Satellite dish v 4g and fire stick

Happy1

Happy1

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Can’t decide between the two, sat dish is expensive with limited channels, fire stick is cheap and more choice if you get a signal.
Anyone found a provider that gives proper unlimited data in EU, most offer that in uk but limit eu to 12/15g.
Recently went over watching films in uk and got stung for £70 extra in data costs:(
 
Happy1 said:
Can’t decide between the two, sat dish is expensive with limited channels, fire stick is cheap and more choice if you get a signal.
Anyone found a provider that gives proper unlimited data in EU, most offer that in uk but limit eu to 12/15g.
Recently went over watching films in uk and got stung for £70 extra in data costs:(
Click to expand...

You don't say where in the EU you are planning on going. Your satellite choices are limited as you go south. Firestick works fine but in my experience is very data hungry. Also depends on how long you are planning on being away, many suppliers limit package deal roaming to two months then charge the base rate for data which can work out very expensive even at UK prices
 
Vodafone has no roaming limits so ideal for steaming and you can have a 30 day contract , so only need to pay for when you need it.

Far better than a Firestick would be an Android TV box, I have one with 64 gb of memory and and SD card slot.

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TV over a data connection uses a LOT of data. my suggestion would be to go for as large a dish you can afford BUT realise you will get less channels the further you travel away from the uk - but they are free! if youre desperate to watch 'live' tv (for sports ?) you can usually find somewhere local to watch if you look hard enough.

on some campsites they advertise that wifi is available but some don't allow tv devices to be connected as they often require a 'windows or browser' type connection to enter passwords etc but you could always watch through a laptop?

I havent tried a fire stick but intend doing next time I go out and see if I can connect to the provided campsite internet,

Lenny, I also tried a android/internet tv box and couldn't link it through the campsite wifi as it needed a windows type browser, but I am sure there is a way somehow !!
 
4g aerial + mifi, Vodafone sim and tv/films via data would be my vote.

Less outlay, no setup every time, not effected by trees/shade, works every where (so far for us), less roof space used, simple to install.

We find 1hr of tv/film is 1gb
 
Virgin limited to 9.61g in eu!!
Mifi 4g antennae on roof with twin send/receive so supper fast 4g to router in van then WiFi throughout van
Just need the data in Eu, plenty of deals for uk but Eu limited

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Figaro said:
What sort of 4g aerial please ?
Click to expand...
I have the Poynting MIMO, you need to add another £25-£40 to the cost for connecting leads. Works very well, up in the mountinswith no coms or data signals on our phones picked up 3g on my mifi via the aerial.
 
Spoken with motorhome WiFi they suggest vodaphone 50g at 30pm rolling 30 day contract no limit in Eu, unlimited in Eu does not exist
 
I got what I think is a good deal from Vodafone with 65Gb data, unlimited calls and texts for £25 pm.
4G all over Europe and no restrictions on data use abroad.
If you phone Vodafone they have lots of deals that you won't find on the website. You just have to negotiate a bit.
As an alternative Carphone Warehouse also have some very good deals.

Richard.
 
Just back from Scotland where we used the Firestick sometimes..... it worked very well via mifi box with vodaphone data sim, however, it did take around 2gb data an hour. We are 50g 30 day contract and have also used it in Portugal and Turkey. As somebody else suggested it might be worth seeing If vodaphone would increase the data allowance.

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We had a sat dish on our old van (full time with it for 3 years), but got fed up with trying to get a decent signal in southern Spain (anywhere further south than mid France really). Skew this, retune that, move pitch etc - then we could only get free channels and no BBC etc. When we got this van we decided to use a MiFi with voda Phone 50gb monthly contract, and site WiFi combined with dvds and a Humax pvr box filled up at home. We are coming to the end of out three months winter trip, and are watching itv live via the site WiFi as we speak. It’s been so much more relaxing than the constant fight to get a satellite signal, and most of the sites we’ve used have had good WiFi. We have saved our vodaphone allowance for when we are not on sites, and it’s worked really well. Does take about 1.5gb per hour, but if you know that you can use accordingly! With a vpn we watch all the main channels, as well as Netflix and prime.
 
This from vodaphone, max 50g on sim only, plus an iphone to sell on ebay?

On 24 Months contract, we offer Apple iPhone 8 64GB with

Unlimited Minutes, Unlimited Text & 100GB data for £56/mo. with £9

upfront Cost.
 
Happy1 said:
Can’t decide between the two, sat dish is expensive with limited channels, fire stick is cheap and more choice if you get a signal.
Anyone found a provider that gives proper unlimited data in EU, most offer that in uk but limit eu to 12/15g.
Recently went over watching films in uk and got stung for £70 extra in data costs:(
Click to expand...
Why don't you set a date limit seems bonkers to write a blank cheque
 
Have already been in contact with Three and Virgin Media , to explore and possibly negotiate a deal , based upon our wanting to get rid of our home landline broadband and move to sim based . Then use firestick or whatever for streaming TV etc when we are away from home

After reading this thread I contacted vodaphone. Maybe it depends on the representative you get connected to , but there was no increase offered on data , even after my explaining our data usage etc. The rep simply tried to push an "entertainment pack" for an extra £15 per month on top of the 50gb for £30 .

