[AL]

Thanks guys, I’ll stick with what I have.

[Archived]

I called DirecTV today to change my local service address and while I wasn’t running a stopwatch, I had a human on the phone within 60 seconds and it’s safe to say the entire process took less than six minutes.

[Reagan]

Andy, same experience…last time I timed it…3min6sec at Bella Terra….Jon still did’nt believe me. Geo.

[Archived]

Hey George and Andy, what you’re speaking is just dandy!

I too called DirecTV and had similar response time and handling. I signed up for what they call “Seasonal Home Account” for $80 bucks a month. And if you’re not using it you can call them and not be charged the $80 bucks. They also come out to the bus and install it and I like that as well.

Now I come to the part of my presentation thats really difficult for most of us to stomach! And that is of course saying something that comes close to a statement that Jon was right! But here we go…

Back at the beginning of the thread, March 21st to be exact, Jon said and I quote “Isn’t it only a question of time when nobody will use satellite or antennas, but will be watching shows, news, listening to music, etc. from devices like MiFi or phones?”

He’s more righter than a Tennessee spider on that one! Because if you’re streaming you ain’t just ah dreaming. There’s very little you can’t do without a dish on the roof today…

I’m really sorry I said something so offensive on the forum like “Jon being right”! It does not come natural to any of us and I can only ask your forgiveness!

Oh and I almost forget, take your release papers or your current ID if active to an AT&T retail store and you’ll get 15% off your monthly bill. Not to shabby, thanks AT&T!

Harry

[Archived]

Harry and All,

I’m getting close to completing a test of a service that allows unlimited streaming of various well known services at no additional cost to the plan without throttling the service. I think I may have stumbled on a way to do this and allow the content to stream on the coach’s TV’s, so that you’re not confined to watch the movies or TV shows on a phone or a tablet.

When I was experimenting with this (tests currently in progress), the tech at Marathon stated this wouldn’t work and couldn’t be done without eating costly bandwidth and generating over-charges. He was surprised when I showed him how I got the content from my iPhone to the big TV without an outside WiFi connection. Yes, I like a challenge and within another week or so, I’ll know if the tests are successful and I’ll share the plan details and the setup process.

I’m also testing an “unlimited” hotspot plan to see if it’s truly unlimited and doesn’t throttle the bandwidth with the limit is reached. I stumbled on this plan by accident and so far, it’s working well.

To get back to Harry’s and Jon’s statement about not needing a satellite in the future, in my opinion, that’s both correct and incorrect. As we know, cell service can be spotty and while there’s numerous methods under development to greatly increase WiFi coverage in the future as well as plans to open new wireless spectrums, it will take a while. Other than adverse weather conditions and those pesky trees that block the signal, having a satellite system (or two) on a bus is a fairly reliable method of getting live TV in the bus as many parks are not in what the providers consider primary service areas.

I’ll add, that some of the popular wireless services can get overloaded if too many people are using the service simultaneously. For example, can you imagine how many people will be using the same wireless service at a national meetup? This is why I was watching that FMCA/Verizon offer so closely as if it would have succeeded, I was wondering how it would work when a few hundred attendees were using the same service at the FMCA national rally.

[Jim/Chris]

Andy,

I have been using a iPhone to HDMI conversion cable for a couple years now. That works very well for streaming Netflix or Hulu to the TV on the bus. It even has a charger port to keep the phone or tablet battery charged. Works well as long as I have a couple bars signal strength. Can also view pictures and any other content that is on the phone or tablet on the TV.

We have an old unlimited plan, Which they have tried to get us to switch, By offering new phones. I do believe it is throttled after a certain limit is reached however. Not sure ? Looking forward to hearing more about Your setup.

Safe travels,

Rocky

[Archived]

Keep us posted Andy..

[Archived]

Please correct me if I’m wrong. But isn’t this the first positive experience Harry has had with his coach since he left Austin, TX? If it is, this is a true milestone for Harry and a watershed moment of his Prevost ownership.