Watching Television When RVing

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We use OTA, usually get plenty of channels. There have been a few places where its been sketchy, although those we discovered the PBS stations will come in crystal clear, while the commercial stations are spotty, as Government radio and tv almost always have granted themselves the best ‘bandwidth’ or clearest frequencies in whatever area they are in.
 
Mr Lars said:
as Government radio and tv almost always have granted themselves the best ‘bandwidth’ or clearest frequencies
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Government? I'm not aware of government operated radio and TV domestically. PBS certainly isn't- it's privately done, theoretically without commercials, which is why they have periodic fund raisers.
 
Mr Lars said:
We use OTA, usually get plenty of channels. There have been a few places where its been sketchy, although those we discovered the PBS stations will come in crystal clear, while the commercial stations are spotty, as Government radio and tv almost always have granted themselves the best ‘bandwidth’ or clearest frequencies in whatever area they are in.
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It's not a "government" issue but free market. PBS stations tend to invest more in translators and boosters to reach the largest numbers of potential donors (they get their money from members, not from the government). Commercial stations could do the same but for the most part they choose to make less investments in technical facilities and are happy with coverage in areas where more people are likely to shop in their advertiser's stores. Wide coverage has less value to them as few people will drive long distances to shop.
 
DonTom said:
Huh?

-Don- Reno, NV
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WiFi direct is communication between phone and firestick. It's not on any network, just one device talking to the other.

I often put my phone on airplane mode and it automatically switches wifi on on my mobile if off.

It means you can stream downloaded movies etc without accessing the Internet.
 
jackiemac said:
It means you can stream downloaded movies etc without accessing the Internet.
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OIC.
IOW, you mean saved movies, etc, after they have been downloaded from the internet (or transferred somehow, etc).

That could be handy if you know there is no internet at your next stop. Download the stuff while you can.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
I have Directv and have the app on my tablet and phone. If I have WiFi or cell service, I can watch TV on them. It's limited to what DTV streams, but better than nothing. I also have a library of old shows and movies in a memory USB (~500 Gb) for when there is no service.
 
Hate to admit it but watch more television camping than at home, mainly nothing else to do sometimes. Ota only, have had to switch between 3 channels at one place.

We also have some of these nifty old fashioned things called DVDs that we watch.
 
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RNS said:
Hate to admit it but watch more television camping than at home, mainly nothing else to do sometimes. Ota only, have had to switch between 3 channels at one place.

We also have some of these nifty old fashioned things called DVDs that we watch.
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you are one honest man. Not too many people would offer that truth, watching more on the road than at home. If i can get it service...i watch it too. I recently moved and lost my dvd's. Oh poor pitiful me
 
I purchased a DVD ripper and have a ton of movies in a memory stick. My sister gave me a copy of her collection so, as I said I have about 500Gb. The nice thing about the memory stick, is that it's small, easy to make copies, and smart TVs have a USB port for playing without a separate DVD player. Highly recommend you guys with DVDs ripp them into MP4 format.
 
Pedro Dog said:
Highly recommend you guys with DVDs ripp them into MP4 format.
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What software do you use for that? I tried handbrake once and it didn't work with anything that had DRM. I've got a "collection" of stuff I've downloaded from utoob and ripped music CD's that usually fills in the gaps while boondocking but would be nice to carry around some movies DW likes to watch.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
WinX DVD Ripper Platinum

I think it was around $50. It works on all DVDs I've tried. During the pandemic, I was borrowing DVDs, buying them at flea markets, Goodwill, garage sales anywhere I could find them.
 
I use DVDShrink. It's free but is quite dated. It will strip DRM from most DVDs. It will not rip Blu-Ray disks. Download here:
DVD Shrink
 
We get almost all of our TV and high speed internet service from Starlink. Once in awhile, we'll watch local OTA news if we're within range, but 99% of our viewing is via Starlink. We also make and receive our cellphone calls via wifi though Starlink, so we don't have to be within range of any cell towers to stay in touch.

Starlink has unlimited usage, which means we can stream as much TV content as we want without going over any limits., but congestion can affect speeds, and you have to have a pretty clear view of the sky to get a satellite signal.

Kev
 
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