YouTube vs anything else

[#1footballfan]

Jabber Jaw, I’m in your group as a senior boomer and not in tune with all this technology. I decided after 30+ years with DTV to try the streaming. This past summer we tripped to Canada for 4 months. Prior to leaving I had Best Buy come out and change out all my TVs to smart one and setup everything. Just before leaving I signed up for YouTube Tv and DTV streaming. (DTV streaming is free if you have home satellite service.) To be sure I gave streaming a far shot I left my DTV receivers at home. It was a challenge for the first month or so, but we made it. I figure out that YouTube Tv has 99% of what we watched on DTV. I called DTV to cancel my home service after we got home and they offered it to me for the same cost as streaming which was a nice discount so I’ve kept it for a few more months after returning home. I have since canceled my home service and the DTV streaming. I strictly use Youtube TV. So far I still haven’t missed any NFL, MLB, college football, Nascar or other items you mentioned. I get my local channels and I got them while in Canada. Only once did YouTube Tv ask about my location and I responded that I was traveling. The only NFL playoff game missed so far was the Chiefs/Miami game which was on another streaming service that I do not have. Yes it’s different and you need a good internet service at home and while traveling. StarLink was my choice.

Jabber Jaw, I’m in your group as a senior boomer and not in tune with all this technology. I decided after 30+ years with DTV to try the streaming. This past summer we tripped to Canada for 4 months. Prior to leaving I had Best Buy come out and change out all my TVs to smart one and setup everything. Just before leaving I signed up for YouTube Tv and DTV streaming. (DTV streaming is free if you have home satellite service.) To be sure I gave streaming a far shot I left my DTV receivers at home. It was a challenge for the first month or so, but we made it. I figure out that YouTube Tv has 99% of what we watched on DTV. I called DTV to cancel my home service after we got home and they offered it to me for the same cost as streaming which was a nice discount so I’ve kept it for a few more months after returning home. I have since canceled my home service and the DTV streaming. I strictly use Youtube TV. So far I still haven’t missed any NFL, MLB, college football, Nascar or other items you mentioned. I get my local channels and I got them while in Canada. Only once did YouTube Tv ask about my location and I responded that I was traveling. The only NFL playoff game missed so far was the Chiefs/Miami game which was on another streaming service that I do not have. Yes it’s different and you need a good internet service at home and while traveling. StarLink was my choice.

We had multiple issues when we bought our first motor coach trying to use what it came with. We would get home and I would take it to my local rv place to get some repairs made and each time they got the TV’s to work correctly. We would go back out on the road and it wouldn’t work. So we wanted to go with YouTube since the majority of TV’s now are smart TV’s. My concern is what device do we need to purchase to get the best wifi for the coach ?

 

[LMHS]

I use a firestick that I bought during a Black Friday sale one year, a dedicated cellphone for a hotspot (Visible $30/mo) and a travel router (because you can only hook one thing directly to the cellphone). The firestick, laptops and home security camera system connect to the router.

I have Amazon Prime (because I had Amazon Prime). Amazon has lots of apps that are free to download but many have a cost to watch. I watch mostly:
Amazon Prime Video (Amazon App)
Britbox (Amazon App)
Netflix (Amazon App single TV)
Freevee (Amazon App)
Rumble (Amazon App)
YouTube (Amazon App)
Amazon Music (Amazon App)
Pandora Music (Amazon App)

I have many other channel apps but I have found that I do not watch them. Although I would like to get Acorn just so I can see the other half of the series that I watch on Britbox.

I also buy lots of physical movies (once they drop in price to about $5 or lower from Redbox or Walmart) and I buy up the sequels and TV series because we tend to binge watch. Our local cellphone antennas have a nasty tendency of not working when it's too cold, too rainy, too hot or too windy (and it's always windy). So we watch one of the 350 or so movies/series that I have. I keep them in DVD/CD sheet protectors (8 per sheet) to save space and I use Ant Movie Catalog on my laptop to keep track of them and where they are in the zippered notebooks that I keep them in.

 

[PJR]

We have YouTube TV at home and when on the road we connect our laptop computer to whichever tv we want to watch via HDMI cable. Our TV's are Smart TV's, thus the need for the laptop and HDMI cable. We use WiFi at campgrounds to stream. When we don't get a good campground WiFi signal we hotspot from one of our phones. Unless you have unlimited data on your phone plan your hotspot will quickly eat up your allocated data. We have AT&T cellphone service and recently signed up for a mobile WiFi device through AT&T. The had a deal that provided the mobile WiFi device for free and the moblie WiFi service for $45.00 per month, with the ability to put the service on hold for up to 3 months at a time, so no charge during the months you aren't using it, or don't need to use it. This works great for us, as we are not full timers. Like others have shared, our home YouTube TV subscription works great when we are on the road, and the TV Channel offerings with YouTube TV is great, especially for sports, which is why we switched to it at home. We too have been asked by YouTube TV where we were located or if we were traveling. We simply choose "Traveling" and then we are granted access. We highly recommend YouTube TV as it has great channel offerings and your subscription can travel with you.

