TV for travel trailer

[spasm3]

I'm not really up on tv tech at all so i need some help. I'm going to buy a tv for a new travel trailer. Wall mount. Probably about a 32 inch.

Now don't laugh, but i don't know what roku vs a firestick tv is. I get that smart tv means you can access your home wifi router.

But in a travel trailer usually you have cable or some people have direct tv automatic roof mounted dishes. I probably will not spend $1000 for an automatic roof dish and be stuck with that company only.

So what does roku/firestick mean? We have amazon prime. I take it there is some way to watch over wifi, we don't at home. But traveling, how would that be of benefit?

Thanks

 

[pkunk]

Streaming over RV park WiFi is frowned upon. If you have an unlimited data plan, use your phone as a hotspot. If you just want to watch local TV, use your antenna. If you need the full monte, get a Dish service that links to your home service.

 

[Imp4]

The roku or firestick will enable you to stream video and tv signals over a wifi connection and watch on your television.
The roku/firestick plugs into the the back of your tv and you use a remote to operate it.

You would need wifi at any location you would want to use it.
Maybe some higher end camp grounds would provide this for a fee?

You cannot connect to your home wifi if you are not physically located on your property. The signals degrade quickly after about 100 yards.

If wifi is not available at your location, then the roku/firestick will not work.
You would need to use a roof top dish style receiver.

Good luck!!!

 

[vwmaniaman]

We have a data plan that gives us 35gb of data for a price of course but we use our phone as a hotspot and wifi to our camper tv. It works very well so we can watch our Netfix wherever we go pretty much. Also have a blueray DVD player and we do rent some for that on those nights that it rains or is too cold or when the skunks are out and about

 

[wag123]

Streaming HD video will quickly eat-up all of your monthly cell phone data allotment. Also. you need a lot of continuous bandwidth (Internet speed) to get smooth HD video playback. Most public WiFi connections (like Walmart) will throttle you.
Netflix data usage breaks down as follows, according to their official support page:
300MB per hour on the lowest video quality
700MB per hour for SD video quality
3GB per hour for HD video quality
7GB per hour for UHD (4K) video quality
I have seen lower (but still substantial) usage numbers quoted on other websites.
This is also why streaming over RV park WiFi is frowned upon. Imagine if everyone in the park was trying to stream HD videos at the same time.

 

[OldSparks]

Small TV antenna will usually net you a few channels, unless you're really off the beaten path.

If your TV has a USB port, usually you can connect a hard drive. You can put your shows on the hard drive and watch them when you want.

 

[supton]

TV antenna is what I'd vote for, with some DVD's of favorite shows as a backup. Shouldn't need a big antenna, just something on top of the roof. I think some trailers come with a small antenna that can be raised up already, with cable wiring already installed.

Been a while but I thought some of the places were starting to have cable hookup?

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by wag123
Streaming HD video will quickly eat-up all of your monthly cell phone data allotment.

One summer a while back my daughter stayed up at college because of her summer job. She didn't have wifi at her apartment so I bought her an HDMI adapter for her phone. Her average usage that summer was around 60GB of data per month but that included a lot of binge watching Gilmore Girls at night.

Some carriers will throttle data after a certain threshold or if there is network congestion, but it can be done. It also has a lot to do with the cell phone signal you are getting at your specific location and what kind of data connection they are using from the tower. But if those are good and you have either a large allotment or unlimited data then it is doable. We have unlimited and as far as I know they didn't ever throttle it back or anything.

 

[beanoil]

So sense in spending a large amount on an RV TV.
It bounces with the trailer, and isn't going to last 10 years anyway. Light is what you want so the thing will stay on the wall going down the road.
A cheap TV from WM will have any input you need in a travel trailer.
A bluray player is going to cost another 40, rent some RedBox if it's raining and you are inside.
Dish for RV is a great plan, turn on and off at will, or get a portable dish like a Playmaker or X2 and take one of your home Wally units with you for all the programming you have at home.
I only know one RV owner that uses Sling over an unlimited Sprint plan he is grandfathered into to get his home stuff where he is IF he has a signal.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by spasm3
So what does roku/firestick mean? We have amazon prime. I take it there is some way to watch over wifi, we don't at home. But traveling, how would that be of benefit?

Will you have a reliable and fast wi-fi internet access everywhere you go with your trailer? If not, then roku/firestick will not do much for you.

