Forum Discussion

kaj1234's avatar
kaj1234
Freshman
8 years ago

Some thoughts after 3 months usage

Cut the cord with Centurylink DSL and Directv in September, and also cancelled and line phone service.

 

Some notes:

 

After the initial month of usage and downloading it didn't take long to hit the FAP in that 2nd month.  Went through the trial periods of several plans-Hulu, Sling, HBO Now, Playstation Vue, and Directv Now trying to settle on the best streaming plans.  Already subscribed to Amazon Prime and Netflix.  Initially settled on Playstation Vue not so much for the range of networks provided but because they provided the best streaming signal with minimal buffering, 'DVR' capability, and user interface through my Roku boxes.  Currently using Directv Now and anticipating some improvements ('DVR') when they roll the new app out in 2018.  Some of the streaming services do things with the signal.  As an example you can watch the Weather Nation Channel pretty much anytime of the day and it is a pretty sharp signal.  Watching that same channel through a streaming provider and it is almost unwatchable-choppy, buffering, bad audio.

 

My plan is the 30gb/month w/50GB bonus.  Initially I had the 20 GB plan but soon realized that with two active users in the house we would blow by that in 20 days.  Just daily usage without streaming videos runs roughly 1 GB a day.  That leaves the 50 GB for video streaming, OS upgrades, and other software upgrades.  Streaming video at some medium quality as a rule-of-thumb burns about 1GB/hour.  So in general we only download one show a day.  Netflix and Amazon are ad free but most of the other streaming packages include ads.  When possible it is worth paying the extra (Hulu Plus) for ad free streaming so you don't pay for the bandwidth hit.

 

There is not sufficient bandwidth to stream any video or on demand video in the evening.  Shows are choppy, too much buffereing and basically impossible to watch. Anywhere between 6p and midnight is a bust.  End up watching a lot of shows in the morning, 4-8a.  Luckily the pets oblige by getting everyone up.

 

I thought I had the FAP problem solved when I was hit with it a second time.  I did not properly exit a streaming app on the Roku box and the streaming provider was still streaming in autoplay mode.  This happened two nights and I burned about 25GB. So, turn off the autoplay mode, exit the apps properly (don't just turn off the tv), and check your data usage regularily.  Initially I was going to insert another router in the stream and monitor the usage of each device but decided not to.  I've already got another router in the mix running a wifi mesh network.

 

Where some of the streaming packages are inconsistent is with closed captions.  Amazon, Netflix, Hulu allow you to set those parameters up front so all shows stream with closed captions.  Others like Directv Now and USA Network have to be set at the beginning of each show.

 

Local channels are OTA and captured with a Tablo receiver and hard disk.  The DVR commands work pretty well and allow us to program and save local channel shows just like we could with Directv satellite.  Actually the video quality is better.

 

Also the data usage monitor doesn't play well on my mac or pc.  Java script errors was the last message I got.  Had to remove them.

 

 

  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    Distinguished Professor IV
    8 years ago

    Very informative.  

     

    And, though this isn't the Tech Support section, I may be able to help with the Javascript error with the Usage Meter.  It's actually an issue known to hit some systems.  Why, and why it only affects some, I have no idea.  I'll paste the instructions to fix it below, which were written in another thread by MarkJFine.   

     

    And, to see the AppData folder referenced in the instructions, you may need to change your folder view settings to show "hidden items."  In Windoows 10, when in C, click "View" (at the top) and then check the "Hidden items" box over to the right.  After you're finished, it would be a good idea to uncheck that to rehide the things that shouldn't normally be shown.  Other versions of Windows should be similar in showing the hidden folders.

     

     

    1. Fully quit the Usage Meter from it's own menu by clicking on the donut in the menubar and clicking "Quit".
    2. Look for the following directory
       Windows: C:\Users\[your User name]\AppData\Roaming\
       Mac: /Users/[your User name]/Library/Application Support/
    3. Carefully delete just the "HughesNet Usage Meter" directory under that and empty the trash.
    4. Restart the Usage Meter. This will regenerate all the underlying information as if it were run for the first time, thus correcting the error.

     

  • alfresco's avatar
    alfresco
    Senior
    8 years ago

    Speaking of auto play is there a way to permantly turn it off on youtube? My wife fell asleep and it played for quite a while. Aaaarg.

    • GabeU's avatar
      GabeU
      Distinguished Professor IV
      8 years ago

      You're in luck!  LOL.

       

      While watching a video, there's an "autoplay" button on the upper right.  Turn it off and this will stop addtional videos from playing after your current one is over, and the setting will save for all future video viewing.