Internet and HDTV on a Marina moored narrowboat

[Rosslynx]

We are looking for advice/solutions on 2 areas – Internet and HDTV.

We are buying a 70ft narrowboat which will be a liveaboard moored at Roydon Marina on the Essex/Hertfordshire border. We would like the following –

a.) A good reliable internet connection (preferably WiFi on board) with enough capacity to download e-mails, a few HD movies and surf the Web. (Our current average usage on land is around 15-20 Gb per month).

b.) A good reliable HD TV service/selection. We currently have on land a Virgin HD+ (inc TiVo) system plus a good package for films, etc. However this relies on the fibre optic virgin network which unfortunately is not an option at the Marina.

We have read lots of past blogs (some quite old) about this subject, but much of the advice either contradicts other postings or is now out of date, because of the introduction of new packages, roll out of 4G, etc. Where we will be moored for at least 45+ weeks a year has good mobile reception (inc 4G) and very good sightlines to the Southeast (Satellite locations)

We have also read about some very expensive installations (£2000+) involving marine autotrack satellite systems and some very inexpensive options (Freeview, Dish in a briefcase, etc.) but again most of these posts are from 2,3 or more years ago. Although we will be moored on a very quiet Marina, we still have considerations regarding “roll” as we walk about the boat and how serious a problem that might be.

Good quality fast internet and a good selection of TV channels is important to us so we have a reasonable budget. If we could take our Virgin system with us on board we would, but unfortunately we can’t.

Does anyone have any up to date solutions or suggestions?

Edited September 21, 2013 by Rosslynx

[Grace and Favour]

Hi Rosslynx,

 

Though I cannot advise you on 4g (we use 2/3g) - I have to say that we use Freesat for our TV

 

It's HD, (we have a FoxSat box (made by Humax) - excellent kit.

We have used both a standard (cheap) dish and a dearer rectangular flat dish (both with excellent results)

And view a Samsung TV

 

Granted we have a widebeam, so boat 'roll' is less than on a narrowboat - but I can say that picture quality has never been less than excellent

(and it's not an expensive set-up)

[junior]

We are looking for advice/solutions on 2 areas – Internet and HDTV.

We are buying a 70ft narrowboat which will be a liveaboard moored at Roydon Marina on the Essex/Hertfordshire border. We would like the following –

a.) A good reliable internet connection (preferably WiFi on board) with enough capacity to download e-mails, a few HD movies and surf the Web. (Our current average usage on land is around 15-20 Gb per month).

b.) A good reliable HD TV service/selection. We currently have on land a Virgin HD+ (inc TiVo) system plus a good package for films, etc. However this relies on the fibre optic virgin network which unfortunately is not an option at the Marina.

We have read lots of past blogs (some quite old) about this subject, but much of the advice either contradicts otherworldly postings or is now out of date, because of the introduction of new packages, roll out of 4G, etc. Where we will be moored for at least 45+ weeks a year has good mobile reception (inc 4G) and very good sightlines to the Southeast (Satellite locations)

We have also read about some very expensive installations (£2000+) involving marine autotrack satellite systems and some very inexpensive options (Freeview, Dish in a briefcase, etc.) but again most of these posts are from 2,3 or more years ago. Although we will be moored on a very quiet Marina, we still have considerations regarding “roll” as we walk about the boat and how serious a problem that might be.

Good quality fast internet and a good selection of TV channels is important to us so we have a reasonable budget. If we could take our Virgin system with us on board we would, but unfortunately we can’t.

Does anyone have any up to date solutions or suggestions?

 

I can't really comment on the television question as I just have anormal tv with built in Freeview on my boat, but regarding the internet i can comment on as having a decent standard of unlimited internet was important to me when I got my boat.

