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Using a roku while camping

d1h
Nomad II
Nomad II
Anybody streamed with a roku using hotspot on their cellphone? Was thinking about getting one for camping but didn't know how well that would work.
15 REPLIES 15

2oldman
Explorer
Explorer
OP is gone.
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Explorer III
Lantley wrote:
Ivylog wrote:
And if youโ€™re having dropped calls and even unable to make a call, itโ€™s because the tower youโ€™re on is overloaded with all the people streaming videoโ€ฆnever designed for this many people using excessive data.

The idea that the system was never designed for this many people is fading.
Its 2021 things have changed and the system while not perfect is capable of keeping up. Whoever Imagined 99% of the population working from home including school age kids. Somehow the system kept up and the world has changed forever. We are witnessing the demise of cable TV as cord cutting and watching via apps becomes the norm.


In places, "the system" did not and could not keep up with everyone working from home and adding remote school learning to the mix.

Some places simply do not have the infrastructure in place at all where no DSL, No cable internet and no cellphone signals are present.

Myself, we had choices of staying with a grandfathered $25 per month DSL service or moving to faster and much higher priced cable Internet. The DSL worked fine up to the point that DW had to work from home as a remote employee and DD had to stay at home for all of her college classes that went to online only.

Internet via cellphone in my area barely works, unreliable and is painfully slow, much slower than the DSL we had. In fact yesterday, only had one bar of cell service and the cellphones randomly would not work.. That is the reason I still have a landline which is via the Cable Internet now.

When I go camping, I pull the plug and don't worry about streaming shows or movies. Get up when the sun comes up and go to bed when it is too dark outside and the campfire has died out.

Lantley
Nomad
Nomad
Ivylog wrote:
And if youโ€™re having dropped calls and even unable to make a call, itโ€™s because the tower youโ€™re on is overloaded with all the people streaming videoโ€ฆnever designed for this many people using excessive data.

The idea that the system was never designed for this many people is fading.
Its 2021 things have changed and the system while not perfect is capable of keeping up. Whoever Imagined 99% of the population working from home including school age kids. Somehow the system kept up and the world has changed forever. We are witnessing the demise of cable TV as cord cutting and watching via apps becomes the norm.
19'Duramax w/hips,12'Open Range,Titan Disc Brake
BD3,RV safepower,22" Blackstone
Ox Bedsaver,RV760 w/BC20,Glow Steps, Enduraplas25,Pedego
BakFlip,RVLock,5500 Onan LP,Prog.50A surge,Hughes autoformer
Porta Bote 8.0 Nissan,Sailun S637
Correct Trax,Splendide

Lantley
Nomad
Nomad
I also stream via a firestick connected to a hotspot. The RV video entertainment game is certainly changing.
I have been unable to get any over the air statons at times yet I was still able to watch TV on the Firestick via my hotspot
19'Duramax w/hips,12'Open Range,Titan Disc Brake
BD3,RV safepower,22" Blackstone
Ox Bedsaver,RV760 w/BC20,Glow Steps, Enduraplas25,Pedego
BakFlip,RVLock,5500 Onan LP,Prog.50A surge,Hughes autoformer
Porta Bote 8.0 Nissan,Sailun S637
Correct Trax,Splendide

lenr
Explorer II
Explorer II
We love our Roku connected to a Winegard Connect 2.0 4g which in turn will connect to park Wifi or cellular 4g (currently using 100 gig ATT plan.) If neither works then we mirror from a cell phone to the Roku. The Roku still likes to be connected to some WiFi, but a slow one will do. When mirroring it draws the streaming data from the phone not the WiFi connection. I never could get the ChromeCast to not draw from the WiFi when mirroring--maybe better folks can figure that out. The RoKu is just simple. Cast the Chrome away and bought another Roku.

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
And if youโ€™re having dropped calls and even unable to make a call, itโ€™s because the tower youโ€™re on is overloaded with all the people streaming videoโ€ฆnever designed for this many people using excessive data.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45โ€™...

way2roll
Nomad III
Nomad III
Dedicated hot spots work better than a phone acting as a hot spot. They have stronger signals - both receiving and transmitting. We have an unlimited plan through ATT with a nighthawk hotspot and not only do we stream via fire stick, I work remote while travelling as well. Up and down the east coast - never an issue. But you will churn through data. I am lucky enough to have a truly unlimited plan fairly cheaply offered through my company.
2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS

pbeverly
Explorer III
Explorer III
dieseltruckdriver wrote:
I have used a Roku, as that is what I prefer at home, but in the 5er we use a Chromecast. It seems to work faster when not leaving it powered up and connected constantly. At least that is my experience.


Same here. I download content before heading out and stream it via Chromecast. While Chromecast needs WiFi your actual content is on phone/tablet so you are not streaming it off the internet and using gobs of data.
Ridgeway, SC
2019 26DBH Grey Wolf

Sjm9911
Explorer
Explorer
I use my phone and unlimited data plan, with a dongle to tv or projecter. When i have service it works fine.
2012 kz spree 220 ks
2020 Silverado 2500
Equalizer ( because i have it)
Formerly a pup owner.

dieseltruckdriv
Explorer II
Explorer II
I have used a Roku, as that is what I prefer at home, but in the 5er we use a Chromecast. It seems to work faster when not leaving it powered up and connected constantly. At least that is my experience.
2000 F-250 7.3 Powerstroke
2018 Arctic Fox 27-5L

theoldwizard1
Explorer
Explorer
It depends entirely on how good of a signal you get with your hotspot.

Second_Chance
Explorer II
Explorer II
We stream via a hot-spot and our smart TV all the time - but we have an unlimited data plan on the hot-spot. Just for reference (per hour):

720p uses 0.9GB
1080p uses 1.5GB
2K uses 3GB
UHD/4K uses about 7.2GB per hour

Rob
U.S. Army retired
2020 Solitude 310GK-R
MORryde IS, disc brakes, solar, DP windows
(Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
2012 F350 CC DRW Lariat 6.7
Full-time since 8/2015

wanderingaimles
Explorer
Explorer
If you have the option, turn the video definition down to a 480 or 720 p setting and your videos will stream better and the data usage will drop drastically.
The folks running all the streaming services assume everyone has unlimited data at fiber optic type speeds.

IB853347201
Nomad
Nomad
It'll work just fine but you'll go thru a lot of data. We use ours, generally go thru 10 gigs a day. If your phones data plan throttles the speed down after you reach a certain threshold, you might also have streaming issues. Probably need at least 3 mbps for the roku to work.
2010 Suncruiser