ozymandias Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 (edited) Does anyone have a nice, small, preferably 12-volt-cigarette-lighter-outlet-powered Blu-Ray player they like that would connect via HDMI to the rear seat entertainment system? My understanding is that the 2018 Navigator doesn't have a Blu-Ray player and instead depends on USB or HDMI inputs for playing videos on the rear nav. I assume I could also use the AT&T in-car WiFi thing for streaming (at $20 a month), but as fast as my little one watches videos, I think I'd blow through the data allotment on that in short order every month. Edit: FYI, our family uses Android phones. Our current Android phones don't support HDMI out. However, my understanding is that iPhones and iPads do with the appropriate adapter. Has anyone tried hooking up their iPhone/iPad with an adapter to the HDMI input of the rear nav? And (an even smaller possible subset of people), have any of those who may have done that tried it with the Google Play Movies app on the iPhone/iPad (which is where we have most of our digital content...with Google)? Edited May 21, 2018 by ozymandias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 (edited) Get the AT&T in car WiFi, connect a Chromecast to the HDMI and use your Android phones to cast videos to your monitor. I have a AT&T ZTE Mobley hotspot that pugs into the OBDII port in my truck with $20 per month unlimited data & I bought an OBDII USB adapter so I can use it in my travel trailer too now that I've cancelled DIRECTV. We stream everything now, all my TV's are either Roku, have Amazon Firesticks, have Chromecasts or are "smart". Edited May 22, 2018 by NLPRacing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Get the AT&T in car WiFi, connect a Chromecast to the HDMI and use your Android phones to cast videos to your monitor. I have a AT&T ZTE Mobley hotspot that pugs into the OBDII port in my truck with $20 per month unlimited data & I bought an OBDII USB adapter so I can use it in my travel trailer too now that I've cancelled DIRECTV. We stream everything now, all my TV's are either Roku, have Amazon Firesticks, have Chromecasts or are "smart". We do the exact same thing with our Mobley! It's awesome! Although, I don't know if they offer the limited package anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 We do the exact same thing with our Mobley! It's awesome! Although, I don't know if they offer the limited package anymore. This is my hotspot for "work" and I was still able to get unlimited on our business plan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozymandias Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 I have Chromecasts at home and use them all the time. The problem with a Chromecast in the car is that phones, even when you have downloaded movies and other materials to the phone, do not actually cast the content directly to the Chromecast across Wi-Fi. Instead, the phone informs the Chromecast that you wish to watch a particular movie or show. The Chromecast then proceeds to try to stream that show using its internet connection. Going that route, I'm going to use up the data allotment in the AT&T plan too quickly. I know they say it is unlimited, but it is really is not. They start throttling after 20 GB or so I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 I have Chromecasts at home and use them all the time. The problem with a Chromecast in the car is that phones, even when you have downloaded movies and other materials to the phone, do not actually cast the content directly to the Chromecast across Wi-Fi. Instead, the phone informs the Chromecast that you wish to watch a particular movie or show. The Chromecast then proceeds to try to stream that show using its internet connection. Going that route, I'm going to use up the data allotment in the AT&T plan too quickly. I know they say it is unlimited, but it is really is not. They start throttling after 20 GB or so I believe. They don't 'throttle', they de-prioritize. What that means is that, after you hit your 'limit', which is 22GB, you will get a lower priority on the towers. So, if the tower is busy, you will see slower speeds than normal. These slower speeds are normally still fast enough to stream movies. I've reached over 200GB on my Mobley mentioned above, and the slowest I've seen when de-prioritized is about 4-5 Mbs. That's only when I'm in a congested area. Where I live is a rural area and I almost never see any negative effects from de-prioritization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozymandias Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 That's great news. I didn't realize it wasn't actually throttling. First thing I'm going to do is hook up my Chromecast when I get the new Navigator. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 I don't have an Android phone, so I am not that familiar, but doesn't Chromecast allow you to "mirror" your Android phone versus casting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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