PlayOn Cloud - Hughesnet Community

maratsade · ‎12-27-2018

Has anyone used PlayOn Cloud? According to their site, it's "The mobile app that lets you record and download streaming shows and movies to watch offline."

BirdDog · ‎12-27-2018

I don't use it but there has been lengthy discussion on the "other guys" site about it. Seems it does work and they now let you schedule the time, have to be careful how you watch as it could actually double your data amount (or more) if watching from multiple devices.

https://community.viasat.com/viasat/topics/playon-cloud

https://community.viasat.com/viasat/topics/using-play-on-to-record

maratsade · ‎12-27-2018

Yep, Other Guys is where I learned about it. I thought that after downloading something, you could watch it offline, not using any more data, so thought it might be useful for those "but I can't streaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam" users. They could download during bonus time and watch at any other time. Edit: Since it seems to work for people using Other Guys (whose plans have lower speeds), I was wondering if anyone using HN had used it and if it worked for them.

bjstring · ‎10-10-2020

I don't see a place to ask this question, but maybe someone would be kind enough to answer without complaining. Years ago we had HughesNet and it was possible to download a movie to the tv during the "free" hours (you could even schedule it) and then wacth it later. Is that still possible?

maratsade · ‎10-10-2020

To ask a new question, go to the main page of the section (for example, https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/General-Discussion/bd-p/General) and click on the blue "Start a topic" button. It's best to add a question this way, as otherwise your question may not receive a response.

Are you asking about scheduling someting for download?

@bjstring wrote:
I don't see a place to ask this question, but maybe someone would be kind enough to answer without complaining. Years ago we had HughesNet and it was possible to download a movie to the tv during the "free" hours (you could even schedule it) and then wacth it later. Is that still possible?

GabeU · ‎10-10-2020

@bjstring

HughesNet no longer has the free download manager they used to offer. There are, however, a number of free download managers available, such as Free Download Manager. Whether they will work for what you want, though, I don't know.

For movies and TV shows from many of the most popular streaming platforms you may want to look into the PlayOn Cloud being discussed in this thread. It works quite well, and you can schedule the downloads to happen during the Bonus Zone.

If you have any questions about PlayOn Cloud, such as how to get started and/or how to use it, it would be best to start a new topic in "Third Party Products", which you can do here.

GabeU · ‎12-27-2018

The great thing about PlayOn Cloud is that there is no buffering when watching it, as you download the file and watch it, not the stream. I've been contemplating getting this so I can stream things to the cloud using their mobile app, then download them to my laptop and play them on my TV via HDMI cable. And again, no buffering!

It would be a great way to take full advantage of the Bonus Zone data.

BirdDog · ‎12-27-2018

@GabeU wrote:
The great thing about PlayOn Cloud is that there is no buffering when watching it, as you download the file and watch it, not the stream. I've been contemplating getting this so I can stream things to the cloud using their mobile app, then download them to my laptop and play them on my TV via HDMI cable. And again, no buffering!

It would be a great way to take full advantage of the Bonus Zone data.

I have an Android 6.01 phone that casts perfectly to my smart TV without using anything like Chromecast. In fact it is not even the phone I use for calls, doesn't have a SIM card in it, so is like a media playing device right now. The video I downloaded today from PlayOn played perfectly so this is sweet to have a real option to record/download one or two Netflix shows during Bonus time. Not to mention some of the other providers they support. I still have 4 records in the bank with PlayOn to use when I want.

Thanks @maratsade for bringing this up. I think I glanced at the service quite some time back but never really delved into it. Glad you made me look at it again.

maratsade · ‎12-28-2018

You're welcome, @BirdDog. Good to see it does work. I think it could be a useful tool for those who can't stream as they would like to. While not a free option, it's not too expensive and it could save people a lot of frustration.

BirdDog · ‎12-29-2018

So last night I tested the auto download during Bonus time and it worked. Be sure to read the red note on the setting about leaving the app on and the device plugged in.

I did notice that my downloads are in SD using about 700MB per hour of video and I have the app set to SD, the lowest they allow set. This is in line with what Netflix states for SD.

What is of note is I have my Netflix account playback set to the lowest setting of 300MB per hour, so PlayOn Cloud somehow overrides this. Just something to be aware of, not sure how many use the lowest setting normally but I find the quality acceptable even when watching on large screen TV.

maratsade · ‎12-29-2018

You've done a lot of testing on this, @BirdDog. Thanks! I'm bookmarking this topic, as it has good info on the app. I think the best thing about it is it would let people download during bonus time and then watch without any of the buffering, which is what drives people batty.

BirdDog · ‎12-29-2018

Thanks @maratsade, is fun to mess with new things like this sometimes, especially when it's cold outside.

I forgot to mention when using the scheduling in the Download Options both "Auto-download on WiFi" and "Restrict downloads to off-peak (BETA)" need to be enabled.

