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back to article Elgato readies iPad 2 TV tuner dongle

TV tuner specialist Elgato has come up with a plug-on Freeview pick-up for the iPad 2. Elgato EyeTV Mobile Freeview TV dongle for iPad 2 The diminutive dongle - called the EyeTV Mobile - clips onto the popular fondleslab's dock connector and pulls down digital TV signals through a telescopic micro-antenna. Power comes from …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    reception?

    and the quality of the picture in a typical UK area is with that aerial?

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    1. GregC
      Reply Icon

      Perfectly adequate

      I would imagine, as long as you're in a decent signal area. I occasionally use a Hauppage usb tuner with my netbook with an aerial about that size and it's fine.

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    2. Synonymous Howard
      Reply Icon

      It should get a *lot* better

      After analogue has been completely switched off and the digital signal is boosted ... so not long now!

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    3. Mr Floppy
      Reply Icon

      I'll believe it when I see it

      Tried heaps of different aerials and various tuners and none proved adequate. Best is a home made yagi from a magnum stick and paper clips funny enough but hardly mobile.

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  2. SuperTim

    I'll stick with

    TVCatchup i think. It costs about £100 less.

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    1. Ian Ferguson
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      As long as...

      ...you get a 3G signal, don't have a data cap, and the courts don't ban TVCatchup.

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    2. JEDIDIAH
      Reply Icon
      Linux

      Stuff to stick with...

      It seems like you would be far better off with something that easily migrates your Elgato recordings to our iDevice and just leave it at that. Then you don't have to worry about any absurd looking dongle or signal quality issues.

      Portable TVs are so 80s.

      Just record your stuff with a nice solid signal and watch it later.

      You could even automate it and have it run overnight and be ready for you in the morning.

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      1. ThomH
        Reply Icon

        @JEDIDIAH

        Not only do I agree, but taking your thought further based on my actual usage I can't think of an occasion when the catch-up services aren't enough for me. I'm much more likely to spend money on any of the hundreds of devices that could put those on my [antiquated] TV than on getting broadcast television onto my digital devices.

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  3. Bunker_Monkey
    FAIL

    Fail

    "Dont support DVB-T2"

    Epic fail, but then it does continue the Apple 'under spec and over priced' routine.....

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      Abort, retry or fail....

      It's not an Apple product.

      Please return to cave, oh friendly Troll.

      1 1
    2. Paul M 1
      Reply Icon

      This title deliberately left blank

      Lack of Apple provenance aside....

      Why does anybody care about HD on a 9 inch screen? I can understand the desire to support DVB-T2 for the day when (if?) we start getting SD channels using it to improve bandwidth use (a la DAB+) but that seems a very long time away to me right now.

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  4. Adrian Jones

    Very sleek

    I love the way that it blends in with the side of the fondleslab and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

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  5. thecresta
    Alert

    Snap!

    Mobile devices with expensive dongles precariously poking out of them. Makes me cringe just thinking about it.

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  6. ShaggyDog
    Thumb Down

    Almost useful

    This would be cool to give to my "mobility restricted" mother-in-law, except the need for another USB lead for charging. Can't the iPad provide power to dongles?

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    1. deains
      Reply Icon
      Stop

      Unfortunately...

      No, it can't.

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      1. Paul M 1
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        This title deliberately left blank

        The iPad can't power it directly?!? My iPhone powers my Robi DAB radio via the dock - I can't believe DVB-T requires that much more power - or is there a difference between the iPad and iPhone docks?

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  7. Jonathan White

    Bah.

    They keep pushing out this tat and they still haven't got a Freeview HD tuner in their product range.

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  8. Synonymous Howard

    Come on Elgato .. give us a DVB-T2 HD tuner PLEASSSSSEE!!

    Its a question that gets raised on Elgato's forums regularly over the last few years and there is pent-up demand, so I don't know why they are not doing something about it ... they won't even say whether they are working on one 8-(

    I have 4 Elgato tuners running in parallel under EyeTV and they are excellent .. just need a Freeview HD one and I'll be very happy.

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  9. Tom 38
    Thumb Up

    Shouting at the wrong people

    Elgato don't make any tuner chips, so asking them to get a DVB-T2 tuner out is largely dependent upon their usual ic manufacturer producing the right chipset.

    Elgato solely use DibCom 07x00 series chips, which don't support DVB-T2. DibCom are a French company, and the only countries that actually currently use DVB-T2 are UK, Italy, Sweden, Finland and the Ukraine, so don't expect DibCom to be chomping at the bit to produce a DVB-T2 chipset design.

    In fact, there are very few companies making DVB-T2 chipsets. I believe all currently shipping devices use a Sony demod chip.

    DVB-S2 is a much better bet, although you do then need a dish and a lot of LNBs for multiple tuners.

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  10. Robert E A Harvey

    How much?

    You can pick up a usb one for under £20. OK, it's not got a battery, but you can get a whole Telly for that sort of money.

    1 0
  11. oopsie

    a title is required

    Is it possible to charge the IPad from an accessory?

    If so, i'd have thought it was possible to power the tv receiver and the pad from the same usb, unless the combined power requirement is too high?

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  12. Alan Denman

    £100 - gets you

    two small cheap freeview televisions.

    Would you US Believe it!

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  13. Alan Brown Silver badge
    FAIL

    @ "the only countries that actually currently use DVB-T2 are..."

    There are a few more outside of europe, but uptake is very slow.

    Chickens and eggs spring to mind.

    Still a fail. Sooner or later the UK will be DVB-T2 only...

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    1. Tom 38
      Reply Icon

      Not really

      Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Spain, Malaysia and the Philippines are only testing it - similar to when BBC would broadcast BBC HD out of Crystal Palace - you would hardly say it was deployed.

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  14. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Yes but....

    ...do any of these TV tuner dongleberries actually work?

    Our TV reception is middling to fair. These mini ariels just don't cut the mustard.

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