Gizmo for watching TV aboard using a sim card

[pamjon]

Hi, we are in France at he moment and yet again our Oyster dish has failed. Is there a gizmo or something that you put a sim card into that the gizmo is then plugged into the TV so you watch TV? No idea what is called but can I buy one here in France, what do I look for and where may I buy it. Average cost?
Can anyone help please. Pj

 

[Fisherman]

Hi, we are in France at he moment and yet again our Oyster dish has failed. Is there a gizmo or something that you put a sim card into that the gizmo is then plugged into the TV so you watch TV? No idea what is called but can I buy one here in France, what do I look for and where may I buy it. Average cost?
Can anyone help please. Pj

You will need a mifi, and a SIM card with plenty of useable data. Basically the SIM card is inserted into the mifi and gives you access to the internet By creating Wi-Fi. But if your TV is not a smart tv you will require a firestick which is then connected to your mifi. This will also give you wifi in your van, but beware watching HD tv uses roughly 2gb an hour. You will also need a minimum speed of around 6-8 gb to watch tv.

 

[SimonM]

I can’t answer your question, but I’d like to know what has happened to your Oyster, as I have one and maybe can help?

 

[Wooie1958]

You will need a mifi, and a SIM card with plenty of useable data. Basically the SIM card is inserted into the mifi and gives you access to the internet By creating Wi-Fi. But if your TV is not a smart tv you will require a firestick which is then connected to your mifi. This will also give you wifi in your van, but beware watching HD tv uses roughly 2gb an hour. You will also need a minimum speed of around 6-8 gb to watch tv.

I`d say that`s pretty much bang on Bill

Last year we watched the whole of Her Majesty`s funeral whilst away in France using the Fire TV Stick in the 24" HDTV and tethered to my phone, it used 9.75GB just for the funeral Thankfully i have 25GB monthly roaming with Tesco mobile ( O2 )

 

[Fisherman]

I`d say that`s pretty much bang on Bill

Last year we watched the whole of Her Majesty`s funeral whilst away in France using the Fire TV Stick in the 24" HDTV and tethered to my phone, it used 9.75GB just for the funeral Thankfully i have 25GB monthly roaming with Tesco mobile ( O2 )

Should have mentioned that unless you subscribe to the TV app on the firestick it’s only catchup and the news you can watch. We watch live tv on my IPad on the Freeview ap. you can mirror it up on to the tv but it’s a bit of a faf.
Of course if you have a dodgy firestick you watch what you like

But in the continent it might be better getting a local SIM card.
I reckon with the new 5G aerials and Wi-Fi that satellites days are numbered.

 

[pamjon]

I can’t answer your question, but I’d like to know what has happened to your Oyster, as I have one and maybe can help?

Would be great if you can help.
We put the dish up at Newhaven with no problems, watched TV all night but when I pressed the button for it to retract there was nothing. It did not move and there was an x motor error.
So in the morning 5am my husband had to get on the roof and undo bolts to put it down manually.
At our next stop in France we tried to reset it by taking out the fuse etc but did not work. After talking to a tech guy he said that init x motor is the one that rotates the dish and to undo the bolts and lift the dish and hold it while it rotates then put it down and reset again. He undid the bolts and held it ready for it to rotate when I pressed the button but nothing happened at all. Still init x motor error.
So for now it is unusable.
Any help gratefully received. Pj

 

[SimonM]

I managed to squash a lot of snow under mine which screwed it up. Once I finally cleared it, it wouldn’t retract, and I ended up (in the middle of the back of beyond) removing the internal block connectors inside the MH where the wiring goes to the control box. Removing them, waiting 10 minutes, and refitting them again all was fine afterwards.

one other time there was a fuse located down by the starter battery under the floor, Ducato, that I hadn’t refitted correctly when I changed the battery. Once that was refitted all was well. This fuse was for the Oyster and not the Ducato, it was conveniently placed there at installation, yours could be elsewhere.

That’s all I can offer. Best of luck.

 

[Moped]

Hi, we are in France at he moment and yet again our Oyster dish has failed. Is there a gizmo or something that you put a sim card into that the gizmo is then plugged into the TV so you watch TV? No idea what is called but can I buy one here in France, what do I look for and where may I buy it. Average cost?
Can anyone help please. Pj

Just curious but what device are you using in France to post messages on the forum?

It is possible it could be adapted to link it to your TV.

We use our Samsung smartphone linked to the TV with a type C/HDMI cable connection.

 

[Glandwr]

It is possible that you could do "screen mirroring" from your smart phone. I know samsungs and others support it and some TVs (again samsung) do (without a network). You then use the sim in your phone. No cable needed works like bluetooth.

 

[Glandwr]

Don't know if it would work without trying it but if you had a second device (phone or tablet) with another sim in it. You could use one to set up a nextwork by using it as a hot spot, buy a cheap chromecast dongle or something similar from Auchan or Carrefour etc. Link phone and chromecast/TV then "cast" your chosen TV programme from phone 1 to the TV via the hotspot phone/tablet.

 

[Moped]

Don't know if it would work without trying it but if you had a second device (phone or tablet) with another sim in it. You could use one to set up a nextwork by using it as a hot spot, buy a cheap chromecast dongle or something similar from Auchan or Carrefour etc. Link phone and chromecast/TV then "cast" your chosen TV programme from phone 1 to the TV via the hotspot phone/tablet.

You will require a VPN (virtual protocol network) to stream U.K. TV in France. This causes issues with casting as the device cast to needs to be on the same network as the device casting.

