Hughesnet is one of the largest and leading direct satellite internet service providers all over the world that offers internet services to customers who are not able to get high-speed internet through cable or fiber optics internet connection. Due to the nature of its service delivery through satellite connection, many people often wonder whether one can watch TV through Hughesnet. To answer the first question, yes, you can watch TV with Hughesnet satellite internet, however, there are certain factors that you should be aware of.
How Hughesnet Satellite Internet Connection Works
First of all, it will be helpful to know how Hughesnet provides internet services to its consumers. Hughesnet uses a system of satellites in GEO (geostationary orbit) to exchange data with your home. This enables them to offer coverage almost from any location in the states within the continental United States.
So, in simple terms, it can act as a ‘middleman’ between you and the physical servers of the internet. When you enter the identifying information of a website into your Hughesnet satellite dish, that request goes up to the Hughesnet satellite, down to a ground site, and out to the normal internet backbone servers that host the website in question. All these conversions result in increased transmission time compared to the cable or fiber optic internet.
This latency does come into play when thinking about streaming the video and watching TV over Hughesnet. While Hughesnet has mentioned download speeds that range up to 25 Mbps on several of its plans, that does not necessarily mean that you can watch high-bandwidth content without challenges. It still leads to latency or delay issues, problems with buffering, and a decrease in video quality.
Streaming TV with Hughesnet
This is especially the case with live TV channels because their streaming will be greatly affected by the higher latency of satellite internet. Online services such as YouTube TV, Hulu Live, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and others need a comparatively low latency for the streams to be effective. Low latency below 100ms is preferred.
It takes up to 600ms or more for a page to load through Hughesnet. This makes watching live-streaming TV nothing but an exercise in futility. The stream is just not feasible to handle in real-time over the satellite link and results in continuous buffering, graphical glitches, being out of sync, and an overall subpar experience.
watching on-demand videos using services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu’s on-demand content, Disney +, etc. is mostly fine in most cases. As you may sometimes experience some stutters at certain times of the day, how the application loads a part of the video before actually playing it is helpful to avoid latency issues.
Hughesnet data limits also apply in terms of streaming decisions. These have caps that range from 20GB – 50GB which are usually renewed every month. A few hours of high-definition streaming can quickly devour that allowance, meaning you end up with slow connections or additional charges.
The main reason that people use Antenna for Local TV is also evident from this study as 41% of the respondents stated that they prefer using Antenna for Local TV.
The first thing satellite internet users can do is install an over-the-air (OTA) TV aerial. Antennas can capture local broadcast stations which may include some of the most popular networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and PBS among others. Picture quality is great because you get it over the air for free and it is in full HD without the need for an internet connection.
It is also possible to attach an antenna to the current TV configuration and be able to watch the live TV directly under that input. Every device, whether it is a smart television, a streaming player, a DVR, or any other means of managing the desired streaming apps, will also feature an antenna input or the Air TV.
Thus, the combination of an antenna with on-demand streaming is quite a good cord-cutting option. You get the major networks live with news and sports then add Netflix/Hulu on-demand for shows and movies.
Using Streaming Devices
About streaming devices and smart TVs, it is important to add that Hughesnet can offer them to its customers as well. Some of the models include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV among others as these options can help in managing one or several streaming apps in one interface.
These streaming devices depend on the Hughesnet satellite link for downloading applications, updates, and streaming of videos on demand. Their processors and memory cache the streamed video content so internet issues do not affect the experience as much. The platform is compatible with Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and other applications with a high-quality connection.
However, one problem that can be encountered from time to time is the appearance of the buffering icon when the device interface is being navigated. If you have a streaming box guide/homepage with lots of video previews/internet queries, Hughesnet latency causes it to slow down. Though, after choosing a video to play the Experience is generally okay as expected in the system.
How good is Hughesnet for streaming and TV?
However, streaming TV channels are an issue; Hughesnet can offer access to numerous on-demand shows/movies and local TV through the use of an antenna. As for some of them, it can be the only option at all, provided outside of traditional satellite TV packages. Managing data usage and setting realistic expectations for the quality of the videos are other couple of aspects.
Ultimately, Hughesnet satellite internet offers enough capabilities to meet most users’ requirements for surfing the Internet, watching videos sometimes, controlling smart home devices, and others. There are limits on the amount of bandwidth for the videos, which does not allow for excessive use of bandwidth like in the case of cable or fiber internet. However the opportunity to receive any Internet connection is still possible with the help of Hughesnet, which makes it possible for rural TV.
