Wifi in a TT

[uscgcolletti]

My family is about to be full timers in the TT for almost 3 months. I'm looking into options for Wifi because we have a Roku for streaming TV. Besides using a phone as a hotspot what options do I have? Any assistance you can offer is greatly appriciated.

[uscgcolletti]

we got an unlimited account, as other suggested here.

[JiminDenver]

I cut our high speed cable a few months ago and it had nothing to do with being cheap. The devices to get connected to the four networks were not free nor are the monthly fees. Combined it's more data than we can use even trying since one device is unlimited and another has binge on. They won't stream HD but if we just had to have that we have 33 gigs of LTE data that will.

So had I not cut off the high speed either it or the devices would have been sitting idle here at home. No reason to pay double.

[monkey44]

We have a 4G hotspot too with 10GB a month - be very careful how fast the data adds up. You can 'ask' the hotspot how much you've used on the unit itself.

The first time we did it - we watched a college baseball home game over the webcast, without realizing how much data it used. It took over 2.5gb to watch two innings, and lucky we caught it in time and shut it off.

[webslave]

One thing nobody has asked or mentioned... You say you will be full-timing for three months. Stationary for the full three months? If so, I would check with the campground you will be staying in, provided it is a private campground, to see if they have Telco hookups. If they do, I would look into DSL service from the local telephone company. I do that where we spend our winters, the phone line is easily routed through the slide seal, Connected to a wireless router (create a secure SSID) and will then provide the same "homestyle" service that you may already be accustomed to. I have a wireless DSL router that is a duplicate of my S&B router...when it starts broadcasting, all of our devices automatically connect seamlessly. Broadcast data plans are inherently costly, subject to throttling and your cap may sneak up on you. DSL has a fixed cost, usually cheaper when you consider there is usually no caps or throttling involved.

Just another idea to consider if you are going to be stationary for those three months while you finish your posting. I'm guessing from your handle and location that you are Coast Guard, I had an uncle that was a lifer and was a radar specialist...thank you for your service. Most people forget what an integral piece of security the USCG is for our maritime borders.

[uscgcolletti]

Been using the MiFi Jetpack 4G a a hotspot the past 3 days.
Roku is streaming well, with 2 PC's also browsing the internet. I'm going to try and set up another TV in a few days.

[wa8yxm]

Internet options for RVers are as follows
Cell phone as a hot spot or Cellular "hot Spot" (My-Fi device)
Park Wi-fi
Two way Satellite TV

Recommended for a ROKU: None of the above. And I'm serious about that.

Cell: Most plans are lmited, T-Mobile gives you unlimited DATA but only part of it is 4G, once you hit the "high Speed Limit" your speed drops.. big time.

Park Wi-Fi is usually not broadband enough to support multiple video streams (in many cases even one)

Two way Satellite, like Cell, has data limtes,... Hughes is still, far as I know the only provider with a "CONUS" (Contential US) Foot print satellite. and it's also expensive.

[strollin]

TNGW1500SE wrote:
I download a bunch of stuff to a external harddrive when at home and we watch that.

Yup. This is my solution as well. I have a 2TB drive that I bring with us full of movies. Plug the drive into the Roku and and have 100's of movies to choose from.

[uscgcolletti]

we got a MiFi jetpack. So we're going to try that and see

[TNGW1500SE]

I download a bunch of stuff to a external harddrive when at home and we watch that.

[AllegroD]

Redbox or prerecorded videos on a HD is a cost effective alternative to large wifi packages.

[JiminDenver]

What mobile coverage will you have? That's the first thing to consider.

For streaming a T-Mobile account with binge on is about the only way to go IF you get the coverage. I have a 5 gig TMO hotspot but the signal at home is too slow for streaming anything most of the time.

Really if you are looking to watch entertainment, get a dish. It's cheaper, better picture, no loading, always has a signal, unlimited......

[akrv]

The best I have found is T-Mobile for tablets.

[Campfire_Time]

rk911 wrote:

and more and more parks and CGs are throttling back if any kind of streaming is detected.

The other thing I've run into is making you agree to the captive web portal page every 15 minutes. Its a way to deter any streaming.

[Gdetrailer]

AllegroD wrote:

uscgcolletti wrote:
Appriciate all the information. Also I ever said I was going to use the CG wifi. Thats why I'm looing for other options.

Unless you acknowledge this, you will always get a warning about how it affects others on potentially weak networks. Thanks for acknowledging this.

Correct!

There really ISN'T any cheap "options" when it comes to "streaming", video (decent quality good enough for say a 24" TV or larger) takes a lot of data.

Many streaming systems to get you a picture have to use extremely high compression ratios of the data..

High compression can cause severe damage to the video often called "artifacts". Even with high compression it takes a lot of data to get you a watchable pix.

If you are going to stream, you simply must limit your video quality to SD (Standard Definition) and or the amount of movies/programs you watch per month.. SD uses a lot less data and therefore you can stretch your programming budget.

There simply is not much in "options" concerning unlimited wireless Internet.. Pretty much non existent now days.

Many cell carriers have dropped all unlimited access to new plans and some old unlimited plans are "grandfathered" but if you need to get new equipment the grandfathering goes out the window.

For what you will pay in data overages, you might be further ahead to opt for a Dish or Direct TV account.. $50-$100 per month wouldn't be all that bad considering you would have service 24/7/365 and no worry about overages.. Add in DVR and you can record a lot then play back anytime..