rbertalotto Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I've been a DirecTV NOW subscriber since the service went live a few weeks ago. I've had the opportunity to test it using all sorts of internet connection schemes. I have three hotspots, Verizon, Sprint and recently T-Mobile. All work great from New Hampshire down to Washington DC. This week I'm on a cross country trip from Massachusetts to Arizona. I've used my Iphone, my Ipad Mini and an Amazon Fire Stick to access. All work great. In my trailer I'm using an Apple adapter to send the signal from my Ipad Mini and my Iphone to my TV via HDMI. This works OK, but sometimes the video has glitches and a few times it has locked up.I believe this is an HDMI edid issue and not much you can do about it. So far, easily the best combination has been the T-Mobile hotspot with unlimited streaming and using the Amazon Fire Stick plugged into HDMI with the DirecTV NOW app and WiFi to the T-Mobile hotspot. Fantastic video quality and zero glitches or lock ups. PERFECT! I was able to grab the 6g T-Mobile hotspot offer for $35 a month before it sunsetted on January 22. $35 a month for T Mobile unlimited streaming and $35 a month for DTV-NOW and 100 channels. I also added "Curiosity Stream" app for a ton of science programs and Netflicks for movies. So my total monthly cost for on the road entertainment is: $35 T-Mobile $35 DVT-NOW $10 Curiosity Stream $10 NetFlix $90 Total (and I have 6g of general internet access. Last month I didn't use 4g so 2g gets put in my bank for future use.) So far I've not found any place that T Mobile doesn't work. In fact, I used it on this trip of nearly 2000 mile to run Google Maps as I was driving along. Never lost signal once. Very impressive! I'll be staying in an RV park north of Deming NM and then in a park north of Phoenix. We'll see how well T-Mobile works in these more remote areas. Hope this helps others with the "entertainment" decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker56 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I use 12GB(Exede) for general Internet every month within 14-16 days. It depends on how many updates my Desktop, Laptop, and iPad apps have. Plus I use my Sprint($60) iPhone 3GB Hotspot. Glad it also has unlimited data that is good to check banking etc or watching my DirecTV app and Amazon Prime app. But with 4 days to go before monthly renewal I have only used 10.92GB of the unlimited and 0.15GB of the hotspot. When I start traveling this spring I will also have a T Mobile Hotspot 3GB($30) for areas that the Sprint has no data service. That has only been 2 places so far that T mobile has been needed. And I only spend 1 week in each of them. My WiFiRanger works good in almost all campgrounds with FREE WiFi. But I do have my Trav'ler giving my DirecTV Genie front 55" Smart TV & bedroom H25(24" Smart TV) over 155 channel's plus DNS, HD, DVR and whole home for only $140. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laninga Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Hmm.. I've been interested in DTV NOW but will spend much of my summer in Colorado and Utah. I'm concerned about parking my DTV dish and using only internet when I am unsure of internet quality in my travels. I have Verizon Data as well as the $35 TMobile hotspot, so I'm very interested in how you make out using DTV NOW... == John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laninga Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Started the free 7 day trial and so far unimpressed. Very limited channels available. Local channels available only if you are in your billing zip code area. Doesn't do much for RV'ers... I'll check some more but so far this is useless for me. == John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerboy Posted February 14, 2017 Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 I have T-Mobile... smartphone only Like the price and the data rates. But you were lucky to have T-Mobile signal at all times on your trip. It's still spotty in some areas. In my travels I've had problems in all of West Virginia and large portions of Iowa and rural Illinois. Just no coverage. My girlfriend seems to always have better connectivity with AT&T, but pays a price for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckbear Posted February 14, 2017 Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 While Roy has been promoting DirecTV Now on every RV Discussion Forum about how great it's working for him, the reality is that for many, many, many other folks using the service, it's having lots of problems. From the inherent limitations to days of no service to a multitude of other issues, the reviews are in and they are not good. I only say this because I have no horse in the race and it would be sad if too many of us jump in and cancel our current service and expect DirecTV Now to be the latest and greatest. Especially since it's far from it. I just hope anyone will do their due diligence and make the decision based on unbiased and extensive research before making a decision. Especially since most of us in the RV category are exposed to many, many limitations and challenges when it comes to streaming services compared to traditional forms of entertainment options. A Google search of honest reviews will bring up a wealth of information. Here is just one example. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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