Streaming YouTube TV on Tablet

[Lane Hog]

16 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

Even on land YouTube TV will not let you watch local programming if you are not physically in your local viewing area.

 

Nah, that's just not universally true.  For Android users, there's a way to trick the GPS into believing you're somewhere else, and YTTV uses the GPS to determine what programming you're entitled to.

 

I live in Illinois and regularly view local programming for Northern Wisconsin via YTTV using the fake GPS capability. That includes sports programming. 

 

I've also used it to watch out of market football games on the NFL app that weren't nationally broadcast (eg tricked the location to be in Phoenix or Atlanta to watch  Cardinals or Falcons game), and the same fake GPS works with Directv Stream.  

 

I haven't tried it on a cruise yet, but for tablet and mobile versions of region sensitive apps that use the GPS or location based services to determine programming, fake GPS should work.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Lane Hog

[RoperDK]

Thanks for all of the input, but now my head is swimming. 🙃 At a bare minimum, I only have to watch one football game and technically, I could watch it from my library after the game is over.  So only the 4K service allows you to watch from your library when you are out of your home area?  I always figured I could use my YTTV from my tablet or phone while traveling.  I can perhaps understand there being issues while on a cruise ship in International waters.  I can do without movies and TV shows during a cruise, but would love to be able to watch college football while on the ship.  I guess I will have to experiment and give it a try.  Love cruising in the fall, but hate to miss football games.

[hallux]

5 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

I always figured I could use my YTTV from my tablet or phone while traveling.  I can perhaps understand there being issues while on a cruise ship in International waters.  I can do without movies and TV shows during a cruise, but would love to be able to watch college football while on the ship.

As for watching your home local programming while traveling - you just can't watch it LIVE.  Once it's recorded you can stream it.  The 4K package only adds the ability to cache to the device for watching offline.

 

I believe I opened the YTTV app while I was out of the country on my last cruise and I was subsequently greeted by a message about international availability (or lack of).  In fact - there's a support article on the YTTV site that explains the access restriction for international travel, just type 'international' in the search box.

 

Here's what it says - You can't access any programs on YouTube TV while traveling internationally. 

[RoperDK]

57 minutes ago, hallux said:

Here's what it says - You can't access any programs on YouTube TV while traveling internationally. 

Well poo, that's not good.  I searched on the YTTV site about watching your library internationally and there was no info on that.  Do you know if the international restriction applies to your library also?  It's really just a cloud DVR.  Just trying to figure out a workaround if there is any.

[hallux]

@RoperDK this is all I found on the official support page - 

https://support.google.com/youtubetv/answer/7193651?hl=en#zippy=

[RoperDK]

2 minutes ago, hallux said:

@RoperDK this is all I found on the official support page - 

https://support.google.com/youtubetv/answer/7193651?hl=en#zippy=

Appreciate it.  Well, I guess it's a no go then.  I may have to look into ESPN+ again.  I have had some success with it on a cruise.  Won't help with all games, though.   

[jerseyjjs]

In my recent experiences on board Oasis (Sept & Oct) and Symphony (late Nov into Dec), college football was on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and SECnw.   Unfortunately, if you're a Bama fan, they usually have them on the prime mid-afternoon CBS game.   But as far as viewing college FB, I was able to watch them from the TV in my cabin or in Playmakers, but basically whatever the 4 ESPN channels were showing.

[bayportkat]

This is all new to me!  So glad I read this!  Hopefully someone can help-we have Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBOMax and primeVideo. Does anyone know which ones we will be able to watch live vs. downloading?  I want to be sure to download enough to our devices before getting on the ship if necessary. Thanks!

[hallux]

26 minutes ago, bayportkat said:

Hopefully someone can help-we have Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBOMax and primeVideo. Does anyone know which ones we will be able to watch live vs. downloading?  I want to be sure to download enough to our devices before getting on the ship if necessary.

That depends on your patience with buffering, but the only one of those that supports even close to a live TV stream is Hulu.  All the rest are video on demand and can cache better than YTTV live streams.  Also - the primary focus for YTTV is location as it's entirely unavailable unless your location shows in the US.

