I ran the setup wizard, including a channel scan and setting passwords for admin and TV access, and was rewarded with 44 channels found.
If you browse to the remote web site runs a script that detects the local PCTV, so it is no trouble to find on the network. I connected the unit and fired up a web browser. The internal aerial is unlikely to be much use unless you live in a area of particularly strong signal. I have what is probably the ideal setup for Broadway 2T: a rooftop aerial connection and wired ethernet with a wi-fi access point. There is also a collection of cables: power, internal aerial, ethernet, IR blaster marked “For future use” but now enabled, and screws for wall mounting. It would make sense if in some future version you could connect directly to a PC over USB but why three ports will be useful in future is something of a mystery. There is also a USB port on the front but all the USB ports are documented as “for future use”. On the back are a range of ports, including wired ethernet, TV aerial, inputs for analog CVBS and S-Video and audio, two USB ports and an IR blaster connection. It is a box about the size of a stack of 4 CDs, with twin aerials for wi-fi connection. That is the idea anyway, and I put it to the test with a review unit. Plug-in, and you can stream TV on any device round the house, or even over the internet when you are out and about. This is a TV card (not HD) with internet streaming software in a wi-fi connected box.
Installing a PC card works well if you connect it to a rooftop aerial, but it does mean messing with drivers and application software and then further hassles if you want to watch elsewhere in the house.īroadway 2T, from pctv systems (part of Hauppauge Digital Inc) takes a more flexible and potentially hassle-free approach.
Most of the devices use DVB-T digital TV, which in the UK enables all the Freeview channels, but getting a good enough signal from a portable aerial is a challenge. Lots of options but also plenty to go wrong.
Once you have TV playing on your computer, there are apps which will let you stream it to a mobile device such as an Apple iPhone, iPad or Android tablet.Īnother option which I saw at the recent Digital Winter event in London is Elgato’s eyetv, which attaches to an iPad port, and the portable tivizen which streams TV over wi-fi. If you feel like watching TV on your PC or mobile device, there are a host of options, including live TV on the internet, or add-on TV cards or USB devices that attach to a PC or Mac.