TVision can be used away from home, but there are some limitations and especially when streaming on multiple devices at the same time. Most services impose restrictions when away from home, although these limitations often vary between services. Understanding TVision’s specific limitations will help to ensure there’s no disruption to streaming, whether at home or away.
TVision is yet another option for streaming live TV over the internet. However, it is somewhat limited at the moment. For example, TVision is currently only available to existing T-Mobile customers. In addition to this limitation, TVision is also restricted in terms of device support, with some notable platforms and devices missing, such as Roku players and TVs.
Although the number of supported devices is expected to improve over time, there are additional restrictions in place which can further limit which devices can access the service. This is particularly true when streaming live TV away from home.
TVision’s general stream policy
TVision allows subscribers to stream on up to three devices at the same time, depending on the plan. As a result, attempting to stream on more than three devices simultaneously won’t be possible. This is irrespective of whether away from home or at home. Furthermore, subscribers to TVision Vibe are entitled to fewer simultaneous streams than those subscribed to TVision’s Live plans. As such, the likelihood of maxing out streams at home or away is even higher.
Regardless of the plan, the maximum stream limit is primarily related to use when at home. Although subscribers can sometimes utilize as many as three streams when away from home, this will be dependent on the device. Notably, smart TVs are the most affected by TVision’s stream policy.
TVision does not allow subscribers to watch live TV or on demand content on a smart TV when away from home when a smart TV is streaming at home. The service uses a TV’s IP address to determine its location and if that does not match the other TV’s location then the second TV will be prohibited from accessing the service.
Smart TVs and other affected devices
Besides smart TVs, this limitation is also likely to affect a number of other devices as well, including streaming players and sticks.
TVision’s single-home policy actually relates to TV-connected devices. Therefore, it should be expected that most streaming players that need to be connected to a TV will also be unable to stream TVision when away from the home area, if one is being used at the same time at home. This includes Amazon Fire TV devices, as well Android TV-powered players such as the Nvidia SHIELD TV and Chromecast with Google TV.
In most cases, this shouldn’t impact on different devices in the same home. However, there is always the chance it could, depending on how a network assigns IP addresses to connected devices. If a subscriber does encounter any issue streaming on two different smart TVs or TV-connected devices in the same location, then it is highly likely to be an IP address-related issue. For example, the use of a VPN is likely to cause issues on smart TVs and streaming players when streaming TVision at home.
Other issues when away from home
In addition to limitations on which devices can stream TVision when away from home, there are some other differences to be aware of. The one that’s most likely to be encountered is channel availability.
TVision allows users to watch national channels wherever they are. However, local channels and regional sports networks will be unavailable. To be clear, when in another area, TVision will not only block access to the subscriber’s home local channels, but the subscriber also won’t be able to view local channels in the area they are in. Although they can still set home locals to record and watch the recordings after they’ve finished, irrespective of the location.
Another change will be to the live TV guide in general. If in another time zone, the live TV guide will update to reflect the current local time. However, the actual guide itself won’t change to match the new area. For example, if the subscriber’s home time zone is PST and they are currently in an EST area, the TV guide will show the current EST time for listings (so subscribers know what’s on now), but the listings are the same as what’s currently on in the PST location. In other words, only the time changes, not the listings.
TVision away from home summary
TVision subscribers can access live TV channels and on demand content when away from home. This mostly applies to mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. TVision only allows multiple smart TVs to access the service at the same time if they are connected to the home network. Therefore, subscribers cannot watch on a different TV in another location at the same time as someone watching in the home location.
In addition, this restriction equally applies to TV-connected devices in general. Due to this, subscribers should not expect to be able to use TVision on most streaming players and sticks when they are away from home, while similar devices are using the service at home.
Read more: TVision Live, Live+ & Live Zone Channels Comparison
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