 

[Russellvh]

Let me know if Youtubetv is a problem if away for over 3 months. Their website still says 3 month connect at home or they pause you. When I had them I would select traveling but after awhile they still paused me. They would still record all my shows but I couldn’t access them until back in registered home area.

We use our daughters address as base but are only there about every 6 - 8 months.

 

[PJR]

We've never been on the road for 3 months, so have never been paused by YouTube. Thanks for the information about getting paused if you are away from your account address for more than 3 months. Possibly call YouTube Customer Service and explain you are typically on the road for over 3 months during the year, or you are a full timer traveling around the country. Maybe they'll work something out, but maybe not. Worth a try. Good Luck.

 

[stang37]

Let me know if Youtubetv is a problem if away for over 3 months. Their website still says 3 month connect at home or they pause you. When I had them I would select traveling but after awhile they still paused me. They would still record all my shows but I couldn’t access them until back in registered home area.

We use our daughters address as base but are only there about every 6 - 8 months.

I was on the road from June until late September last year. They asked once or twice about my location to which I replied I was traveling. I was asked once back home to make sure my address was correct which it was.

 

[#1footballfan]

I

We are using YouTube TV as well. Has worked great for us. We abandoned Dish a year ago also. Took the savings and invested more in internet connectivity, reception, reliability. Now enjoying all the internet offers plus tv for lower cost.

What product are you using to get your internet? I have heard that Starlink is like $2500-$3000. Is that correct ?

 

[BGMAC]

I

What product are you using to get your internet? I have heard that Starlink is like $2500-$3000. Is that correct ?

No way unless you go business.

$550 for equipment and $150 per month. You can shut off service like I did for the winter then there is no charge. There are some options too.

Starlink

High-speed internet. Available almost anywhere on Earth.

www.starlink.com

 

[Ddmo]

We are using T-Mobile home with a Cudy P5 router and Pepwave 42g.

Service has been very impressive.

 

[#1footballfan]

No way unless you go business.

$550 for equipment and $150 per month. You can shut off service like I did for the winter then there is no charge. There are some options too.

Starlink

High-speed internet. Available almost anywhere on Earth.

www.starlink.com

No way unless you go business.

$550 for equipment and $150 per month. You can shut off service like I did for the winter then there is no charge. There are some options too.

Starlink

High-speed internet. Available almost anywhere on Earth.

www.starlink.com

What monthly fees are involved using that system ?

 

[BGMAC]

What monthly fees are involved using that system ?

I Pay $150 a month, but it is on the link I posted showing all the cost/plans.

 

[#1footballfan]

I Pay $150 a month, but it is on the link I posted showing all the cost/plans.

On your t mobile home with a Cudy P5 router and pepwave, what are your monthly cost with that system.

 

[Ddmo]

$40. Unlimited

 

[DKRITTER]

I am self -employed and the majority of my business is internet based so, connectivity ranks up there. Since we started RVing it's been a PIA to remain connected, we have had many boosters and doodads trying to connect to park WIFI all of which were poor because park WIFI is poor to start with. We got a Jetpack from Verizon which helped but you would burn through the data plan quickly.
At the end of 2021 I broke down and bought a Pepwave Router and a Parsec Antenna. I moved the Jetpack sim card into the Pepwave, now I could manage my connection. November of 2023 I bought the standard Starlink dish and the roam package. A complete game changer but a bit on the expensive side. Benefit is I could turn the service on and off as desired. It lives in a tote in the basement of the MH.

Some lady knocked on our door and visited with us about Verizon Home 5G, it was $25.00 a month and at our house we could get very good speeds. My fiber at the house was better so I put it in the RV. (I was told I couldn't do that) It worked pretty good in most places. It lives in the RV now.

So we now have a 4 tier WIFI network in our RV and have reliable access all the time.

When we travel we use the Verizon sim card for data. When we get to a RV Park I connect to the park WIFI through the Pepwave, it's almost always poor. Next I plug in the Verizon Home box and test it. If it too is poor I setup the Starlink and have Starlink turn it on.

Going into any place is no longer an issue, Starlink has been the most consistent but it is also the most expensive so I try the others first. Going through all this only takes a few minutes when we setup at a park.

 

[LMHS]

I never use park wifi. It's why I have my own wifi which is password protected.