Community Forums

TheBrits · 11-06-2021, 03:58 PM

We haven’t travelled over the past year, but are getting ready to hit the road again soon. Whilst at home we got rid of Direct satellite in favor of streaming which has worked out well for us. We don’t particularly want to go back to Direct, but are not sure what options are available. Any suggestions?
TIA

okcnewbie · 11-06-2021, 04:14 PM

We just use our phones as hot spots and stream. We've traveled from Oklahoma to N. Carolina and Michigan and the only spotty connections for us (att) were in Michigan.
If you don't have a lot of hot spot use but unlimited on the phone you can use smart TV to mirror your phone.
I have been surprised at how well our phones work as hot spots. They work so well I'll never be able to convince my DW that I needed to spend money to help have better internet.

johninsd · 11-06-2021, 04:42 PM

I use the FMCA (T-Mobile) hotspot at home and on the road - $50/month unlimited. If that doesn't work I use my Verizon phone as a hotspot. One or the other usually works - if neither has a signal I struggle by without...

ByeTheWay · 11-06-2021, 04:52 PM

I use a Channel Master CM-7500TB1 DVR+. The company has discontinued this model but they are available on ebay. I had 2 and bought another on ebay. No problem with the one I got. No subscription payment. Once you buy it you have free OTA tv. Hard drives are sold separate. You need at least 1. I record on the road and at home and watch on the road when no signal is available. It's not a perfect unit, but there is no cost except the equipment. It uses a HDMI cable between the CM and the TV.

Tom_M · 11-07-2021, 09:18 AM

Your RV should have a TV antenna. If you are close to a major city you should be able receive TV. The Channel Master mentioned above will also need a TV antenna.

lemodrop9344 · 11-07-2021, 05:50 PM

Lots of opinions on this subject. A lot of what you choose depends on what you feel like you need & your budget.

Would encourage you to search out The Mobile Internet Resource Center to see what options are available to you.

Good luck in your search.

RV Vagabond · 11-12-2021, 07:50 PM

Assuming you have an OTA antenna, you can get TV anywhere near a big city, however, each time you move from one TV reception area to another, you have to re-scan for a new set of channels.

LandKO · 11-12-2021, 08:18 PM

For local OTA channels (those available where we are camping) we use the antenna on top of the RV.
Recently we replaced U-verse with Direct TV Streaming at home which allows us to stream the same channels on the road. We use an iPhone connected to the TV with a lightning/HDMI cable. So far it’s worked well.

gtdooley · 12-17-2021, 11:12 AM

If you use an OTA antenna I'd suggest you get one that has a long-range and is amplified. That extra power could increase substantially the number of channels you'll receive.

MingusPirate · 12-17-2021, 12:12 PM

In Phoenix you get over 80 OTA stations. In northern AZ You get 40, because of repeaters. On Amazon we bought a cheap $40 OTA recorder that we record stuff at home. It needed a 2 TB hard drive, but the pair was under $100.

docj · 12-17-2021, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MingusPirate

In Phoenix you get over 80 OTA stations. In northern AZ You get 40, because of repeaters. On Amazon we bought a cheap $40 OTA recorder that we record stuff at home. It needed a 2 TB hard drive, but the pair was under $100.

With all due respect that works only if you like to watch the programming you get on OTA TV. Other than the evening news, we watch virtually nothing that could be received using OTA. JMO

amosnandy · 12-17-2021, 12:45 PM

I always thought the idea was to get away from all that stuff. Says a guy with 4 TVs, 2 laptops and a desktop computer in his RV.

docj · 12-17-2021, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amosnandy

I always thought the idea was to get away from all that stuff. Says a guy with 4 TVs, 2 laptops and a desktop computer in his RV.

Furthermore, some of us live in our RVs full-time. In those cases the RV isn't used as a way of "getting away" from things.

carybosse · 12-17-2021, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MingusPirate

In Phoenix you get over 80 OTA stations. In northern AZ You get 40, because of repeaters. On Amazon we bought a cheap $40 OTA recorder that we record stuff at home. It needed a 2 TB hard drive, but the pair was under $100.

Can you post the hardware you acquired? Not really looking for this for RV, but it might just give me the ammo to convince my wife to drop Direct TV. It is getting harder and harder to find anything to watch. I can probably stream via my fancy TV for a few programs I like, just may not be able to watch them the first day they hit the airwaves.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amosnandy

I always thought the idea was to get away from all that stuff. Says a guy with 4 TVs, 2 laptops and a desktop computer in his RV.

I lost the battle, we added a TV to our TT, typically the two of us have 3 phones between us along with an IPAD, on bad trips I have to carry the laptop for work.