 

My solution was to switch to the network provider 'Three' on thier 'The One Plan' which is unlimited data and tethering. I took the contract out with a Samsung S4 handset for about £35 per month and no up front cost. Now granted I have only so far been on a small section of the canal system but it was all rural and I have had good coverage everywhere except Stoke Bruerne, which I would class as the arse end of nowhere. By good coverage I mean I was able to download from the iPlayer and watch video's on YouTube, plus download movies in a reasonable amount of time. All this on 3G with the promise of 4G at no extra cost as soon as 'Three' get it. Knowing where Roydon is, I would imagine you'd get a much stronger signal there than any of the places I was. I'm sure you could spend a lot more money on a more sophisticated marine specific system, and get little improvement.

 

I think you also need to prepare yourself for the inevitable replies you may get about buying a 70ft boat, staying in the marina for 45+ months of the year and wanting to replicate the effectiveness of systems you currently have in a house.

[pelicanafloat]

Hi. We have a sony lcd internet tv with freeview in the lounge, and an LG + humax freeview box in the bedroom. We have 2 digital aerials for general cruising around & ease of use, and a small sat dish + humax freesat to serve either tv when cruising or in a marina for winter ....

 

We have a 5Gb EE 4G monthly contract that gives us fast internet access in most places. Even in low signal areas we can, because of our set up, still rely on a decent H or 4G reception. We have a mifi dongle fed by an external magnetic antenna. Some people scream the advantages of '3' with its unlimited downloads but when you get 4G reception, the speed is excellent and well worth the cost of the service ... each to their own We currently use all our data allowance with about 1 day to go, but we can always hotspot one of our 3g phones (but the difference in speed is quite noticeable).

 

Our winter mooring has free wifi, but they dont like it if you use the service to download films etc, as it takes too much bandwidth. We intend to use the free wifi for subsidising our internet service while moored up. With EE we can download films even on 3G onto the latop for viewing over a 48hour period. The cost of each film depends on the release date, but the data of each download is free and not part of our monthly allowance. If you intend to use a film service on the internet-ready telly, then either you will have to ascertain if the marina's free wifi will allow this amount of download, or whether an all-you-can 3g download can be fast enough.

 

Come January, both of our phones come up for renewal. We intend to grab whatever cheap sim deal we can get for our phones - we never use more than 300 minutes each month, and rely on the mifi for our data .... will probably go for 8Gb as this will be planty.

 

One last point. The advantage of a mifi dongle is that both phones can remain as simple as we want without the need to keep up ... our mifi powers 2 phones, 2 tablets, and 2 laptops + guests devices, and all at 4G speeds ..... and it def floats our boat

[Rosslynx]

Thanks Grace & Favour and Junior for your prompt responses, I think what we are looking for is probably a Sky system and something the equivalent of our current TiVo box. If we can we want the ability to record programmes, have on demand TV and be able to use the Catch Up function. It's probably the best way to get Sky on a narrowboat that's the key question.

WE have already looked at 3G/4G via a mobile phone but also would prefer a more hard-wired permanent solution.

 

As for our reasons for buying a 70ft boat, staying in the marina for 45+ months of the year and wanting to replicate the effectiveness of systems you currently have in a house, it's a matter of personal choice. Both my wife and I work, but want to live aboard a narrowboat.. Why does that mean that you settle for second best when effective solutions are available?

[Sunsoup]

Nothing wrong with a few home comforts.

[Ssscrudddy]

Do you really need that much telly & does it have to be HD? You can get just freeview over the internet & it costs nothing.

http://tvcatchup.com/

Despite it's name it is not a catch up service, it's live TV as if you was plugged into a freeview box.

I live in a house, the TV reception is terrible (according to the lay of the land it will be worse at my intended marina). The town is big enough to get it's own transmitter, which drowns out the general transmitter for the wider area. Unfortunately because we are lucky enough to get our own transmitter, most of the freeview channels havent bothered subscribing to our 1 town transmitter, the result is we only get about 8 channels. BBC is supposed to work but it doesnt. But http://tvcatchup.com/ gets all the freeview channels.

