This probably doesn't make sense but it's important to me and FReepers know everything. Pretty much!
Seriously. You are mucking up the board with a vanity about how to hook up your TV?
If you have phone network service there - Hot Spot.
FORGET THE TV though.....It’s a vacation....
If wireless reaches the spot, maybe upping your cell service to act as a data hotspot would fit the bill.
The key issues are whether there’s a high enough data rate available at the location and whether your vendor allows you to switch on and off any extra data needed.
My suggestion is to check out Camping World—ask people there for advice. RV people are very cool and inventive. Getting this kind of infrastructure is a continual problem for the nomads.
Sounds like you’re looking at some sort of satellite dish system by default for both cable and internet, but to my knowledge there’s no intermittent use package that would reduce cost. Here, the cheapest rate is $50.00 per month with a two year rate guarantee.
Only other option would be a cellphone hotspot for internet, Roku or similar for specialty tv programming and a big antenna for network broadcast tv. Given that those using it will not be techie at all, I doubt that this would work for you.
So, look for the cheapest monthly dish package with both cable and internet. Directv, Dish Network, etc.
I have a private campground i get away to. I need internet because i am on call from work at all times. I use my cell phone as a hot spot with at&t. If you cannot get cell service you will have to go satellite or dsl or whatever is available. If you go satellite (ie. Hughsnet or Exede) you will have to sign a contract but you can suspend it 6 months out of the year.
For TV i use directv. I put a dish in and take a spare receiver from my house with me and hook it up. It is quite simple and align the dish myself. For the TV, I use a portable GAEMs tv. It is very handy as the case is used also for holding the directv receiver. https://gaemspge.com/black-edition-vanguard.html
Depending upon your area location something like DISH Network maybe your solution.
But I suspect is will be an ongoing monthly charge that you’ll have to deal with.
Use your smart phone as a hot spot and watch TV on your laptop. HDMI to a flat-screen and you are good to go.
Vue also supports Amazon Fire TV device, or Roku streaming device), as well as ios and Android devices. They do month to month billing, and have a free trial so you can try it out.
For the very rural, satellite is usually the only option for either. Unfortunately, they’d be looking at monthly subscription for them. A wi-if hotspot would work if there is cell service nearby. If there is phone line, DSL could work. Normally satellites require a fixed location for television service, but they do offer roaming versions for those with RVs. Check with the provider.
I use T-mobile and tether to my computer for internet.
I use a tailgater from wineguard with dishnetwork for my cable TV. about 130.00 month for both services.
The answer is, "it depends".
If the location receives signals from a (Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, etc.) Broadband tower, buy the respective hotspot device, which will give you access to the Internet.
E.g., Sprint has a pay-as-you-go hotspot device: re: https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Internet-Go-Mobile-Hotspot/dp/B00LTBSNVM?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00LTBSNVM&linkCode=xm2&tag=duckduckgo-d-20
Once you have a working hotspot, you have Internet. Next, buy a Pay-as-you-go Internet cable subscription to SLING. Go to SLING.com to see what they offer.
The key here is being able to receive Internet signal from a Broadband tower - and then connect the dots.
Check out Google Project Fi. It’s a cell phone service, cost is $10 per GigaByte for data, and you can suspend and restart the service at any time. Google Fi uses T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular so if any of those providers cover your area, you should be OK. Also it’s no contract, try it out, it it doesn’t work out, cancel it. The only drawback is that it works with only two phones at this time, Nexus 5x and Nexus 6p.
Bottom line: The combination you want cannot be done. You will have to pay lots of money and be tech savvy. Walmart can sell you a Hotspot IF you have landline phone service. You can hotspot a phone but it won’t be cheap.
You can use a tablet with 4G and hook it to a TV but you need to be fairly tech savvy and it also isn’t cheap.
You are better off buying an expensive package and hooking it up full time if you really want TV and internet. If it were me, I would do ...nothing and just enjoy the home. If someone wants to bring a PC/tablet with a hotspot, that’s fine.
Review of rural Internet service options - the good, bad and the (especially) ugly
Slingbox might work. [I don’t have it nor have used it, but have read about it. Not sure what all would be involved.]
It would seem that anything else would require a significant investment.
Cable or satellite. I don’t know if they have plans for periodic connections. Some utility companies have re-connect fees. That could add up on an annual basis.
T-Mobile has been advertising unlimited streaming that is separate from the voice and data. I have not found much about it on their website.
One approach would be a laptop connected to the TV. Use a USB portable hard drive, load it up with digital movies/TV programs, and use the laptop video player. That would be the least expensive way to go, unless the people who would be watching NEED current TV for some reason. How many days a month? Same viewers or different as in a time-share? Every month or ...
There are a lot of work-arounds, but we would need A LOT MORE specifics. Most of them would run into a chunk of money, however.
Directv for TV and a Wireless Hot Spot for Internet. Check Sprint,ATT and Verison for a Hotspot via separate device or a Smart phone.
I do this RV’g 4 to 6 months of the year.
PM me if you like.
I have an off grid second property. There right now.
I use a yagi antenna for cell sevice, which I then use for Internet via my iPhone hotspot. No additional cost.
I can get 3 TV networks OTA but just barely and not reliably. So I use satellite for TV.
Because I use Dish Networks at my first home I could probably just take a Dish receiver from there and get free satellite with a Tailgater or an installed dish. But for convenience I set up a separate Dish account and a 200 channel plan. I am on vacation mode 6 months of the year for $5/month. Costs @$500 annually.
Works very well for me.
A normal tv with a decoder box and manual antenna (rabbit ears) will bring in a few local channels. A radio is important for emergency broadcasts, but a CB radio is more important (two-way communications for help with snakes, lions and bears, and fire or medical emergencies).
for internet, NetZero dial-up. 10 hours, zero bucks.
No landline? This might work: Tether a cell phone (trac-fone?) to the computer. Use phone cards from dollar store to keep it activated. Or, max out the ‘free’ additional phones on your current cell plan and keep one in the cabin. Mounting stands (like a selfie stick with a base) can be glued or screwed in place.
Good luck!
http://www.pcworld.com/article/140028/article.html
http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/phonesformobileworkers/f/what-is-tethering.htm
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/connect-tracfone-computer-53018.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEdpKTJtT1k
https://store.netzero.net/account/showService.do?serviceId=nz-dialup