[HoosierDaddy]

I'm thinking about some upgrades to my Newell.
Has anybody found a smart TV to be useful in your coach?
What I think I need is an external roof mounted wifi antenna connected to a wireless modem inside the coach. Is that the best way? Which brand of equipment are you using? Is anybody successfully using cell signal to download video entertainment?
Thx!!

[folivier]

My opinion is that a Roku, or other streaming media player, is a better option than a smart tv. The different apps, Netflix, Hulu, etc. are more frequently updated and tend to work better with a Roku. The tv manufacturers don't seem to update the apps as frequently or at all. My Samsung is 4 years old and I've been using a Roku with it for about 3 years now.
Also I bought a 32" Samsung for my coach on black Monday that was advertised as having wifi but didn't. Bestbuy gave me a free Roku since I had already mounted the tv.
I'll let others talk about wifi. My experiences are a few years old and back then cell service for streaming wasn't that good and campgrounds wifi didn't have enough bandwidth for streaming.

[Richard]

I second Forrest's comments on Wifi and streaming. First, forget about it in campgrounds. Campground wifi is abysmal these days. Most have installed software to kick you off the system when you stream.

Second, you better have a pretty good data plan if you want to stream using your phone or another hotspot.

[Guy]

Being full time, we have an external wi fi roof mounted antenna.    pdqconnect.com   We are on year two with it. Very robust product. It is a PDQ ALFA, and has been in constant use for 18 months. Works like a charm after the initial set up learning curve with the clunky software provided. I may be naive, but I am under the assumption, uh oh, there's that word again, that the PDQ router and password gives our computers   a layer of protection from the outside world . I certainly hope so.  No one has drained our muti million dollar bank accounts yet. It has been a great tool in rv parks where service is capped at 3 mbps per  and there is heavy usage. Seems to put us first "in line" providing the max speed allowed by the park. 3 mbps seems to be a speed for downloading with no buffering.  Mrs Cobham watches her videos and movies with little issue most of the time. Being a dinosaur, I have waited ( put off) 18 months to hook up our Roku, and Amazon Fire Stick to this system, but maybe soon !

[Land Yacht]

Being in the high tech business and full timing for 18 months now while working for an Internet equipment provider, I will offer my experience. This is no longer rocket science unless you venture off the beaten path a lot. I have successfully used AT&T MiFi with an unlimited data plan for both video conferencing at work and TV streaming. I started out with Wifi extender and both Verizon and AT&T MiFi cards, but have only needed AT&T. I use an app from rvmobileinternet.com to determine all 4 major carriers coverage in the area I want to visit.

Also, in selecting a data package, network management is OK after 25GB of data, but throttling is never good. Network Management just kicks in congested areas, otherwise you have full bandwidth.

AT&T owns DirecTV, we have subscribed to DirecTV Now streaming for only $15 per month with no need for an expensive dish on the roof. Bear in mind we are not big TV people. This solution may not be adequate for some.

We also subscribe to Hulu and Amazon Prime Music and Video, and play through an AppleTV.

We have used about 300GB of data monthly for a year from AT&T with no issues. I still have a Verizon MiFi card as backup for work but have not used it.

My experience says forget about WiFi and even cellular booster equipment unless you spend a lot of time in rural areas with poor cell coverage. A new MiFi card sitting on the dash works perfectly well. Keeping it simple and inexpensive.

[pairodice]

I always hope that the internet service at RV Parks is fast enough to stream (or work remotely). Very seldom does that wish materialize. We are on Verizon’s (limited) unlimited plan and pay dearly each month to use it. I have tried a few times to stream on it and found it completely worthless. Not sure if an external antenna for the phone/modem would give me any better service. I have a Verizon wireless router that I may try soon to see if it works better. Maybe I will take both our iPads off the plan and add the wireless modem (if they still support it) and try that. Maybe 5g will be the answer to all our hopes and dreams but until then I’m just trying to stream Ground Hog Day!

[Fulltiming]

Don't hold your breath on 5G anytime soon in anything but major metropolitan areas. Typically 5G antennas are about a block apart (500'). Think of the infrastructure to put that along a major interstate.

You may find that an external antenna will help your 4G signal significantly.

[Land Yacht]

I always hope that the internet service at RV Parks is fast enough to stream (or work remotely).  Very seldom does that wish materialize.  We are on Verizon’s (limited) unlimited plan and pay dearly each month to use it.  I have tried a few times to stream on it and found it completely worthless.  Not sure if an external antenna for the phone/modem would give me any better service.  I have a Verizon wireless router that I may try soon to see if it works better.  Maybe I will take both our iPads off the plan and add the wireless modem (if they still support it) and try that.  Maybe 5g will be the answer to all our hopes and dreams but until then I’m just trying to stream Ground Hog Day!

We have 2 phones and a MiFi card on Verizon. The MiFi is a backup to my unlimited AT&T main device, but I have used it for streaming successfully. You are streaming directly to your iPads? Something is obviously not right, it does not take much bandwidth to stream. Try loading an app called Speedtest. The main reason for not being able to stream would be you are on a very congested tower, or you have been throttled to a slow speed due to your Plan. Verizon just came out with a good prepaid MiFi unlimited plan, but their post paid plans are expensive. Check out rvmobileinternet.com for unlimited data plan options.

[Dhead]

I am ordering a WiFi Ranger package - the Everest Pack. External and internal design. Winegard bought these guys out last year.
WiFi Ranger.
They just updated firmware that will include 5G, but 5G tends to be very thin except for T-Mobile.
We use the Smart TVs - mostly Samsung. We also use Apple TV on the non smart, and my old Samsung which is barely smart but a great picture.
If you have Spectrum and plan on using their app, you are limited to a Samsung or an Apple TV.

[CaptainGizmo]

I've made a video that specially addresses your question. This topic runs rampant on iRV2 and RVForums, but my video is designed to boil it down to something simple for the majority to understand. There are many different modifications; all of which will confuse the heck out of you, not to mention start a Chevy vs. Ford argument.

To answer your question via "words"...watch how you spend your money. This is why:

A smartTV has built in apps and functionality that an AppleTV has, but NOWHERE near as robust. So, if you're planning on a device such as AppleTV to do all your streaming, then paying for an "smartTV" is a waste of money. Just get a good HD or 4K TV instead.

Roof antennas are NOT needed when you buy a high-end mobile router, such as PepWave or CradlePoint. They have paddle antennas that do a fine job in most instances.

I've been successfully streaming HD content via YoutubeTV for 3 years now, using the PepWave routers with nothing else.

Enjoy this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AGPsMhFeuU