roku, they work fine, but it's my opinion the FireTV is a better choice, and more future proof.
FireTV vs Roku 3

Thanks guys, all great stuff! For now I'm thinking of going with the Samsung unit as it is cheaper and has a lot to offer. When I get back out there I'll be so happy to Be out there, none of this will really matter that much...
I'll be busy enjoying the outside adventures :::

Trackrig wrote:

We only have a 10GB plan, granted that could be changed, but it sounds like I should avoid it.

Bill

I'm afraid you might need to rethink streaming over mobile data for anything other than occasional use. For the usage you have described you would need a lot more than 10GB and by a lot I mean a LOT. Even if you had an "unlimited" data plan it would not be unlimited for full-speed Netflix streaming every day. After a certain amount of data used you would likely get throttled (data speed slowed down) to the point that your internet connection would not support Netflix.

For regular Netflix use you really need a wifi connection (broadband).

To give you an idea how much data Netflix uses:

Watching Netflix uses about 1 GB of data per hour for each stream of standard definition video, and up to 3 GB per hour for each stream of HD video. This can create headaches for Netflix members that have a monthly bandwidth or data cap on their Internet service.

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87

You can force Netflix to use a lower quality and squeeze more time out of it, but in your case I just don't see it being viable, without a healthy amount of time on wifi.

My recommendation is to go with over the air or Satellite, possibly augmented by DVDs or downloaded online movie purchases (while on WiFi).




Michael

Apple TV is great if you have other Apple devices. Facetime via big TV with sound is great for Grandparents, as is Photostream etc. As a stand alone media player I think there are less $$ options that can do as much or more.

I have two Rokus at home, a 2XS and a 3. We love them for the ease of use. My youngest was 3 and using it to find kids shows on Netflix. But there is no content it can show that a laptop cannot show. For an RVing couple, I recommend just plugging that into the TV.

TechWriter wrote:

Trackrig wrote:

I looked all of them and the Roku 3 looks interesting. Not having used any of these, how much data do they use? I have a Verizon MiFi unit and while it works well, they're proud of their data ($$). Does using one of these really use up your data?

Though I have a 40GB Verizon plan, I'm still hesitant to do much streaming.

We only have a 10GB plan, granted that could be changed, but it sounds like I should avoid it.

Bill