 

Regardless - I would anticipate the needs/desires of whoever is planning to watch the content vs. spending time enjoying the cruise and ship and pre-download as much as you can.

[RobInMN]

I am currently on Jewel, somewhere off the coast of Denmark, on our way to Norway.

I am from Minneapolis. I have ExpressVPN on my Samsung Galaxy S20 with Chicago selected (wish there was a VPN service that had a Minneapolis server), and am also using it as a WiFi hotspot (so that I don't have to keep connecting and disconnecting different devices). I actually have ExpressVPN installed on all my devices, even my Firestick, if I want to connect direct.

Just now, in order to answer this thread, I logged into my YTTV account from my laptop and my tablet, both connecting through my phone's hotspot.

I have Voom S&S, and while the internet itself is no where near the quality that I have found on Odyssey, Symphony, or Freedom, here is what I can tell you:

For all local channels, I am getting Chicago. I can watch them.

I have Jeopardy recorded from my local NBC affiliate, and it will let me watch that. I only checked that they would play, I can't vouch yet for the extended play quality (based on just web surfing, I'm almost afraid to try).

I have a Firestick with me, but I have not tried it yet (just left this afternoon). I have no reason to believe any other streaming service will not work. None of them care exactly where in the US you are. I will have to try though, otherwise I will have to wait until late July to finish Obi-Wan.

 

I do know that I have had mixed results, some of which may be due to YTTV changes. In 2020, I took my Firestick to Orlando, and I could watch everything just like if I was home (including live Mpls affiliates). In 2021, I went an hour away to Mankato, MN and it was forced to the Mankato affiliates, and I don't think it let me watch anything recorded from them. In Nov '21, I took it to Fort Lauderdale, and I think It ended up being like Orlando, I could watch local recordings. No VPN on these attempts.

 

Also, when I was on Freedom (CocoCay run) last November, I watched the Iowa vs. Minnesota (Go Hawks!) football game on BTN (Big Ten Network) on YTTV on my phone without any VPN just fine. Playmakers could only show games on ESPN channels (including the SEC Network).

 

 

 

[Charles4515]

18 minutes ago, hallux said:

 

Regardless - I would anticipate the needs/desires of whoever is planning to watch the content vs. spending time enjoying the cruise and ship and pre-download as much as you can.

 

Everyone is different but I don't watch pre downloaded content on a cruise. I watch it on the plane.  I need to watch videos on the plane to get through flights. Makes me forget I am on a plane. I don't watch  on the cruise itself. On lazy sea days I read. I bring a couple of paperbacks and I load up my tablet with books. I used to find books in the ship library but unfortunately ship libraries have been disappearing. 

[RoperDK]

1 hour ago, jerseyjjs said:

In my recent experiences on board Oasis (Sept & Oct) and Symphony (late Nov into Dec), college football was on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and SECnw.   Unfortunately, if you're a Bama fan, they usually have them on the prime mid-afternoon CBS game.   But as far as viewing college FB, I was able to watch them from the TV in my cabin or in Playmakers, but basically whatever the 4 ESPN channels were showing.

The game we are concerned about is the Bama/Arkansas game.  It will probably be on CBS, but I could be wrong.  So glad that we have access to ESPN and SEC to watch.  At least we could follow the score until we get to watch the DVR at home.  At home, we watch college ball all day.  Will be nice to peak in on some games during the cruise! 

[slyster]

1 hour ago, bayportkat said:

This is all new to me!  So glad I read this!  Hopefully someone can help-we have Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBOMax and primeVideo. Does anyone know which ones we will be able to watch live vs. downloading?  I want to be sure to download enough to our devices before getting on the ship if necessary. Thanks!

 

download what you want to watch.  You can watch those but it will depend on speed and buffering.  I usually download everything just to make things easier.

[hallux]

29 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Everyone is different but I don't watch pre downloaded content on a cruise. I watch it on the plane

Same with me, but the person I was responding to seemed to indicate it was for consumption on the cruise.  On my last cruise my tablet (my primary video content consumption device while on the trip) was stowed in the safe for all but about 2 hours each night.

