Forum Discussion
Connection Problems- Only with AOL
The problem started a week to 10 days ago. I can not connect to AOL via my hughes Gen5 connection. We both use aol mail (yes, I know there are better options, and I may look into that, but when you...
One other thing is that, if you'd like to schedule the file downloads, but you don't like the idea of leaving your PC on (I don't), or messing with trying to schedule the downloads to your PC, you can schedule the file download(s) to your Android or IOS device using the PlayOn Cloud app, then copy the files to your PC.
BTW, don't forget to change the resolution on the app if you want it to be better than standard. I'm fine with standard, which is DVD quality, but some people want it to be better, regardless of the increased file size for the program/movie. I believe 720p is the maximum resolution, but that's still very good.
If you try it and you like it, please let us know. I'm still deciding whether to get it, though I probably will. It's cheap, and lets you easily take advantage of the Bonus Zone data, and even those twenty days of data resets with your upgrade (make sure first, though, of course). :)
gaines_wright wrote:BTW if you upgrade to gen5, make sure you don't plug the modem in to your system until the bonus period, otherwise you'll take a big hit to your anytime data just for the modem to initialize.
To prevent any confusion to the OP or anyone else who reads through this thread, the above statement is incorrect. Neither data required for modem activation and initialization, nor that required for a modem software update/upgrade, is deducted from customer data.
Specifically regarding the OP, an upgrade to Gen5 would almost assuredly require a tech visit, at which time the tech would power the new modem to start the activation and initialization process. As well, the OP would receive the initial twenty days of data replenishment that new customers, and those upgrading from legacy plans to Gen5, are given, so even in the event that there was some type of system glitch and the above mentioned data was incorrectly drawn from the OP's data bank, it wouldn't matter.
@gaines_wright wrote:BTW if you upgrade to gen5, make sure you don't plug the modem in to your system until the bonus period, otherwise you'll take a big hit to your anytime data just for the modem to initialize.
"To prevent any confusion to the OP or anyone else who reads through this thread, the above statement is incorrect. Neither data required for modem activation and initialization, nor that required for a modem software update/upgrade, is deducted from customer data."
Well, it was definitely correct in my case. I remember because it was the first time I had run out of data since the daily limit days. A friend of mine had the exact same thing happen to him when he upgraded. This was some time ago, things may have changed since then.
The OP is on a legacy system, with it being the HN9000s, so the upgrade to Gen5 would require a tech visit. This would especially be the case with utilizing the ES19. And though I don't know the OPs history, it may be that they're on the HN9000S system due to not being in the ES17 footprint, and if that's the case, they'd also need to have their dish re-aimed (to the ES19), as well as possibly having the radio polarization reversed.
I upgraded to Gen4 in Feb 2016, then upgraded to Gen5 in March 2017. And though both required tech visits, neither upgrade used a single byte of my data. At the time I was still utilizing the old data usage site with the hourly breakdown, which I looked at when I noticed my data wasn't being depleted normally after upgrading to Gen4. I believe the same system that allows modem software upgrades without using any data (maybe a dedicated channel?) is used for modem initialization/activation.
Though it's too late now, you should have contacted HughesNet the minute you noticed your data being depleted, as it shouldn't have been doing that. Though they may not have been able to stop it, especially if it was already finished, they may have at least compensated you with some data tokens.
Well, we got off track, but that's ok.
When I last upgraded, they gave me 20 days of basically unlimited data, so I am not worried. The warning is well taken, and something I can watch for.
Meanwhile, I gave up on a solution, and ordered the upgrade. They come next Wed.
On a side note, living in the mountains, I am also on Dish, which cancelled HBO. Sorta ticked about that, as I am looking forward to the last season of Game of Thrones. So we will be looking into streaming HBO Now on a limited basis. Upgraded from the old 14gb to the 20gb plan, so it should work out. Yea, I know streaming eats data. I will watch it.
Thanks for all the help, even if we didn't solve it.
I'm a big fan of PlayOn Cloud. I just recorded 2 seasons of a show (16 episodes total), all in HD. Set it to record, checked the next day and it was all done (without using my data), then downloaded the episodes (NOT during regular data times, or it would've eaten gigs and gigs), and now I have the files and can watch them and rewatch them whenever. No buffering, excellent picture. The cost for all 16 episodes? $3.20.
maratsade wrote:I'm a big fan of PlayOn Cloud........
Wow, you guys have finally convinced me! Just in time for the last season of Game of Thrones, and I've got 18 days to learn how to use it.
OK, I just got in to the Play On Cloud website. I guess what I need to do is this.....
Once that recording is complete, an .mp4 file will be ready for you to enjoy. You can download the recorded.mp4 video file from the PlayOn Cloud app onto your mobile device. We also email you a download link to the video so you can download it from anywhere onto any device or computer.
Well, the installer just left. All is well in the world again. The wife has her e-mail back. Painless process, as has always been the case with us and Hughes.
Thanks again for everyone that tried to help. I mentioned it to my installer, and he said he has heard of the same types of problems, and it has to go all the way up to the 'code writers' as he put it.
Wife-related crisis averted -- always a good thing. :)
So I got to use the PlayOn system. I have both the Desktop and phone app. I used the app. Just to test, I selected 'The Tick' on Amazon. 30 minute video. Had it play on the cloud, and then got the link to download the file. About 250mb. Put that on a USB stick, and plugged that into the back of the smart TV. Worked like a charm.
Not simple, but allows Bonus Time to be used, or even if you are out and about on a public WiFi. I get WiFi from the bank when I work weekends at our coffee hut, so that is how I will use it, most of the time.
OP = original poster (also original post)
You should like the Gen5. It works pretty well for me. And the HT2000W has built in WiFi, so if anything were to ever go wrong with your own router you'll still it.
