Liveaboard TV

[X Fernandez]

Sorry if this is a subject already addressed, I searched the forum but didn’t come up with much.

What is the best TV source for liveaboards? I’m guessing 95 percent in a slip, but I’d upgrade to something that can handle a little wobble on the hook if it won’t break the bank. I’m just trying to make sure I can get all my basketball games in.

I’ve seen some articles but none that seem to give real life perspective.

Thanks in advance,

X

[Reefmagnet]

TV set isn't that important. Preferably something that can run directly of your DC house voltage and that doesn't extend your power budget. What is important is how you mount it. You'll want a sturdy VESA mount with ability to adjust as needed to attach it to a bulk head or horizontal surface as required. If you need an antenna, you want an omni-directional style with built in amplifier that you can mount, preferably, up at the top of the mast.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, X.

Has 2 TVs aboard, but never used at anchor.

[X Fernandez]

I didn’t ask the question the right way.

I’m trying to get some sort of cable tv setup for my boat. Some marinas have it, others don’t. I see some folks with a dish mounted on their dock. And of course there are dishes/domes on all the mega yachts. I’m curious to hear the experience of anyone who has one of the setups, or someone else who has figured out an easier way to get cable.

March Madness starts soon

X

[sailorboy1]

I have a TV antenna I put up once in a while, but which rarely is worth the trouble. But really mostly use my unlimited phone data plan and miracast that to my TV set. After that it all depends on what internet service you subscribe to. I currently have CBS, Netflix, Hulu (with live TV), Amazon Prime, HBO Max (some are using relatives accts)

[Sailmonkey]

The gyro stabilized dishes are quite good, but also quite expensive.

Really depends on how badly you need to watch games.

[valhalla360]

Not sure if they are still in production be we had one of these. It only tracks left/right not up down but with a small catamaran, if the up down was a problem, we probably weren't anchored there.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...em-119486.html

Of course that was several years ago.
- At dock 95% of the time, if it's the same home dock, they might have a cable connection you can plug into. If you are moving around a lot, that's not as viable.
- We've mostly switched to internet based sources. It has it's limits though as true unlimited cellular isn't available. You have to manage the situation. For example, on youtube, you can downgrade the video quality to reduce data usage. Likewise, you can often download videos for later watching. So if you stop by McDs or similar place with free highspeed wifi, you can download several hours of video in 10-15minutes. Just a matter of signing up for the right sources and figuring out the downloading.

[X Fernandez]

Good stuff so far. Track it TV is out of business, but I’ll keep an eye out for a used one.

X

[jeff356]

Have a Glomex antenna at the top of the mast and get local digital TV feeds, streaming for Sling, Netflix, etc. and integrated DVD player in the 12 volt Skyworth TV mounted on a arm.

Gives plenty of options if you want to watch something...

Jeff

[GordMay]

Do you want an “over the air”, or a “satellite dish” TV antenna, to mount on your dock (when cable not available)?

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[SDsailor50]

I do the same as SailorBoy. I have found that I can get most anything I want streaming through my phone (Samsung Galaxy 20 with unlimited Data Plan) anyplace I can get Cellphone Reception. I have found that Fubu TV has a lot of the games I want to watch.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

... It has it's limits though as true unlimited cellular isn't available...

There is in the US but one has to look.

Our primary Internet connectivity is via cell service and it is unlimited. We have been using this ISP, https://www.ubifi.net/, for well over year, or maybe two, and we are consuming around 150GB+ per month with no problem at all. I have not checked the data usage in a few months but I do track what we use.

It is not cheap, $89 US a month, you have to buy a device(MoFi) to get the service and I suspect if there is a problem it is up to you to fix it, but we have not really had a problem. The only issue we had was for 4-6 weeks my VPN connection to work would drop. Ironically, the solution to fix the problem was to use a VPN. I THINK one of my VPN connections to work was routing non work traffic off the VPN and this caused a problem so I used a different connection. Our non work laptops use VPNs as well.

We stream video on multiple laptops and TVs and have not had a problem.

I have read of similar ISPs that are cheaper, but this the one we use, at least until we can get StarLink.

We traveled to another state with the MoFi and lived on a boat for a week. Just plugged in the MoFi and we had our Internet network.

Later,
Dan

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

- We've mostly switched to internet based sources. It has it's limits though as true unlimited cellular isn't available. .

people say this but I have never experienced a slow down and we probably stream 3-4 hours/day plus hot spot use with our phones

I think the slowdowns happen mostly in places with a big population that result is a tower having lots of people connected to it

I have seen quality reductions, but even then it seemed as much an issue with that provider and not the phone speed as a change from Amazon top Netflix would change the quality

[dannc]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

people say this but I have never experienced a slow down and we probably stream 3-4 hours/day plus hot spot use with our phones

I think the slowdowns happen mostly in places with a big population that result is a tower having lots of people connected to it

Not sure it has to be a "big" population either. What ever "big" means. We had network slow downs when we had Internet service from cable TV, our super slow DSL, and our cell ISP slows down too. When we were speed testing our cell connection with the cells phones and with the MoFi connected to the ISP, we would see a range of data transmission speeds. From memory, it was mostly 6-18 mbps. Which is far better than the 1.5 mbps we get on DSL.

The slow speeds, pre lock down, were usually late in the afternoon and early evening.

I suspect many people in my area are hitting the cell tower for internet service because the only ground base ISP stinks.

Later,
Dan

[sailorboy1]

I don't consider 6-18 mbps a slowdown. Just a couple of years ago the higher end marinas said their wifi was fast if it did 2 mbps.