Signal discontent
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Freeview reception in my own home in central London was non-existent and, however cumbersome, without the ability to connect to the larger aerial on my roof the Tizi was simply no use at all for watching TV at home.
Nice idea, but the fixed antenna could be a problem for some
Verdict
The Tizi is a perfectly good option for watching live TV on an iPhone or iPad – as long as you’re in a location that has very good Freeview reception. That’s the case with most Freeview tuners, of course, but most conventional tuners also have the ability to connect to an external aerial as well. The fact that the Tizi relies solely on its own modest 6in aerial limits its usefulness here in the UK, where Freeview reception still varies widely across the country. ®
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Equinux Tizi iPhone TV tuner
COMMENTS
Baffling limited market
How much harder could it have been to make it OS independent?
What if
Apple decide they don't like it and kill off the app?
It's also way too expensive, and the battery life is not very impressive.
Is the investment worth it given the trashy TV wasteland?
The programming on TV is pretty trashy and apart from the wasted time, is it really worth the investment?
The biggest drawback is a matter of physics - how can a wideband digital TV be received on such a puny antenna - the answer will always be a compromise.
Come to think of it, given this device is only for iOS, iPhans with Lemon 4's are used to antenna problems so it, and the programming, might just fit their bill.
Or alternatively
You could use tvcatchup instead for free.
Agreed
I have often seen speaker wire, and in one case, a hacked up mains power cable connecting the roof antenna wall socket to the device.
Often one end was stripped and shoved into the center pin of the wall socket and the other end was stripped to a longer length and wound around the end of the telescopic antenna (usually the telescopic was snapped off and the wire wrapped around it's stump) and the signal was perfect.
Lesson here, never underestimate the engineering capacity of a bogan (aus) / chav (uk) / redneck (us)
