TV aerial or 4G/5G Antenna ??

Wasp056

Wasp056

Joined
Aug 6, 2023
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Hampshire, UK
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MH
Autotrail Cheyenne
Just bought our first Motorhome, after our first attempt at buying from a Private seller last year ended in us buying a MH with a built in Swimming pool!
This time bought from a reputable dealer a DRY van that comes with a full Hab certification and all the other safety checks....

However the MH does not come with an External TV aerial fitted, so my question is....

In this modern day and age of streaming would it be better to fit a Good Omni-directional External 4G/5G Antenna, and a decent 4G/5G Router inside to stream to a network device or Smart TV.

Yes i understand cost of equipment is not cheap Router + unlimited data Sim Card v Free Terrestrial TV, but just wanted to know anyone's else's experience of this comparison.

Thank you (First of a huge amount of questions coming to a Forum near you !!)
 
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If TV is important to you then both a good TV aerial and also the 4g/5g router. Many locations can be remote so that there is negligible phone data signal so no streaming possible. Even some of the main new forest sites have appaling phone, so you fall back on terrestrial TV. But you want to stream if possible just for catch up stuff and if you have Netflix or whoever.

4g is enough as few sites currently close to a 5g mast, but fit 5g ready antenna and upgrade router later.
 
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My view is everything is moving to streaming, so don’t invest in legacy ways of consuming services… Sat dish and TV antennas won’t work in a few years and offer a very limited set of content compared with streaming.
 
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Carpmart said:
My view is everything is moving to streaming, so don’t invest in legacy ways of consuming services… Sat dish and TV antennas won’t work in a few years and offer a very limited set of content compared with streaming.
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That’s a broad statement. Yes streaming is an option but not the answer in all cases. Digital TV/Freeview broadcasts will be around for years to come you cannot expect everyone to have the facilities for streaming services TV services. By all means buy in to a streaming solution, but if TV is important then a traditional aerial solution will trump steaming in 99% of cases because Mobile signal distribution is still hit and miss in certain areas. How many times have we been told FM broadcasts are being switched off in favour of DAB. DAB is crap in many cases so FM carries on.
 
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FrankNicklin said:
That’s a broad statement. Yes streaming is an option but not the answer in all cases. Freeview will be around for years to come you cannot expect everyone to have the facilities for streaming services TV services. By all means buy in to a streaming solution, but if TV is important then a traditional aerial solution will trump steaming in 99% of cases because Mobile signal distribution is still hit and miss in certain areas.
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Change is happening, or actually more accurately, the change has happened. Sky have shifted away from satellite based service to streaming. Watching TV via Sat or Antenna is a legacy technology, that’s undeniable. Yes you can ride the ‘long tail’ of still consuming service in this way, but with a blank canvas (as per the OP) my point was don't invest in legacy, why would you?

I accept that signal propagation in certain areas is not great, but you don’t need to necessarily use mobile signals to stream.

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Carpmart said:
Change is happening, or actually more accurately, the change has happened. Sky have shifted away from satellite based service to streaming. Watching TV via Sat or Antenna is a legacy technology, that’s undeniable. Yes you can ride the ‘long tail’ of still consuming service in this way, but with a blank canvas (as per the OP) my point was don't invest in legacy, why would you?

I accept that signal propagation in certain areas is not great, but you don’t need to necessarily use mobile signals to stream.
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That’s a costs basis for Sky, streaming is cheaper than providing satellite dishes and decoder boxes to subscribers, nothing to do with the change of availability. Using Sky as a justification is a non starter it’s a financial decision not a technology one.

How do you think people in remote parts of the world will continue to receive such services, satellite is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Terestrial services equally so. Digital TV signals can be transmitted considerably further than 4G/5g mobile signals.
 
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FrankNicklin said:
That’s a costs basis for Sky, streaming is cheaper than providing satellite dishes and decoder boxes to subscribers, nothing to do with the change of availability. Using Sky as a justification is a non starter it’s a financial decision not a technology one.