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, RobInMN said:

I am currently on Jewel, somewhere off the coast of Denmark, on our way to Norway.

I am from Minneapolis. I have ExpressVPN on my Samsung Galaxy S20 with Chicago selected (wish there was a VPN service that had a Minneapolis server), and am also using it as a WiFi hotspot (so that I don't have to keep connecting and disconnecting different devices). I actually have ExpressVPN installed on all my devices, even my Firestick, if I want to connect direct.

Just now, in order to answer this thread, I logged into my YTTV account from my laptop and my tablet, both connecting through my phone's hotspot.

I have Voom S&S, and while the internet itself is no where near the quality that I have found on Odyssey, Symphony, or Freedom, here is what I can tell you:

For all local channels, I am getting Chicago. I can watch them.

I have Jeopardy recorded from my local NBC affiliate, and it will let me watch that. I only checked that they would play, I can't vouch yet for the extended play quality (based on just web surfing, I'm almost afraid to try).

I have a Firestick with me, but I have not tried it yet (just left this afternoon). I have no reason to believe any other streaming service will not work. None of them care exactly where in the US you are. I will have to try though, otherwise I will have to wait until late July to finish Obi-Wan.

 

I do know that I have had mixed results, some of which may be due to YTTV changes. In 2020, I took my Firestick to Orlando, and I could watch everything just like if I was home (including live Mpls affiliates). In 2021, I went an hour away to Mankato, MN and it was forced to the Mankato affiliates, and I don't think it let me watch anything recorded from them. In Nov '21, I took it to Fort Lauderdale, and I think It ended up being like Orlando, I could watch local recordings. No VPN on these attempts.

 

Also, when I was on Freedom (CocoCay run) last November, I watched the Iowa vs. Minnesota (Go Hawks!) football game on BTN (Big Ten Network) on YTTV on my phone without any VPN just fine. Playmakers could only show games on ESPN channels (including the SEC Network).

 

 

 

We'll be on Jewel for her Arctic Circle cruise mid July. I'm interested to know if your Firestick ends up working out. We'll be bringing ours with us and hopefully it will. Long time RCI cruisers and after port days we're not interested in the night life onboard any longer.

Thanks so much for all the above info you've provided....and hope you're enjoying Jewel. 

[RobInMN]

18 hours ago, Ashland said:

We'll be on Jewel for her Arctic Circle cruise mid July. I'm interested to know if your Firestick ends up working out. We'll be bringing ours with us and hopefully it will. Long time RCI cruisers and after port days we're not interested in the night life onboard any longer.

Thanks so much for all the above info you've provided....and hope you're enjoying Jewel. 

Firestick report.

Anything on the Firestick that needs dynamic content is very slow. Still connecting via the WiFi hotspot on my phone.

YTTV: Interestingly, showing all the local Minneapolis channels (at least for now). This is different than my laptop and tablet (Android), which I said were showing Chicago's. I've watched a couple full recorded shows. They're watchable, but SD (probably less than standard SD), but with very limited buffering issues.

Netflix: It took a long time to load the home screen, but I was able to start a movie. Watched the first 5 minutes. Down-scaled, motion blur, artifacting. But then hit a re-buffer. If it only re-buffers about every 5 minutes or so, that seems doable.

Disney+: First attempt hung after selecting profile. Clear cache, start again. Started a show. Much buffering issues, like every 10 seconds? Not sure how watchable Obi-Wan will be. Will try later.

 

 

 

[bayportkat]

On 6/20/2022 at 7:06 PM, Charles4515 said:

 

Everyone is different but I don't watch pre downloaded content on a cruise. I watch it on the plane.  I need to watch videos on the plane to get through flights. Makes me forget I am on a plane. I don't watch  on the cruise itself. On lazy sea days I read. I bring a couple of paperbacks and I load up my tablet with books. I used to find books in the ship library but unfortunately ship libraries have been disappearing. 

Don't plan to be continuously watching on the ship, but have kids who sometimes want to watch during their downtime.  I didn't realize we may not be able to stream from some of those sites, so I was trying to figure out how to plan ahead if necessary.