 

[4WD]

I put up a small LAVA directional antenna at the camp … gets lots of channels 80 miles from antenna farm …
(has remote control rotator) …
They are cheap, light, compact, and terrestrial HDTV is still free … it also gives me a good FM radio signal
… that and a DVD player has served me well …

 

[Andrew1972]

Do you have a smartphone with an unlimited plan? A smartphone with a cord/adapter or Apple TV with iPhone can allow you to get some decent options. A blu ray player can fill in lack of service gaps if you need something to watch.

What kind of TV content are you interested in watching?

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by wag123
Streaming HD video will quickly eat-up all of your monthly cell phone data allotment.

One summer a while back my daughter stayed up at college because of her summer job. She didn't have wifi at her apartment so I bought her an HDMI adapter for her phone. Her average usage that summer was around 60GB of data per month but that included a lot of binge watching Gilmore Girls at night.

Some carriers will throttle data after a certain threshold or if there is network congestion, but it can be done. It also has a lot to do with the cell phone signal you are getting at your specific location and what kind of data connection they are using from the tower. But if those are good and you have either a large allotment or unlimited data then it is doable. We have unlimited and as far as I know they didn't ever throttle it back or anything.

My wife has AT&T with "unlimited" data. The actual limit is 22gb after which they "can" throttle the connection.
https://www.att.com/help/wireless/data-usage.html
I have T-Mobile with "unlimited" data. The actual limit is 50gb after which they "can" throttle the connection.
https://www.t-mobile.com/customer/mydatausage.html
They may or may not actually throttle your connection at any given time, depending on network congestion, but, once you have exceeded your data "limit" in any given month, they can throttle your connection at any time for the remainder of the billing period. Also, when you are out in the boonies, you may not have a fast enough connection to stream HD videos.
It won't take very long to exceed their limits when you stream HD videos, for example...
I have cut cable TV at home and now use my Spectrum 100gbs Internet connection for streaming Philo on two TVs. My average data use per month is 600gb. The first month that I had Philo (after cutting my cable TV) I exceeded 1tb of data use and Spectrum throttled my connection. I am now much more careful about how I use it. The point I'm making is this... when you are streaming HD video, the data use can add-up fast.
The only other alternatives the OP has are...
OTA (over the air) ATSC TV using an antenna. But, the outside reception limit using a good directional amplified antenna is 80 miles (but the practical limit is more like 60 miles) so one would have to camp fairly close to a larger metro area that has TV stations.
Satellite TV using a dish. This is the best option for avid TV viewers. But, don't mount the dish to your RV. You won't get a signal under the trees. Purchase a portable dish with a long cable so it can be moved/positioned out from under the trees.

 

[4WD]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradad...-effect-of-streaming-video/#15b2f6884327

 

[Rand]

I'd probably use a small antenna.. the flat kind is usually good for about 40-50miles.

streaming with a phone data plan is ok too (using roku etc)

cost is around 60-70$/month for 1 phone and could replace your current phone plan so not 70$ extra dollars.

 

[wag123]

If you want to use a smartphone as a WiFi hot spot, some providers charge extra for the privilege. Also, they don't give you your full data allotment when using it as a WiFi hot spot, mine limits me to 10gb. If you want to watch through an actual bigger screen TV, only way around this limitation is to purchase a smartphone that has an HDMI output, but Roku can't be used this way because all of their devices require WiFi for their Internet connection, Roku equipped TVs included (the Roku app only works as a fancy remote control for a Roku device).

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by wag123
If you want to use a smartphone as a WiFi hot spot, some providers charge extra for the privilege. Also, they don't give you your full data allotment when using it as a WiFi hot spot, mine limits me to 10gb. If you want to watch through an actual bigger screen TV, only way around this limitation is to purchase a smartphone that has an HDMI output, but Roku can't be used this way because all of their devices require WiFi for their Internet connection, Roku equipped TVs included (the Roku app only works as a fancy remote control for a Roku device).

Correct, Sprint is that way for me. As you note I wouldn't hotspot the Roku, I'd just use apps on the phone (DirecTVNow, Netflix, Hulu, Food Channel, etc.) and connect directly to the TV. I'm sure there is a similar cord for Android phones but this is the one I got for my daughter and her iPhone. At the time it was about $50 and you can connect your charger at the same time.

Her phone would get quite warm after a while but it seemed unaffected.

 

[Nick1994]

Use the adapter posted above.

Netflix has lots of movies and shows you can download while on WiFi and save for weeks, I think Hulu might too. Just play on your phone and stream to the TV.

Up your data plan too so you can stream when you want.