GabeU · ‎01-07-2019

Ugh, now I'm confused. So, you pay for a specific amount of cloud storage per month, which comes with a specific amount of recording credits, but then you pay 25 cents per recording on top of that to download them onto a computer or other device? Or, is it 25 cents per recording only after you've exceeded the number of recordings included with the storage plan?

maratsade · ‎01-07-2019

@GabeU, I don't use PlayOn, but according to their website:

How much does PlayOn Cloud cost and how do I buy recording credits?

The PlayOn Cloud iOS app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play. You pay a low per-recording charge (or recording credit) which includes 7 days of storage in your cloud locker and unlimited downloads of that recording to any PC or storage device during the complimentary storage period. You can purchase recording credits in-app or buy recording credits from our website.

It sounds like you pay a monthly price for storage only if you want to store something more than the complimentary 7 days.

EDIT: I think the info below clarifies this even more:

Can I store my recordings for longer than the complimentary storage period?

Once downloaded, you can store your recordings locally for as long as you'd like. We will only store them for you for 7 days in your cloud locker. If you'd like to keep them in the cloud for longer, take a look at our Cloud Recording and Storage plans.

GabeU · ‎01-07-2019

@maratsade

Thank you for the clarification. It makes more sense now. 🙂

BirdDog · ‎01-07-2019

@maratsade wrote:
@GabeU, I don't use PlayOn, but according to their website:

How much does PlayOn Cloud cost and how do I buy recording credits?
The PlayOn Cloud iOS app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play. You pay a low per-recording charge (or recording credit) which includes 7 days of storage in your cloud locker and unlimited downloads of that recording to any PC or storage device during the complimentary storage period. You can purchase recording credits in-app or buy recording credits from our website.

It sounds like you pay a monthly price for storage only if you want to store something more than the complimentary 7 days.

EDIT: I think the info below clarifies this even more:

Can I store my recordings for longer than the complimentary storage period?
Once downloaded, you can store your recordings locally for as long as you'd like. We will only store them for you for 7 days in your cloud locker. If you'd like to keep them in the cloud for longer, take a look at our Cloud Recording and Storage plans.

This is correct.

I've also found I can move the downloaded files from my phone so don't really see the need for cloud storage past the 7 days.

GabeU · ‎01-07-2019

@BirdDog wrote:
I've also found I can move the downloaded files from my phone so don't really see the need for cloud storage past the 7 days.

That's what I would do, or at least something similar. I also have a couple of extra 500GB laptop drives that I bought USB external drive enclosures for, so I have plenty of local storage. I wouldn't need the cloud storage for much more than a day when I stream something to it.

maratsade · ‎01-20-2019

I got both PlayOn for PC and PlayOn Cloud. PO Cloud works better for me. The thing seems to work like a DVR for the cloud.

They have a reasonably priced monthly plan of 4.99 a month, which holds 200 hours of recordings in the cloud -- not clear if this is per month or what. They also have credit packages for those who don't want a monthly plan. I tried the system with the 4-recording package, which cost me 1.99. I don't plan to get a monthly membership, as I don't record much stuff at all so I will use it infrequently.

The files play back fine with no buffering (I connect my laptop to the TV via HDMI cable and it plays perfectly). This could potentially be very useful for those who have issues with buffering when streaming.

GabeU wrote:
The great thing about PlayOn Cloud is that there is no buffering when watching it, as you download the file and watch it, not the stream. I've been contemplating getting this so I can stream things to the cloud using their mobile app, then download them to my laptop and play them on my TV via HDMI cable. And again, no buffering!

It would be a great way to take full advantage of the Bonus Zone data.

Amanda · ‎12-27-2018

Got the app on my android phone and I am using the free credit to download a 20 minute TV show from Netflix. Echostar 17, Gen5 10GB, 2.4GHz (down the hall from it) for reference. Downloading in SD format. Will see how it goes on the first device then try to watch it on other devices.

maratsade · ‎12-27-2018

Awesome, Amanda. Do report back-- if it works well, it may be a nice thing for people to have if they want to stream without buffering. It doesn't sound expensive at all, either. I understand it's something like 40 cents a download.

@Amanda wrote:
Got the app on my android phone and I am using the free credit to download a 20 minute TV show from Netflix. Echostar 17, Gen5 10GB, 2.4GHz (down the hall from it) for reference. Downloading in SD format. Will see how it goes on the first device then try to watch it on other devices.

Amanda · ‎12-27-2018

Hi- sorry I got caught up in other stuff 🙂

The download finished at 1:15 PM EST - that's about 20 minutes to download a 20 minute show in SD....Actually, scratch that. This is what it does

"watches" the show for you (they call it recording)

After it is done recording, a notification appears telling you that your video is ready to download

You get a download and a separate play button - hitting play seems to stream the video all over again.

Downloading it then prompts another process of actually putting the recording on your device. In this case, I had to download a 211MB video file.

Checking my usage now, I am missing 400MB of Anytime. Might be a fluke but I am interested to see how much data BirdDog ended up using in the end. Anyway, the video plays smooth after downloading it to my phone.

edit: Want to also point out that since I'm logged into my phone w/ my Google account, Google tried to automatically "back up" the video file to my Photos (Drive). That would have been a 200MB Upload 😮