Forum Discussion

GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV
8 years ago

Streaming experience....

For the first time I tried the On Demand option with my DirecTV.  I wasn't planning on leaving the service connected, but only try it to see how well it worked with Gen5.  It worked well, but it chewed right through the data as there is no way to adjust the resolution with DTV's On Demnad Service.  I streamed a 43 minute episode of LockUp and it used about 700MB of data, but it only took a few minutes to download the entire episode.  It went very well.  

 

Then the bad, though this has nothing to do with Hughesnet.  I reset the network settings on the DTV Genie, which cut the connection, but it kept trying to reconnect with just about everything I did thereafter, or at least asking me if I wanted to reconnect, over and over again.  After a couple of hours of getting really annoyed and trying everything and anything to stop it, I ended up doing a complete factory reset, losing everything I had recorded on my DVR.  It wasn't that big of a deal as there was nothing on there that isn't going to be on again within the next couple of weeks, but it was a bit annoying, nonetheless.  

 

But, at least now I know that streaming works well with Gen5.  I have a Netflix app on my Smart TV, and I know that I can adjust the definition at the source with Netflix, so I may very well sign up for Netflix and do some occasional streaming.  

 

  • BirdDog's avatar
    BirdDog
    Assistant Professor
    8 years ago

    Gabe, my experience Netflix uses about 250MB for a 45 minute show set to low definition. They also have a new download option for many shows.

     

    I like the way once the playback definition is set I don't have to worry about it no matter which device I'm using: laptop, TV, tablet, etc.

     

    Don't have DirecTV so that's one thing I don't need to worry about eating data without knowing. They do have a streaming service called DirecTV Now but have no idea if the user can manually set the definition being sent.

     

    PS: Streaming works fine on my Gen 4 also. :smileyhappy:

    • Gwalk900's avatar
      Gwalk900
      Honorary Alumnus
      8 years ago

      Streaming video on a data capped service reminds me of a Bugatti Veyron. The thing will go 253 miles per hour but will burn its entire 26 gallon fuel load in only 19 minutes.

      While it is possible, its just not practical.

      • C0RR0SIVE's avatar
        C0RR0SIVE
        Associate Professor
        8 years ago

        Just throwing this out there... The Video Data Saver will work with all web-based streams from what I can tell... Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, ESPN, and so on.  DTV On Demand and similar don't use a web-based stream to show movies, it's a straight up download of a pre-set size.  So test the smart-tv with the video saver function, and make sure you leave Netflix on "Auto"!

  • maratsade's avatar
    maratsade
    Distinguished Professor IV
    8 years ago
    GabeU wrote:

    For the first time I tried the On Demand option with my DirecTV.  I wasn't planning on leaving the service connected, but only try it to see how well it worked with Gen5.  It worked well, but it chewed right through the data as there is no way to adjust the resolution with DTV's On Demnad Service.  I streamed a 43 minute episode of LockUp and it used about 700MB of data, but it only took a few minutes to download the entire episode.  It went very well.  

     

    Then the bad, though this has nothing to do with Hughesnet.  I reset the network settings on the DTV Genie, which cut the connection, but it kept trying to reconnect with just about everything I did thereafter, or at least asking me if I wanted to reconnect, over and over again.  After a couple of hours of getting really annoyed and trying everything and anything to stop it, I ended up doing a complete factory reset, losing everything I had recorded on my DVR.  It wasn't that big of a deal as there was nothing on there that isn't going to be on again within the next couple of weeks, but it was a bit annoying, nonetheless.  

     

    But, at least now I know that streaming works well with Gen5.  I have a Netflix app on my Smart TV, and I know that I can adjust the definition at the source with Netflix, so I may very well sign up for Netflix and do some occasional streaming.  

     

    I only stream Netflix on the laptop or the iPad.  Sometimes I connect the laptop to the TV set via an hdmi cable, even though my TV can connect to the network and it has Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and other apps there.  I don't want the TV to think it has been given permission to connect to the network whenever it wants, so I have never set it up that way.  

     

    I only stream in low def, even though I now have 50 gigs a month to play with.  I still don't see much difference between LD and HD, to be honest. LD works just fine for me, and I can make the data last longer.