Cool IOS/Android gadget I just bought for the world cup

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Lounge' started by Teknikal, Jun 6, 2014.

  1. Teknikal

    Teknikal Well-Known Member

    Oct 26, 2010
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    #1 Teknikal, Jun 6, 2014
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2014
    Just bought a "TVman Pocket" because I actually don't have a TV in my bedroom and I don't want to miss any of the World cup matches (They all start pretty late in the UK).

    Thought I was taking a real risky gamble as I couldn't find any reviews or really much information at all about it but I'm already pretty impressed with it, I guess that's easy to tell though with my starting a thread.

    Basically it's a pretty tiny digital TV receiver that makes it's own wifi hotspot, you install the right software on your phone, tablet or computer then simply connect your device to the wifi channel it creates open the app and your device is a TV.

    What's impressing me most is how compact it is and how good an actual signal I'm getting on the small retractable ariel I just kind of figured I'd end up having to plug a bigger one into it but I haven't had to, also seems to work just fine while it's being charged which was one of my fears although it is meant to get about 4 hours on a charge but this means even if I'm out and about I can fall back on my big 10,000 mah battery also micro USB which is handy.

    So pretty cool I've went from having no way to watch TV in my bedroom to being able to watch it on my ipod, smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop.

    If I had more free cash I'd probably have went for the Hauppauge Systems Broadway 2T as it seems like it would be a complete home solution for watching on everything but for watching TV anywhere I think the TVman is probably the better choice.

    What swung me into buying one is I tried to watch the England match a few days ago using online streaming both TV Catchup (great UK streaming app) and the ITV player both turned the fast action of football into quite a blocky mess.
     
  2. Teknikal

    Teknikal Well-Known Member

    Oct 26, 2010
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    Belfast N Ireland
    I know it's hard to respond to a post that's basically someone bragging about their newest purchase especially when it's quite a niche one but I thought I'd upload a few photos just so anyone who is curious can see the actual device as I found it very tricky to find any information or pics myself before I purchased.

    Bear in mind my phones an S4 mini so it is actually smaller than it looks I probably should have used my ipod or nexus 7 as a better guide in hindsight.

    Here's a small gallery with a few photos, hopefully I did it right as I don't like spamming threads with complete pictures. Should give a decent idea anyway if it works.

    http://imgur.com/a/Sk8ZO#0

    Did actually watch the England Honduras match on it earlier (used my Nexus 7 not my phone) so it does serve the purpose I purchased it for anyway.
     
  3. Gov

    Gov Well-Known Member

    Jun 24, 2013
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    Can you buy me one? Or shall I get it.. Does it have all standard channels?
     
  4. Teknikal

    Teknikal Well-Known Member

    Oct 26, 2010
    2,194
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    Belfast N Ireland
    It has Freeview in the UK and seemed to pick up more channels than the DVB card did in my older computer with an amplified aerial although unfortunately I don't think there is a way to watch the encrypted ones like BT Sports 1 + 2 but for me it's picking up all the free to air ones in good quality which is impressive to me with that little aerial.

    Supposedly it actually has Freeview HD when linked to a PC but I've been less impressed with the PC side of things so far then again I haven't tried linking it through my main router yet (only been using hotspot mode) and my pc's little usb wifi dongle is a cheap freebie (I think it's the weak link) I generally use ethernet there.

    I think it's great for something so portable and I'll definitely be using it a lot over the world cup, would I recommend you buy one well I guess it depends if you are looking to watch TV on the go I'm probably pretty rare in not having a TV in my bedroom, I do think it's a really cool little device though and I was half expecting it not to even get a signal when I bought it.
     

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