My 3G phone is quick enough to watch it over the phone signal (H), & luckily I have unlimited data on my phone. I can easily get through 10GB a month (my landline internet I regularly hit over 30GB).
The 4G allowances I have seen all seem to be very small & expensive.
My 3G internet is about 5000kbps down & 2500 kbps up & is quick enough to watch telly. My landline internet is 10000kbps down & 700 kbps up.

(Edit to change speeds, I missed a couple of zeroes of the end ^^)

I intend to switch to Three when my contract is up in order that I can tether or hotspot (my computer to my phone), which currently isnt allowed.

Good luck on being moored 45 months a year, I thought there was only 12 months in a year!

Edited September 23, 2013 by Ssscrudddy

[Guest]

As a general answer to one of your points the smaller the dish the more tolerant it will be to movement - it sounds contradictory but it's true, and I found a satellite dish (an 'ordinary' sky one in our case) was surprisingly tolerant of the boat rolling if aligned correctly in the first place.

[Lady Muck]

We switched to EE 4g recently and it definitely works in Roydon near the marina, can access 4g, so I'd imagine it works there. its a faster connection than the home broadband that I've used, very impressive. I note that EE offer a 4g contract phone with 50gb a month, altho no idea if you can tether it. We pay £25 for 8gb a month and we have a payg sim for same device which costs £30 for 10gb. We use about 20gb a month.

We find that 3 is not a great service on much of Lee and and Stort for some reason. No idea about tv.

[Phil Ambrose]

Just keep checking all the options, prices vary so much between different people. We moor on a marina in the sticks (Fens) but get HD TV without needing any gadgets and t'internet via a 3 Wifi, 5gb costs us £12 a month.

Phil

[by'eck]

I use a Samsung Smart TV with optional WiFi dongle (latest sets have the WiFi built-in). The TV WiFi connects to the boats internal WiFi router which distributes wirelessly from an external long-range device connected in turn to marina or BTFON WiFi networks.

 

This gives the TV access to built-in BBC i-player (itv-player on latest models), YouTube, Facebook and Weather as well as literally hundreds of specialised apps available for free download, and similar to those for smart phones. It also provides connection to my laptop through the same WiFi network to play music, videos and display photo's on the TV.

 

Latest smart TV's have Skype app built-in as well working with their own camera and microphone.

[matty40s]

There is a cable available which connects micro-usb to Hdmi.

Get the deal Junior has and you can stream through your s4 and watch tv.

[Lady Muck]

There is a cable available which connects micro-usb to Hdmi.

Get the deal Junior has and you can stream through your s4 and watch tv.

I think the OP ought to check that 3 actually works in Roydon, first though, I've found it unusable on much of the L&S and I seem to remember Alan Fincher having similar issues when he came up here, we certainly can't use it for working off, although we've tried. Would rather pay more for something that actually works.

[Guest]

I think the OP ought to check that 3 actually works in Roydon, first though, I've found it unusable on much of the L&S and I seem to remember Alan Fincher having similar issues when he came up here, we certainly can't use it for working off, although we've tried. Would rather pay more for something that actually works.

 

Three's coverage checker confirms large parts of that area are indeed - 'outdoor only'. Our mooring shows the same but Three is unreliable even outdoors at our mooring and U.S. inside the boat.

[fudd]

We have 3 and it works fine through our hauwei thing. We are outside the mill on the Stort. Roydon Marina has free wifi. It's not up to much aparently. We have hd telly through our sky+ box. It worked ok in the marina. I would have thought freeview would work too.

[bottle]

Slightly tangential.

 

but, phone/tv signals can vary by just moving a few feet.

 

Example:

 

We moored recently and had full digital terrestrial tv but we were in a vulnerable place with passing boats, when a mooring two boat lengths up became available we moved, no signal whatsoever.

 

My phone is showing full 3g signal as is the wi-fi 'dongle' but download speeds are slow.

 

All is well though, pub for lunch.

[by'eck]

I think the OP ought to check that 3 actually works in Roydon, first though, I've found it unusable on much of the L&S and I seem to remember Alan Fincher having similar issues when he came up here, we certainly can't use it for working off, although we've tried. Would rather pay more for something that actually works.

