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PCTV Broadway 2T network Freeview tuner
Live TV anywhere on Android and iOS
Map quest
Once you’re in the web browser interface you can select a number of other options too. You can activate the Wi-Fi networking from there, create lists of favourite channels, and even modify the settings for the H.264 conversion.
Channel listings on the iPad
When it comes to remote TV viewing over the Internet, a spot of port-mapping on your router is required – a process that is far from intuitive, especially since most of the help files on the PCTV website are written in German. The addition of IR Blaster support in the latest firmware update also means that from a remote location you can change channel on your Sky box at home if lined up with the IR sender and hooked up to the aux analogue AV inputs on the Broadway 2T.
iPhone viewing
A remote Wi-Fi connection on my laptop did work well and provided smoothly streaming video, although the 3G connection on my iPhone tended to stutter occasionally - as well as inducing knee-trembling fear at the thought of busting my 3G data cap to smithereens.
Streaming data rate choices
But while the web browser interface is easy to use, it only allows you to watch live TV – there are no options for recording or timeshifting programmes. The Broadway does include an additional piece of - somewhat buggy - software called TV Center that provides these features, along with an EPG as well. However, TV Center only runs on Windows PCs and there are simply no recording options provided for Macs or iOS devices.
Recording on a PC using TV Center
Verdict
The Broadway 2T is a great device for streaming live TV to an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. But streaming is only half of the story, and the fact that the software for recording programs only runs on Windows is a bit of an own-goal given the Broadway 2T’s very clear emphasis on iOS – a platform that has an awful lot of users that run Macs. ®
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