Netflix, Satellites and other TV access whilst in a caravan park or travelling - member advice.

Pradokakadudavid · Senior Member

Netflix, Satellites and other TV access whilst in a caravan park or travelling - member advice.

KFT · Guru

Hi David;

The questions you have asked are quite relevant to today's Travellers so I hope my answers will assist you and maybe others as well.

1. Is a satellite dish or just a normal TV aerial the best way to access TV when in a caravan park or free camping and what are the advantages and disadvantages and costs of each of these?
Most of the cp's I have stayed in have terrible Tv reception. Some provide a cable feed to your van from a master antenna and this works well for local channels. We use the VAST satellite system and a portable dish and also take the Avstar box with us. A good satellite system can be seen at www.satplus.com.au and also at www.accessantennas.com.au
these two companies have an excellent reputation among us for providing quality equipment at fair prices and excellent after sales service & support.

2. Is it viable to access Netflix etc via a free Wi Fi service in a caravan park or does their download speed potentially make this unviable?

I don't use netflix but I can say that most cp wifi networks are notoriously slow. We use a Telstra wireless broadband device and occasionally an external antenna.

3. Is there a way to access Netflix in any other way other than using a caravan park's Wi Fi (I know I can do this using my phone but this kind of internet access may be cost ineffective).
You will need a wireless broadband device and a good signal to make it work when out and about.

4. When I buy a new caravan, is it better to go straight for a satellite dish on purchase or is it cheaper to source these elsewhere?
I would certainly do the install aftermarket. Satplus do installs and their work is top notch.

Hope that helps you decide. Please do take a look at what is available from those to companies.

Frank

lizard · Veteran Member

Good topic ..... apparently you can prerecord Netflix , to watch later on the road ..... www.playon.tv/how-to-guide/how-to-download-and-watch-netflix-offline am thinking of trying this - anyone tried it ?

Pradokakadudavid · Senior Member

Excellent thanks.

Certainly confirmed what I assumed would be the case.

Cheers.

David

JayDee · Guru

We have Foxtel, and we take the box with us.

Must look into this Netflex and the recording idea.

jay&Dee

Meredith · Senior Member

Most caravan park free wifi is very slow, unreliable, can often only be accessed right near reception for instance, and usually has a low daily limit per account of around 200mb. I've never found one which would be any use at all in streaming anything. We access the internet through our phone, having a plan with the download limit you need is normally going to be the most cost effective option these days. If you are travelling away from the east coast and major towns then Telstra is usually the only reliable option.

TheHeaths · Guru

David,

my take on TV reception.

1) Van based TV antenna is fine in most town locations, but you lose signal very quickly once on the road and outside towns. The VAST system seems to be the way to go via satellite. We have just bought a second hand system with portable dish, Satking box, satellite finder and cables. The advantages of the portable dish are 1) you can park in the shade and put it out in the sun, 2) the cost is much lower (from about $600). The disadvantage is 1)you have to find somewhere to store and carry it and 2) set up is manual.

Very pleased with our purchase as it all works, and is set up and registered to us, and came in at $350 all up with a few bits I wanted to add. We were lucky to get it local from a very nice caravanner who had finished with it. PS. we don't watch a lot of TV but do like access to news and documentaries at times when more remote.

2) I have never been to a caravan park where the free WiFi would be remotely good enough to stream Stan or Netflix. Poor speed and very low allowance. But it is free and comes in handy for updating pads etc.

3) Don't know about this.

4) As above, I would go with a portable system due to cost of fixed rooftop units, and loss of signal when under trees etc. I can remember getting a good laugh a couple of years ago as a roof top dish spun and went up and down for 10 minutes on the roof of a caravan near us at a park in Kununurra trying to find the satellite. The owner gave up after 10 minutes and used an aerial for local TV! I know, not nice of me but was nearly as much fun as a morning at a boat ramp, or watching the afternoon parking rush at a caravan park! (My wife really thinks I am a b*****d at times!)

Hope this gives you some information to consider.

-- Edited by TheHeaths on Tuesday 9th of January 2018 11:44:05 AM

lizard · Veteran Member

had a quick play , I think Apowersoft is better record option - seems to work & free , the Playon one require spayment

Cupie · Guru

David ..

Fortunately we are all different and that applies to our need for TV as well.

In our case SWMBO & I watch different programs (and in different rooms) when at home. So when we are caravanning she has ownership of the TV & I read or on rare occasions watch movies on my lap top. I have heaps of pre recorded movies etc.

We have always used a Winegard antenna on the van & stay at CPs where we usually have good to very good reception, especially since the digital roll out. Most towns have good TV reception these days. Perhaps not out in the bush though.

I certainly don't miss TV. Get a Kindle e Reader

Others are correct in that CP free WiFi is largely useless. Very slow, unreliable & with limited daily data allowance. Certainly of no use for streaming et al.

I can't help with respect to your questions relating to internet streaming / satellite reception.

If you really need TV then where there's a Pub then there's almost certainly TV ... as well as lots of local entertainment.

Nurzo · Member

Here in the West if you don't have sat TV you generally have no TV.
We take our Foxtel box and also have a Vast box, which is not usually used.
Have a extra clamp as far forward on the draw bar as possible. For traveling have a clamp on the rear bumper with a detachable LNB arm, the dish face sits about 40mm from the back wall of the van .
So far I've always been able to position the van for reception. My previous van, pop top, I got 360* reception from the dish on a 1.2m ally pipe, don't know yet with the full sized van.

Steve

PeterD · Guru

Cupie wrote:
Others are correct in that CP free WiFi is largely useless. Very slow, unreliable & with limited daily data allowance. Certainly of no use for streaming et al.

I don't think the others are correct. The park free WiFi is not provided for streaming video. It's there to provide internet communication not watch movies. I find that most times I can answer emails an do a fair bit on the forums. I don't participate in the few connections I have had that want to charge you. Generally the navigator uses the parks connection and I use ours when there is only a few hundred MB allowance.

What you have to be careful is to select the option in your settings to prevent Micro$oft updates when you are on those limited services. You can blow your allowance in the first few minutes if they hit you with an update.

Pradokakadudavid · Senior Member

Thanks everyone.

These are great ideas for the future and confirm what I expected.

I think the unlimited, Telstra mobile phone to download with is the best option but the roof top satellite is definitely worth investigating as well.

For the record, the only thing I EVER watch on TV is the channel 2 news (although this is fast becoming as bad as the rest) and the AFL football.

Cheers.

David

Dickodownunder · Guru

Pradokakadudavid wrote:
Thanks everyone.
These are great ideas for the future and confirm what I expected.
I think the unlimited, Telstra mobile phone to download with is the best option but the roof top satellite is definitely worth investigating as well.
For the record, the only thing I EVER watch on TV is the channel 2 news (although this is fast becoming as bad as the rest) and the AFL football.
Cheers.
David

AFL and NRL have been streamed free of charge to Telstra customers over the last two seasons. It will remain to be seen if it happns again this year.

Both transmissions cannot be distributed through Chromecast or similar but can be watched directly on your device provided you have phone service.

Most caravan park wifi is limited to around 200 mb a day which would get you about 15 minutes into a movie if you are lucky.