 

Roydon marina offers its customers free WiFi. Being a new setup I would have thought it would have been engineered to give everyone a decent service.

[fudd]

 

Roydon marina offers its customers free WiFi. Being a new setup I would have thought it would have been engineered to give everyone a decent service.

 

We did a three month stretch in the marina. It was rubbish. But then it may have been where we were. I don't know many people who think its ok.

[Lady Muck]

Limited shared bandwidth is never going to be great. Look how awful it is on trains!

[Phil.]

Have a look at www.solwise.co.uk maybe some of the products there may help

[by'eck]

We did a three month stretch in the marina. It was rubbish. But then it may have been where we were. I don't know many people who think its ok.

Limited shared bandwidth is never going to be great. Look how awful it is on trains!

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head with the word "limited". A decent bandwidth from the ISP and well engineered wireless distribution with several access points distributed around the berthing areas should work fine. Roydon is a big marina though and maybe I was a little naive in thinking they had employed true professionals to design and install the WiFi installation.

 

Another aspect is the performance some people expect from their laptops within a steel shell. An external USB powered WiFi transceiver is the minimum you should be looking at.

Edited September 22, 2013 by by'eck

[Rosslynx]

Thanks so much to all of you for your advice. It seems we are definitely looking at 2 separate systems - one for internet and one for HDTV.

 

For the internet the strongest option seems to be using a MiFi system (like a Huawei modem) with an external aerial mounted on top of the current TV aerial pole. I'm still undecided whether to go for 3G or 4G but either way the 3 or EE networks seem to have the best options.

I am aware that Roydon Marina does have it's own WiFi but it is very restricted in terms of download limits.

 

For HDTV, I do understand that Freeview has it's fans, but let's face it it only has 4 HD channels and is missing some of the most popular channels. Therefore our choice will be to go for Sky, but with a smaller dish as opinion is that it is less susceptible to "boat roll". What we'll probably go for is a Sky+ HD package with a Sky PVR box. However I've read some comments that it is difficult getting Sky on a narrowboat, because they insist upon a land address and telephone number. Once we move we will have neither.

Are there any tips as to how to get round this??

Edited September 22, 2013 by Rosslynx

[fudd]

Thanks so much to all of you for your advice. It seems we are definitely looking at 2 separate systems - one for internet and one for HDTV.

 

For the internet the strongest option seems to be using a MiFi system (like a Huawei modem) with an external aerial mounted on top of the current TV aerial pole. I'm still undecided whether to go for 3G or 4G but either way the 3 or EE networks seem to have the best options.

I am aware that Roydon Marina does have it's own WiFi but it is very restricted in terms of download limits.

 

For HDTV, I do understand that Freeview has it's fans, but let's face it it only has 4 HD channels and is missing some of the most popular channels. Therefore our choice will be to go for Sky, but with a smaller dish as opinion is that it is less susceptible to "boat roll". What we'll probably go for is a Sky+ HD package with a Sky PVR box. However I've read some comments that it is difficult getting Sky on a narrowboat, because they insist upon a land address and telephone number. Once we move we will have neither.

Are there any tips as to how to get round this??

We use the one from my bedroom on the boat. Next year I will be renting my house out so I've asked my sister if I can get an extra dish at her house. It's a tenner a month and they have the full monty and loads of pay films.

Maybe you could do the same. You will have to ask her nicely!!!?

If you are in the marina I don't see why you can't put the dish on your pontoon. Maybe it's against the law there. They can be funny about some things. We never had any problems with signal there.

When you get there say hello to us. We are right outside the mill.

Steve P

Edited September 23, 2013 by fudd

[Richard10002]

You can get Sky Go which is Sky over the Internet. If you a Three One Plan with a good bandwidth and it's unlimited tetherable data, this could be just the job. I think it's £40 per month for the full package. Get it before you leave your address and they won't care where you are as long as you keep paying.