Community Forums

Lonesome54 · 03-06-2016, 12:33 PM

Anyone have a good idea on what's on the market for mobile Internet? Seems some parks Internet is not so good and if boondocking your out of luck... cellular Internet is priced bit hi any ideas?

l1v3fr33ord1 · 03-06-2016, 01:04 PM

Lonesome54-

Yours is a common question on the Technology forum. If you haven't done so, you may want to browse through some of the threads on that forum.

ssignor · 03-06-2016, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonesome54

Anyone have a good idea on what's on the market for mobile Internet? Seems some parks Internet is not so good and if boondocking your out of luck... cellular Internet is priced bit hi any ideas?

Go here Now Available: The Mobile Internet Handbook – 2016 US RVers Edition | Technomadia

dons2346 · 03-08-2016, 08:51 AM

If you want mobile internet, you are going to have to shell out some bucks. I have no idea what you consider to be a reasonable price but expect to pay $50 or more per month for the cheapest plans

FixerCQI · 03-08-2016, 09:04 AM

Just to refer you to IRVTWO's David Bott, who wrote this great DIY

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/personal-high-powered-rv-wi-fi-for-under-100-tutorial-229340.html

You still need a hotspot or the like of course.

seniorgear · 03-08-2016, 02:20 PM

I use my 4G cell phone which has a hot spot function. I have 2 gigs of data and it is enough to read EMails, check the web. I don't stream video. I have a $45 plan with unlimited text and phone. I found this to support my needs

gtsum2 · 03-08-2016, 03:20 PM

I have used my vehicle (towing fiver) but it is sprint based and isn't very fast. I usually use my phone as a hotspot. When kids use it to watch movies it eats it up though. I had to increase it one month several times as the data use age was enormous

brucev · 03-08-2016, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtsum2

I have used my vehicle (towing fiver) but it is sprint based and isn't very fast. I usually use my phone as a hotspot. When kids use it to watch movies it eats it up though. I had to increase it one month several times as the data use age was enormous

What is the normal data usage for a Netfix 2 hour movie?

docj · 03-08-2016, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucev

What is the normal data usage for a Netfix 2 hour movie?

Netflix permits you to adjust the resolution and, therefore, the data usage in the Settings area of your account. At the lowest resolution (which is basically SD quality video) we use the rule of thumb that 1 GB ~ 2hrs.

To my knowledge, none of the other streaming services permit users to directly control the resolution. All of them, including Netflix, use a dynamic control algorithm through which the resolution is adjusted as your internet bandwidth varies. This enables the video stream to continue, albeit slightly degraded, without having to have it pause for rebuffering.

As a result of this dynamic control I rarely encounter the maximum possible data rate usage even for HDTV streams since cellular internet is variable enough that the stream doesn't stay at maximum data rate for the entire length of a movie.

gtsum2 · 03-09-2016, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucev

What is the normal data usage for a Netfix 2 hour movie?

Looks like it was posted above. I know that (for some reason?!?) I let the kids use my hotspot on and off a long trip last year (3000 miles) and if memory serves I had to increase data plan 3 times during the trip. Believe I ended up on the plan right under unlimited data for the month

smiller · 03-09-2016, 05:51 PM

I use a T-Mobile hotspot on the Simple Choice $50/10 GB plan which includes their Binge On feature that allows you to stream Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, and a couple dozen other video services for free (no data allotment is used.) Your data also rolls over if unused (up to 20 GB), no overage charges, free roaming in Canada/Mexico, etc. A great deal. (and before anyone gets on the Verizon soapbox, I've experienced excellent LTE speeds so far wherever I've stopped.)

Binge On is about the only practical (cost-effective) way to stream video, and it works great. They throttle the video rate somewhat but the picture still looks excellent, can hardly tell they have messed with it (well, as long as you don't have a 70" TV

)

alvo · 03-09-2016, 07:24 PM

I agree with T-Mobile. I've got a 6GB hotspot account and it works quite well. I use the Binge On feature to stream video from Hulu, Netflix and YouTube. Binge On works only with supported devices (no Roku, Apple TV, XBox, Fire TV) such as computers, tablets and phones. Chromecast works to send phone video to a TV. The quality is okay. I find occasional pauses in shows, but nothing worth complaining about. There is a lot of stuttering in the commercials on Hulu, but not in the shows themselves.

smiller · 03-09-2016, 07:27 PM

FWIW I've found Hulu commercials to be flaky even on a broadband connection.

As noted above you can use a Chromecast to view on your main TV. Some have reported problems with that (getting billed for data usage when you shouldn't) but it has worked for me. But Chromecast and Roku, etc., are not officially supported by T-Mobile. You can also just use the HDMI output found on most modern laptops or an MHL adapter with many smartphones as Binge On use on smartphones, tablets, and PCs is fully approved by T-Mobile on their FAQ page.

normandlegra · 03-09-2016, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucev

What is the normal data usage for a Netfix 2 hour movie?

What do you expect from a cellular service ? For my part, a cellular service is for emergency and to talk to my friends and family; if I want to watch a movie, I'll rent it from the store, I'll have cable TV or I'll have a satellite equipment and certainly not a cellular service to watch a movie !