Community Forums

JohnCZ · 12-30-2023, 08:03 PM

Since Dish appears to want to price themselves out of buiness, we are considering options.
At home, there are tons of streaming services, kind of too many. And, you seem to need to have multiple streaming services to get every "channel" we enjoy watching. That said, we spend most or our time on local channels (OTA), sports, some non-PPV movies channels.

But, what about for our MH?
Most parks don't have much WiFi bandwidth for streaming.
I will not get Starlink just for this.

So, what other options have folks used that they like as an alternate to Dish or DirecTV?

I guess there is Cable at some RV parks, but our experience with this has been spotty at best.

Get a 5G Internet service?

Thanks!

followingsea · 12-30-2023, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnCZ

....

Get a 5G Internet service?

Thanks!

Spend more time posting here!

I have a collection of DVD for when I do not have a hot spot signal.

brucemcdou · 12-30-2023, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnCZ

Since Dish appears to want to price themselves out of buiness, we are considering options.
At home, there are tons of streaming services, kind of too many. And, you seem to need to have multiple streaming services to get every "channel" we enjoy watching. That said, we spend most or our time on local channels (OTA), sports, some non-PPV movies channels.

But, what about for our MH?
Most parks don't have much WiFi bandwidth for streaming.
I will not get Starlink just for this.

So, what other options have folks used that they like as an alternate to Dish or DirecTV?

I guess there is Cable at some RV parks, but our experience with this has been spotty at best.

Get a 5G Internet service?

Thanks!

Hi JohnCZ- as you note any alternative to satellite TV (Dish and DirecTV here in the US) relies on having internet service. Putting aside campground WiFi, the options are Starlink, some even more expensive satellite internet services such as HughesNet, and dedicated Wi-Fi hotspots from the various wireless providers. If you google you will find countless discussions and links to explanations of how to set up an RV for internet on the road but basically those are the options.

You don’t say if you’re full timers or just use the rv for weekends and shorter trips but if you absolutely want a no-compromise internet connection you should consider the cost of Starlink against the potentially very high cost of the (not) unlimited data plans from the wireless providers. For us, not yet full time but working from the rv for a few days a month, an ATT dedicated Wi-Fi hotspot at $60/month is sufficient. If we go over our monthly limit it just automatically adds 10 gigs for $10 so it’s not too painful.

And there’s always free over-the-air TV. It’s now in 4K and just requires a scan on your TV once you set up.

winno · 12-31-2023, 06:19 AM

I have a Winegard GW1000 I added a sims card with unlimited data from my phone carrier which is Consumer cellular My MH has its own phone number add it for $15.00 a month, we used it for the internet, streaming TV. we used it for our last trip that was 6 months long out west.

92LandYacht · 12-31-2023, 06:52 AM

It does depend on where you travel and how much data you need. I tend to lean towards T-Mobile for my 5G internet. Never been without service and can almost always stream without any buffering. I do tend to camp mostly on the east coast though. If you do go with a hotspot solution, then make sure it's fully 5G capable and can support multiple carriers by just switching out SIM cards.

Many on here have been using their T-Mobile home internet plan in the motorhome. Not specifically supported by T-Mobile but nobody has reported being blocked while on the road.

zrock2010 · 12-31-2023, 07:40 AM

Lots of streaming services out their, personally i have not found one that i like exclusively. I find you have to have multiple accounts across different services so maybe watch what you want, im actually finding more and more that they are limiting the newer movies and such and seeing more older stuff and off brand movies and you have to pay more if you want to watch anything newer. I spend more time scrolling then i do actually watching a show..LOL

CWSWine · 12-31-2023, 09:13 AM

My main connection to the internet is Calyx T-Mobile Connection for 43.00 per month (500.00 per year) with a one-time 250 equipment charge. The problem with Calyx is you can't pause the service but I use it in my home so my total internet RV and home is now 43.00 per month.

I would also look into the T-Mobile Home Internet. It is against the TOS to use it at a different address but I have not heard of anyone getting shut down yet. What is nice is there isn't a contract and just a month-to-month.

T-Mobile has worked in 98% of the locations I have been at and sometimes got speed testing above 500Mbps. I do have Starlink for those times that T-Mobile does NOT work and in two years I only had to deploy it once.

Isaac-1 · 12-31-2023, 11:40 AM

There are cell wifi hotspot options, it is what we do, though we don't watch much TV when traveling, mostly Netflix, etc. At home we stream everything over Starlink.

joerone · 01-01-2024, 07:41 PM

I have not done it yet as we are just starting out, but my plan is to download movies shows from cable, Netflix etc. and watch them on my TV in the camper. That way I don't have to rely on reliable WIFI. I tried to stream from my iPad to the TV in the fall, but had trouble, so I am buying this from Amazon. This way I can connect direct to the iPad to the TV via HDMI

https://a.co/d/4ns3Fen

joerone