App issues
With a channel you can view on the screen, Elgato's standard Eye TV UI appears, and includes both battery and signal-strength readings, plus EPG and channel info. Tap to get rid of this and watch the programme full-screen.
DVR-style functionality included...
Like the Mac-based Eye TV, Elgato's Tivizen software - available for free, from the App Store, unlike its iOS viewer for Eye TV - has basic DVR functionality: pause and rewind live telly, and record programmes for later viewing. No EPG means no scheduling, of course, but the full-resolution recordings, though MPEG 2 files and accessible through iTunes, are tied to Eye TV.
Alas, on my iPhone 4 even channels with a full signal strength didn't play back entirely smoothly, with occasional stutters to spoil the flow. Freeview? Tivizen? WLAN? Elgato's app? It's hard to say where the blame lies, but the latter didn't gain the benefit of the doubt thanks to very frequent crashes. The failures were random and usually came when I tapped on a button or changed menu - a sure sign of memory problems. I don't have a lot of apps running but I shouldn't have to close them manually to suit another one, in any case.
...or view full-screen
iOS 4 has mechanisms to close down apps when memory runs low, so the Tivizen software's woes are its own fault, not the platform's. And you can't blame iOS for a recording becoming mysteriously truncated between viewings.
The app may be free, but the hardware costs a whopping £150 - too much , I think, for occasional usage. A hundred quid would be reasonable, but only when the iOS app improves somewhat.
Verdict
Freeview signal strength aside - this affects all mobile tuners - the Tivizen is a clever gadget but one limited by poor initial software. Apps can be updated, of course, but that won't change the fact that, thanks to catch-up TV services like BBC iPlayer and to domestic DVRs, few of us really need to watch telly while we're out and about. Worried about missing something? Watch it later, or watch it online. The picture will be better and your viewer probably won't keep falling over. ®
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Elgato Tivizen iOS Wi-Fi TV tuner
COMMENTS
Hmm
It's rubbish.
1) Too expensive. A USB DTT stick is from £10
2) Since is connects only with WiFi, why only for iOS?
3) Most locations need external aerial. The Telescopic aerial should either be on a connector, or there should be a separate connector.
4) Streaming video on WiFi is very demanding. A direct dongle on the iThing and option for an external aerial would work FAR better, give far better battery life and cost a fraction.
It's basically a $6 DTT chip and a portable WiFi point. It's a nearly pointless shiny toy.
Though Elgato do make the only decent Apple Mac OSX TV tuners. But then for Windows or Linux you can use many more (almost any on Linux).
Why pay £150?
...when you can watch TV on any mobile device through http://www.tvcatchup.com/
Good, but
Although TV catchup is brilliant, it doesn't really make sense where this product is aimed - i.e. outside of a free/cheap wireless net connection. The 3G iPads would rack up a fairly hefty bill, and wifi iPads would be stuffed.
I wonder...
what the TV licensing people have to say about this.
If you use a USB dongle for freeview, you are covered by your home TV license with a laptop as long as the laptop is running on battery. As soon as you plug it in, you have to be covered by a valid license for the premises you are in.
The important thing appears to be that the receiving device is battery powered.
This thing looks like it is battery powered, so you can plug your laptop into the mains with impunity! I'm sure that there will be debate about this, but this is how I read it.
I also wonder how leakage into adjacent properties not covered by a license will be seen by the TV licensing people.
@enigmatix
I'm <10 miles from the transmitter I get freeview from but there's a small amount of terrain blocking a direct line-of-sight to my aerial. I only get 2 of the 6 multiplexes with any reliability. There was a great web site I used to plot the line-of-sight against the intervening terrain but I can't remember the name of it now...
According to the information of www.ukfree.tv the transmission power of the various multiplexes will increase from the 10KW they're all at now to either 50KW or 100KW when the analogue signal is switched off on 30/10/12.
I don't watch much telly so I'm going to wait to see what improvement that makes rather than shell-out for a better aerial now. Maybe then I'll get rid of my 24" CRT TV and get something more befitting the 21st century.
