Do TVs Have USB ports for the Firestick

[QualityPlus]

New to Viking. Was wondering if there is a usb plug in back of the Tv in the cabin so I can use my firestick and stream movies. I will be on the 27 day Atlantic & Mediterranean Odyssey in March

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by QualityPlus
Text addition

[ropomo]

The TVs do not have an accessible port and if they did, your firestick would probably be useless due to lack of bandwidth on the ship's network

[QualityPlus]

Thank you for the quick response. This is a first time on Viking and doing a 27 day was wondering what I would do since there are 5 straight sea days.

[Jim Avery]

Smell that sea air......🍸

[OneSixtyToOne]

4 minutes ago, QualityPlus said:

Thank you for the quick response. This is a first time on Viking and doing a 27 day was wondering what I would do since there are 5 straight sea days.

If you get to the point that you need to watch TV, Viking has an extensive movie collection on their in cabin entertainment system. There are typically activities scheduled on sea days. 

[millybess]

18 minutes ago, QualityPlus said:

Thank you for the quick response. This is a first time on Viking and doing a 27 day was wondering what I would do since there are 5 straight sea days.

I always download movies on my Mac and my iPad from Netflix and Crave.  This year we did a Trans Atlantic with many sea days and we also did a 3 week back to back.  I didn't watch any of the movies.  As Jim says, I was too busy smelling the sea air.  🙂

[gma1]

1 hour ago, QualityPlus said:

Thank you for the quick response. This is a first time on Viking and doing a 27 day was wondering what I would do since there are 5 straight sea days.

Lots to do...movies, lectures, trivia, games including puzzles, make new friends, read &  spa hang out!  Love the sea days! 

[Mich3554]

Just FYI.  

 

I asked about using the USB ports on the back of the TV while we were on the ship.  DH was taking a lot of photos and his computer was unsatisfactory to see the detail he wanted to see.  We were given a ‘nope’ (quite possibly the first time on Viking we have had).    Apparently maintenance needs to be called in if it is done.  The manager at the Explorer’s desk said in his tenure, the only time they did this was to allow a man who used hearing aids use a device where he could watch TV through an amplifier of sorts connected to his hearing aids.  

[Jim Avery]

I read an article on the upcoming next largest ship in the world Icon of the Seas.  In the article they made the point that passengers will not realize they are at sea, even on sea days.....  Spooky.  The ultimate goal is a one week r/t Miami with only one stop, RCL's private island.  You don't have to ever worry about me being in front of you on that ship trying to get to the buffett.....🥃

Edited September 3, 2023 by Jim Avery

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

I read an article on the upcoming next largest ship in the world Icon of the Seas.  In the article they made the point that passengers will not realize they are at sea, even on sea days.....  Spooky.  The ultimate goal is a one week r/t Miami with only one stop, RCL's private island.  You don't have to ever worry about me being in front of you on that ship trying to get to the buffett.....🥃

Why cruise?

[Jim Avery]

2 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

Why cruise?

My point exactly.

[millybess]

And thou shalt not stream (please)🙂

[Frisky070802]

10 hours ago, millybess said:

And thou shalt not stream (please)🙂

That’s the thing. I get that the connectivity to the rest of the world is really, really lousy, and everyone shares one thin pipe.  But they could put many wifi access points throughout the ship and let people stream stored content from a phone or tablet to a tv. Hotels often let us “cast” from a device.  Why can’t a cruise ship? 
 

I posed that question on Facebook and was basically mocked for suggesting I’d want to watch tv during a cruise. And indeed, I downloaded many hours of content and watched a small subset, mostly in the fitness center. But I did watch sometimes before bed, and would have preferred the larger screen.

[WanderingBrit]

1 hour ago, Frisky070802 said:

That’s the thing. I get that the connectivity to the rest of the world is really, really lousy, and everyone shares one thin pipe.  But they could put many wifi access points throughout the ship and let people stream stored content from a phone or tablet to a tv. Hotels often let us “cast” from a device.  Why can’t a cruise ship? 
 

I posed that question on Facebook and was basically mocked for suggesting I’d want to watch tv during a cruise. And indeed, I downloaded many hours of content and watched a small subset, mostly in the fitness center. But I did watch sometimes before bed, and would have preferred the larger screen.