So far Three and virgin media are possibles , via the Three unlimited at £20 per month or Virgin media 120Gb per month ( with unused data etc rolled over to the next month ) ........ Difference being Threes 3G only if used in EU . Virgin using the EE network with full 4G when used in Europe......Virgin media actually do have a unlimited data plan at £25 per month , but it is restricted to present customers only. The rep we spoke with was adamant they could not offer it to new customers.....

The whole thing from suppliers is swings and roundabouts , dependant on your usage needs . But there does seem to be a general shift towards more suppliers offering very much increased sim based data plans .
 
Last edited:
tomm said:
Have already been in contact with Three and Virgin Media , to explore and possibly negotiate a deal , based upon our wanting to get rid of our home landline broadband and move to sim based . Then use firestick or whatever for streaming TV etc when we are away from home

After reading this thread I contacted vodaphone. Maybe it depends on the representative you get connected to , but there was no increase offered on data , even after my explaining our data usage etc. The rep simply tried to push an "entertainment pack" for an extra £15 per month on top of the 50gb for £30 .

So far Three and virgin media are possibles , via the Three unlimited at £20 per month or Virgin media 120Gb per month ( with unused data etc rolled over to the next month ) ........ Difference being Threes 3G only if used in EU . Virgin using the EE network with full 4G when used in Europe......Virgin media actually do have a unlimited data plan at £25 per month , but it is restricted to present customers only. The rep we spoke with was adamant they could not offer it to new customers.....

The whole thing from suppliers is swings and roundabouts , dependant on your usage needs . But there does seem to be a general shift towards more suppliers offering very much increased sim based data plans .
Click to expand...
The Virgin 120gb offer is available to new customers, its on the internet, but the unlimited data which is also on the internet is indeed limited to existing customers. I would suggest an examination of their "fair use policy". It is a 4 month rolling analysis, on both presence i the UK and data use in the UK compared to roaming, onerous if not draconian was my interpretation.
 
maxi77 said:
From my experience with a firestick that would not give you all evening watching.
Click to expand...
wow !!! really ??? I've never used the tinternet for the telly so no experience, as a guide, to watch 3 hours of tv how many GB's would one need approximately, does it vary from films to documentaries to news channels to sports ?? Ta very muchly

phil
 
sallylillian said:
an examination of their "fair use policy". It is a 4 month rolling analysis, on both presence i the UK and data use in the UK compared to roaming, onerous if not draconian was my interpretation.
Click to expand...

I would agree with your interpretation , as I actually specifically requested further details and confirmation of their "rolling 4 months" "checks" . As I had found their fair use policy to be a study in interpreting accurately. I was supposed to receive a return call from them regarding this and a couple of other questions I had . My request was around 1 week ago, to date no call from them
 
jetlag03 said:
wow !!! really ??? I've never used the tinternet for the telly so no experience, as a guide, to watch 3 hours of tv how many GB's would one need approximately, does it vary from films to documentaries to news channels to sports ?? Ta very muchly

phil
Click to expand...
About 1.5 gb per hour for catch up tv (slightly more for iPlayer - it’s data hungry), and about 1gb per hour for Netflix or Prime.

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The Wino said:
Why don't you set a date limit seems bonkers to write a blank cheque
Click to expand...

Router notified us but my phone was not connected to it so didn’t receive them unfortunately
 
Lenny, just been Googling, Firestick is an Android TV device, anf whats more:-
The best Android TV boxes
1. Amazon Fire TV Stick (2017): Flexible, stable and easily available
Price when reviewed: £40

Okay, so the Fire TV Stick is a stick, not a box, and it doesn’t look like an Android device, either. Yet under Amazon’s custom interface you’ll find Google’s operating system, plus Kodi and a range of other TV-friendly apps sitting in the Amazon app store. You can easily sideload any other apps you want to install.

The entry-level Fire TV Stick is slightly underpowered by Android TV box standards, with just 1GB of RAM. However, Amazon is about to launch a new 4K version with 1.5GB and support for 4K video through YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime. The old 4K Fire TV box is also worth getting if you spot one on eBay. This has a slightly slower processor but twice as much RAM.

Key specs – Core spec: Quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi;Operating system: Fire OS 6.2.1 Core apps:Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, Demand 5, Plex;Voice-enabled remote:Yes
 
jetlag03 said:
wow !!! really ??? I've never used the tinternet for the telly so no experience, as a guide, to watch 3 hours of tv how many GB's would one need approximately, does it vary from films to documentaries to news channels to sports ?? Ta very muchly

phil
Click to expand...


We used a Firestick all Xmas and new year whilst in France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. We watched films, but mostly live tv, and catch up and we used less than 1Gb per hour. We do set it to it’s lowest resolution, but don’t notice any less quality though.

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