How do you think people in remote parts of the world will continue to receive such services, satellite is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Terestrial services equally so. Digital TV signals can be transmitted considerably further than 4G/5g mobile signals.
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Sorry I don’t agree! 😇
 
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Purchased a new Moho with delivery in December 2022. Had the dealer install my supplied Poynting MIMO-3-17 antenna so they can take the hit if there’s any water ingress issues down the line. Fitted my own Teltonika router and connected to it. Bought a 22” LG Smart TV/Monitor on offer at Argos, which had an external 240v to 19v PSU and run it off of a 12v to 19v laptop car charger along with a Firestick.

The TV is now capable of receiving all channels either direct from the router or via the Firestick (Kodi enabled), and for a terrestrial backup I installed one of those mini high gain TV antennas with a 12v booster in a cupboard, with a piece of metal backing to act as a ground plane.

As yet to experience an issue with the setup.
 
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Carpmart said:
Sorry I don’t agree! 😇
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Skys contract with SES satellite services expires in 2028 hence their move to streaming services. It makes sense for them to move to a streaming service for their content, it’s considerable cheaper to operate.
 
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FrankNicklin said:
Skys contract with SES satellite services expires in 2028 hence their move to streaming services. It makes sense for them to move to a streaming service for their content, it’s considerable cheaper to operate.
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Thereby making satellite legacy and to answer the OP question, invest in the future not the past..

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Wasp056 said:
Just bought our first Motorhome, after our first attempt at buying from a Private seller last year ended in us buying a MH with a built in Swimming pool!
This time bought from a reputable dealer a DRY van that comes with a full Hab certification and all the other safety checks....

However the MH does not come with an External TV aerial fitted, so my question is....

In this modern day and age of streaming would it be better to fit a Good Omni-directional External 4G/5G Antenna, and a decent 4G/5G Router inside to stream to a network device or Smart TV.

Yes i understand cost of equipment is not cheap Router + unlimited data Sim Card v Free Terrestrial TV, but just wanted to know anyone's else's experience of this comparison.

Thank you (First of a huge amount of questions coming to a Forum near you !!)
Click to expand...
I would Invest in both , a decent directional TV ariel such as vision plus 570 which won’t break the bank and neither will a 4/5g external antennae
I’ve experienced many areas up in Scotland where the phone signal is ok for calls , texts and emails but when you try streaming it buffers and is not reliable but the terrestrial TV signal is good
 
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Seems strange all the views on this thread.

If we return to the original question from the OP, which way do I go, TV antenna or streaming, the obvious answer is steaming is the best way to consume lots of diverse content, which will be available indefinitely (until something new makes this legacy in the future) when compared to a TV antenna (or Sat dish)…

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I think 4/5G antenna , you can get a used router cheaply, eg Huawei B535 and then one of these aerials as a back up
www.ebay.co.uk

Best Portable HGV Caravan TV DVB T Magnetic Amplified Aerial Digital Freeview | eBay

The High Definition Caravan Digital Freeview Portable TV Antenna Aerial DVB-T, is designed specifically for digital reception. Standard coaxial cable - Ideal for use with all Freeview ready devices. Whether you are looking for an aerial for your bedroom, kitchen, caravan, boat or car, the TV...
www.ebay.co.uk
 
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
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Well i think i sparked a good Sunday morning discussion. Thanks to those who actually answered my question, and i probably will invest in Both AND get dealer to fit both (For ingress prevention).

For those who sought to hijack my thread, Tut Tut!
 
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I had a tv antenna installed when I purchased our motorhome. I never used it the first year at all so removed it and fitted a wifi antenna in the same hole. Only used that probably 6 times in the last 6 years so now removed that as well. All our content comes from harddrives attached to tv or streaming Via 4G and now on long trips via starlink (to expensive to activate for weekends away) . I would if you have the budget go for both but if short on cash then 4G antenna only.
 
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Wasp056 said:
Well i think i sparked a good Sunday morning discussion. Thanks to those who actually answered my question, and i probably will invest in Both AND get dealer to fit both (For ingress prevention).

For those who sought to hijack my thread, Tut Tut!
Click to expand...