That whole Dish and HBO thing is angering a lot of people, especially because of GOT. I'm looking forward to the Deadwood film, as well.
You may even want to take a look at PlayOn Cloud. With it you can download GOT and other things as a file (.mp4) instead of actually having to stream it. It's a great way to be able to take advantage of the Bonus Zone. It streams what you choose to the cloud, then converts it to an .mp4 file for downloading. And what you download you keep, as well. There's no expiration. You then use your media player, like VLC or Windows' built in player, to view the file. And best of all is that there's no buffering, as you're watching the programs/movies from already downloaded files. It's a pretty inexpensive service, as well. You can even schedule the file downloads. You should check it out. It might be worth it for you. I don't have it, myself, but a couple of people on here do, including maratsade. He seems to like it. :)
Please use the app, not the desktop version, as the latter uses data. With the app, I think you get 5 free recording credits, which you may want to use to practice how this works. You need to have accounts with the places you record from. I have accounts with Netflix, Hulu, and Prime. The app will have you login to your account, and then you can set it to record.
Good news. Install date was moved up from next Fri to next Wed. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Interested in the Playon.tv thing. So I went to take a look.
Wouldn'tcha know....
This site can’t be reached
www.playon.tv took too long to respond.
I tried a couple of different links, several times. No joy.
(No need to try to fix this, just amusing)
Something seems to be a bit goofy with their site today. I just tried it and couldn't get on, though I had no issue during any previous time going there to research it. I just tried again, and now it worked.
I'd try it a few more times, though maybe wait a few minutes. I don't know if the problem is with their site or if maybe there is an upstream provider issue when trying to access it.
Working fine for me:
Is there a trick to getting the app on a Win10 laptop? I can see how to get it for my phones. I must be doing something wrong. Can't find how to authorize my laptop with Google Play.
(I don't use many (if any) apps on Win10) Use em all the time on the phone.
That's right. You set up the download (this is where they deduct the recording tokens from your account), and it works behind the scenes, in the cloud. You can just shut down the app and forget about it. It records in real time (it's a DVR-like thing), so a 1 hour show will take 1 hour to record. When the recording is done, you will get an email with a download link. Unless you pay for storage, the recording will only be stored for 7 days. If you lose the link or the email, you can use the app to get the email resent. If the recording is no longer in storage, you have to re-record it.
With the link, you can download to any device. I think to download to devices like iPhone or iPad you don't need the email, you do that from the app -- BirdDog will know more about this. I download from the link in the email to a flash drive.
bos2420 wrote:
OK, I just got in to the Play On Cloud website. I guess what I need to do is this.....
Once that recording is complete, an .mp4 file will be ready for you to enjoy. You can download the recorded.mp4 video file from the PlayOn Cloud app onto your mobile device. We also email you a download link to the video so you can download it from anywhere onto any device or computer.
the app for the computer is a software package. You need to buy a license for it. But be warned that the desktop version USES YOUR DATA. Only the app version doesn't. The desktop version is also very glitchy.
bos2420 wrote:
Is there a trick to getting the app on a Win10 laptop? I can see how to get it for my phones. I must be doing something wrong. Can't find how to authorize my laptop with Google Play.
(I don't use many (if any) apps on Win10) Use em all the time on the phone.
IMO there really is no reason to get the Windows desktop app unless you have no Android or iOS device to setup and record videos. As has been stated, then you can get the download link and use your browser or DLM to do the download. No desktop app needed unless you have nothing else to access and setup and schedule the recording.
One other thing is that, if you'd like to schedule the file downloads, but you don't like the idea of leaving your PC on (I don't), or messing with trying to schedule the downloads to your PC, you can schedule the file download(s) to your Android or IOS device using the PlayOn Cloud app, then copy the files to your PC.
BTW, don't forget to change the resolution on the app if you want it to be better than standard. I'm fine with standard, which is DVD quality, but some people want it to be better, regardless of the increased file size for the program/movie. I believe 720p is the maximum resolution, but that's still very good.
If you try it and you like it, please let us know. I'm still deciding whether to get it, though I probably will. It's cheap, and lets you easily take advantage of the Bonus Zone data, and even those twenty days of data resets with your upgrade (make sure first, though, of course). :)
bos2420 wrote:Put that on a USB stick, and plugged that into the back of the smart TV. Worked like a charm.
Does your TV have a special program built in that reads and plays what you have on the flash drive? I have a smart TV, and it has a USB port, as well. I wonder if that would work for me. It would eliminate me having to play the items on my HDMI connected laptop.
I should try to find a .mp4 clip or something somewhere, put it on one of my flash drives, and just give it a try. Now, to find something. :p
Okay, that's it. I'm getting PlayOn Cloud. I found a site with sample .mp4 files, and playing them on my TV via a USB flash drive works like a charm. So now I won't even need to use my laptop! Now, to get a couple of spare flash drives, as I want to download all three seasons of Deadwood, plus a few other things off the top of my head.
Thanks for the info about playing the files directly from a flash drive on a smart TV, bos2420 ! That's going to make it a lot more simple.
Yeah, that option works well if you don't want to use a laptop. I have tried that before, though for me the laptop is much more convenient.
GabeU wrote:Okay, that's it. I'm getting PlayOn Cloud. I found a site with sample .mp4 files, and playing them on my TV via a USB flash drive works like a charm. So now I won't even need to use my laptop! Now, to get a couple of spare flash drives, as I want to download all three seasons of Deadwood, plus a few other things off the top of my head.
Thanks for the info about playing the files directly from a flash drive on a smart TV, bos2420 ! That's going to make it a lot more simple.