I don’t blame them for not enabling something that’s going to bring with it all sorts of tech support expectations, and complaints when a passenger can’t make it work. Easier by far simply not to enable it.

[Frisky070802]

53 minutes ago, WanderingBrit said:

I don’t blame them for not enabling something that’s going to bring with it all sorts of tech support expectations, and complaints when a passenger can’t make it work. Easier by far simply not to enable it.

I suppose.  But I figure hotels manage it, and a cruise ship is basically a floating luxury hotel.  It's within their power.   

[WanderingBrit]

1 hour ago, Frisky070802 said:

I suppose.  But I figure hotels manage it, and a cruise ship is basically a floating luxury hotel.  It's within their power.   

And a hotel can have a support contract with a 3rd party that can provide phone help, or send a technician over in a car if something gets screwed up - yeah, a cruise ship is just like that.

 

[Jim Avery]

2 hours ago, Frisky070802 said:

I suppose.  But I figure hotels manage it, and a cruise ship is basically a floating luxury hotel.  It's within their power.   

Hotels don't bounce around and depend on a sat dish to keep up with the motions. Hotels also do not constantly change latitudes and the further away from direct overhead, the lesser the connection.  Simple.  No streaming.  To expect a work around will only leave you frustrated.

[Frisky070802]

3 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Hotels don't bounce around and depend on a sat dish to keep up with the motions. Hotels also do not constantly change latitudes and the further away from direct overhead, the lesser the connection.  Simple.  No streaming.  To expect a work around will only leave you frustrated.

You didn’t get my post.  I’m not talking about downloading from Netflix, live. I’m talking about replaying downloaded content over wifi, which has nothing to do with latitudes. 

[Jim Avery]

1 minute ago, Frisky070802 said:

You didn’t get my post.  I’m not talking about downloading from Netflix, live. I’m talking about replaying downloaded content over wifi, which has nothing to do with latitudes. 

Right you are.  /But, correct me if I am wrong, to use your pre recorded content on the room tvs through the ships wifi would require you to upload (enter) the wifi system then stream to the tv.  Vikings system supports no streaming.  

[Frisky070802]

4 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Right you are.  /But, correct me if I am wrong, to use your pre recorded content on the room tvs through the ships wifi would require you to upload (enter) the wifi system then stream to the tv.  Vikings system supports no streaming.  

But that's exactly what I'm saying!  They say not to stream and they don't provide a device that would allow streaming, even from stored content.  I am saying that they could provide good wifi even if they don't have good broadband (satellite) and allow people to upload stored content from their devices to their TVs.  

[Jim Avery]

Theirs is a closed circuit system.  The TVs in the rooms are monitors, not at all "smart tvs".  They have a pretty good selection of channels and news and even have a nice selection of first run movies as well  as a large library of older movies and tv series.  Also broadcasts of the port talks. Menus etc.  Yes, they "could" purchase the equipment and services to let everyone stream but they choose not to.  Can't say I disagree as there would be people streaming shows in the Dining Room.  Bad enough all the FaceTimers sharing their conversations with their grandchildren.  In over 9 months onboard I have only been able to stream Bama football when in port and using my T-Mobile service.  Lots of cricket and soccer though......🥃

Edited September 4, 2023 by Jim Avery

[QualityPlus]

With the price and quality of the ships you would think they would invest on getting the best internet connection for all. It’s possible because all the other large cruise lines have it. Just my opinion.

[OneSixtyToOne]

18 minutes ago, QualityPlus said:

With the price and quality of the ships you would think they would invest on getting the best internet connection for all. It’s possible because all the other large cruise lines have it. Just my opinion.

The have upgraded their ISP to Starlink, but even this system has issues at high latitudes. The issue of streaming to the TVs from you device is totally different. It’s a potential nightmare for IT support staff.

Introducing thousands of devices to a private network for streaming to TVs is fraught with issues, not to mention the cost of upgrading the TVs.

From the Sky in April:

Edited September 6, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[QualityPlus]

That is great speed for a ship.

[Jim Avery]

People spend enough time on their phones onboard as it is.