Not that I watch much tv but I bought one of these and have never failed to get channels, for better reception I just stuck it out a window as it’s magnetic bottom sticks to my PVC…

I have a firestick plugged into the tv and just hotspot it to my phone that has loads of data…

All cheap as chips…👍🏼

IMG_0149.png
 
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Orion said:
Purchased a new Moho with delivery in December 2022. Had the dealer install my supplied Poynting MIMO-3-17 antenna so they can take the hit if there’s any water ingress issues down the line. Fitted my own Teltonika router and connected to it. Bought a 22” LG Smart TV/Monitor on offer at Argos, which had an external 240v to 19v PSU and run it off of a 12v to 19v laptop car charger along with a Firestick.

The TV is now capable of receiving all channels either direct from the router or via the Firestick (Kodi enabled), and for a terrestrial backup I installed one of those mini high gain TV antennas with a 12v booster in a cupboard, with a piece of metal backing to act as a ground plane.

As yet to experience an issue with the setup.
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Which mini hi gain antenna did you use please?

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Just smiffy said:
Not that I watch much tv but I bought one of these and have never failed to get channels, for better reception I just stuck it out a window as it’s magnetic bottom sticks to my PVC…

I have a firestick plugged into the tv and just hotspot it to my phone that has loads of data…

All cheap as chips…👍🏼

View attachment 862068
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Hi, that’s exactly what I done, May have to tune in channels when on site, no problem with receiving channels and Netflix etc.
 
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It’s simple
One hole , and stream !
Had the same dilemma last year , don’t regret for one moment choosing a 5G aerial and router with an iPad
Satellite and a TV are soooo yesterday!
 
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Would love to use the phone as hotspot to stream, especially as it has an unlimited data contract. Invariably when in the van, as it is a pvc, once the whoosh bang door is shut signal reception is poor due to all the metal.

Roof 4g/5g aerial and router becomes only option. But depends on area in which you are if that gets a good signal. Different providers have different mast locations and thus coverage. Unless you can afford multiple contracts pot luck if your stopover is in a reception area. Also if you do some of the shows and larger rallies all those motorhomes trying to stream overwhelms capacity. Fall back remains the terrestrial aerial.

Of course you could opt for highly expensive Starlink ...
 
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SandKPhillips said:
Which mini hi gain antenna did you use please?
Click to expand...

One of the generic ones as per Just smiffy but with the 12v amplifier from Amazon that had good reviews. Locating it upright in one of the higher lockers was the best orientation, and placing it on a thin piece of metal sheet approximately 20cm2 improved the signal.
 
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If I were you, like others here, I would install both. I have both and find that most of the time I use streaming via a Fire Stick, even for live TV. But the number of times that the Phone signal is not good enough is still enough to make the TV aerial a worthwhile backup.
Everything will eventually go streaming, but the licences for TV broadcasters mean that it will be around for at least 10 years, making a new TV aerial a viable option.

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We had our satellite dish removed, old technology now as far as we are concerned. We use our phone unlimited data and a fire stick. Never had a problem anywhere in Europe or the UK. Also replaced our digital aerial with a sterling 270, superb reception on Freeview. 🚍🚍🚍
 
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FrankNicklin said:
That’s Sky only, other TV services will continue via Sateliite.
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I refuse to support anything that has Murdoch’s name attached to it, so if Sky were the only option, I’d go without!
 
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Carpmart said:
Change is happening, or actually more accurately, the change has happened. Sky have shifted away from satellite based service to streaming. Watching TV via Sat or Antenna is a legacy technology, that’s undeniable. Yes you can ride the ‘long tail’ of still consuming service in this way, but with a blank canvas (as per the OP) my point was don't invest in legacy, why would you?

I accept that signal propagation in certain areas is not great, but you don’t need to necessarily use mobile signals to stream.
Click to expand...

Was in US in a rental property in May, and it was notable that there was no satellite dish, cable box, or anything in the Florida house we rented. Everything was over internet via a 1Gb to house fibre and various inbuilt apps in the TV's there. It's happening quicker there than here.

And I agree I'd invest in a 5g compatible roof antenna (and in fact did as our first van purchase) plus 4g router as 5g pointless today in most camspsites.

We are yet to find a single campsite where streaming has failed, and we go to some very rural areas where others were complaining about lack of signals on phones.
 
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