A wired connection avoids this issue.

All the main U.K. channels have live streaming on their apps which you can download onto an Amazon fire stick.

But you can of course download these same apps onto a smartphone. As long as you can create a hotspot on your phone using a French sim with plenty of data and a VPN also then you can use an Amazon fire stick.

This is the only practical solution of using an iPhone as I have found hardwiring an iPhone to a TV with an hdmi connection very buggy and pretty useless.

Hence my move to a Samsung dual sim phone and Android a few years ago and the type C to hdmi cable connection is, for me, a perfect solution.

But we don’t have a smart TV. If you have a smart TV then the hotspot solution should work.

 

[GMJ]

Our sat dish worked in Bordeaux but not when we got to Urrugne near the Pyrenees.

We hotspot off our phone and can watch live TV on the laptop (the TV is not smart) as the BBC iPlayer thinks we are in the NE of England using EE as our provider. Looking forward to watching the start of the 6N rugby on Saturday....

 

[Moped]

Our sat dish worked in Bordeaux but not when we got to Urrugne near the Pyrenees.

We hotspot off our phone and can watch live TV on the laptop (the TV is not smart) as the BBC iPlayer thinks we are in the NE of England using EE as our provider. Looking forward to watching the start of the 6N rugby on Saturday....

If you use a British sim and its roaming allowance then you should be OK without a VPN. Just make sure you watch in standard definition or else your data use will shoot up.

Ultimately you cannot beat using a French Reglo sim with 120GB for €15 a month.

 

[GMJ]

Yes it worked last year OK. I do need to check it isnt HD though. Do you now if iPlayer and indeed ITV X are HD or not?

 

[Moped]

Yes it worked last year OK. I do need to check it isnt HD though. Do you now if iPlayer and indeed ITV X are HD or not?

Both stream in HD. Typically 1.5GB per hour but sport (we watch football) uses more data and can be 2GB per hour or more depending on the speed of play. Turn off streaming at half time.

There is no way that I can see to adjust the settings but both degrade the picture using adaptive measures if the streaming speed is not up to it.

You can make the sim 3G only in settings to reduce data flow (well you can in Android. Don’t know about IOS) and degrade the picture quality but you then may encounter buffering also. Always assuming that the 3G signal still exists and has not been turned off.

There is always the radio streaming option of course which uses about 0.15GB per hour.

 

[pamjon]

Thank you to everyone for their replies, advice and experience. There is a lot there for me to digest and try to understand. Doubt I will manage to get anything sorted while we are away as very technical but will start to get it all sorted when home.
By the way, if I buy a sim here ready for next time does the usage start when I buy it or when I start to use it?
Pj

 

[pamjon]

Just curious but what device are you using in France to post messages on the forum?

It is possible it could be adapted to link it to your TV.

We use our Samsung smartphone linked to the TV with a type C/HDMI cable connection.

I am using a basic tablet not branded with a data only sim in. It is on the 3 network I bought it for £24 for 24 months, runs out in August. My smart phone is a basic Samsung not an all singing and dancing one and again on the 3 network but pay as you go so does not allow to use it as a hotspot.
Pj

 

[TJBi]

Thank you to everyone for their replies, advice and experience. There is a lot there for me to digest and try to understand. Doubt I will manage to get anything sorted while we are away as very technical but will start to get it all sorted when home.
By the way, if I buy a sim here ready for next time does the usage start when I buy it or when I start to use it?
Pj

With Réglo Mobile, it starts on purchase. Don't know about others.

 

[Tezza33]

Doubt I will manage to get anything sorted while we are away as very technical but will start to get it all sorted when home.

Give me a call when you arrive home, and I can show you my setup for streaming in Europe, I think that I have a spare Roku TV stick somewhere that you can have,

 

[Moped]

I am using a basic tablet not branded with a data only sim in. It is on the 3 network I bought it for £24 for 24 months, runs out in August. My smart phone is a basic Samsung not an all singing and dancing one and again on the 3 network but pay as you go so does not allow to use it as a hotspot.
Pj

Pick up a Samsung Galaxy S8 or S10 from a used phone retailer. They have dual sim capability, can create hotspots, and can hardwire to a TV using a type c to hdmi connection.

You can then cancel the data only sim contract for your tablet as you can link to your phones hotspot using WiFi.

I don’t know what the cost of an Oyster dish is or a repair but using local mobile sims for the country you happen to be in offers far more flexibility and you can stream all over France and Spain and not be reliant on a satellite signal which you may loose in southern France depending on dish size and will definitely loose in Spain unless you use a different satellite and a decoder box.

The other option of course is to take with you several DVD box sets and watch those if you have no satellite signal and cannot use mobile WiFi. Or download loads of stuff before you go away. Make sure they are downloads without any expiry limits such a Netflix home produced stuff, iPlayer,, Prime home produced stuff, Disney+, etc.

For me in France and Spain (and Portugal?) there is no way I would want to be either dependent on U.K. roaming allowances or satellite dish signals but others may have a different view depending on personal lifestyle and needs and wants.

We did have a dish in the past when we had a caravan but that was a 90cm tripod job that worked all over France and even in northern Spain but those were the days when we parked up on sites and put up and pointed the dish manually with a satellite finder. With our motorhome and touring around we wanted other solutions. It’s just a pity your Oyster dish has failed but given it appears to not be the first time a good solid back up mobile WiFi system would seem sensible and provide flexibility.