Portable TV recommendations?

Charlton_King

Hi guys. A friend has a requirement for a small, possibly hand-held TV which can be easily taken around the house as she goes...possibly used for watching in bed, for example.

Her house has plenty of TV aerial points but/and she also has wi-fi.

What might be her best solution in this situation, please?

Debbie_Savard

I'd get an iPad with iPlayer

debitcardmayhem

Debbie_Savard wrote: »

I'd get an iPad with iPlayer

Plus Itv hub All4 my5 nowtv netflix amazon etc etc
A portable tv is hardly feasible no matter how many aerial points there are unless she buys a very long coax

ballyblack

no need for ipad.

An large Android tablet will perform the same function at a much cheaper price



.

dipsomaniac

Debbie_Savard wrote: »

I'd get an iPad with iPlayer

other tablets are available

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6779469?utm_campaign=11553376&cmpid=COJUN&cjsurferid=120363114863887581%3APrnhxxrYB9P4&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_content=Pepper+Deals+LTD&utm_source=CJ&cjevent=7b604dea5f2811e880cb000e0a18050b&catalogId=10001&DM_PersistentCookieCreated=true&storeId=10151&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&utm_term=1453124&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fproduct%2F6779469&referrer=COJUN

psychic_teabag

Just to be different... another possible solution is some software that receives a signal from the ariel and makes it available over wifi.

My broadband is too slow to use the on-demand services. Instead, I run some free software called tvheadend which can serve the data over the local network. (In practise, I use tvheadend to record it all, then watch it later, but I'm pretty sure it can also transmit live data.)

It currently runs on linux (I use a dedicated raspberry pi with usb tuner), but it looks like there are people porting it to windows. Presumably there are alternatives available.

womble12345

psychic_teabag wrote: »

Just to be different... another possible solution is some software that receives a signal from the ariel and makes it available over wifi.

My broadband is too slow to use the on-demand services. Instead, I run some free software called tvheadend which can serve the data over the local network. (In practise, I use tvheadend to record it all, then watch it later, but I'm pretty sure it can also transmit live data.)

It currently runs on linux (I use a dedicated raspberry pi with usb tuner), but it looks like there are people porting it to windows. Presumably there are alternatives available.

I have a VBox (https://www.vboxcomm.com) which cost me £80, plugs into an aerial and my router and I can watch live TV on my phone, tablet, PC or anything else on my network. I also use it to record TV onto a hard drive I have attached to the Vbox. There is no annual fee. There is a rival called a HDHomeRun but that requires a yearly fee to record, although is free to watch live.

Charlton_King

Grateful for the thoughts.

Ok, so forgetting about the internet for a moment, is there anything like a small, portable, hand-held TV (NOT a tablet) which would fit the bill?

Just imagine for a moment that there is no possibility of broadband connection via whatever means, but that broadcast signal IS available via close proximity aerial sockets.

cranford

Google "small tv" and you will find this August DA100D - 10" on ebay, amazon etc.

DCFC79

cranford wrote: »

Google "small tv" and you will find this August DA100D - 10" on ebay, amazon etc.

Didnt think anything like that was available.

Dpends how good it is though, screen resolution is 800 x 480, doesnt sound the best to me.

esuhl

psychic_teabag wrote: »

Just to be different... another possible solution is some software that receives a signal from the ariel and makes it available over wifi.

My broadband is too slow to use the on-demand services. Instead, I run some free software called tvheadend which can serve the data over the local network. (In practise, I use tvheadend to record it all, then watch it later, but I'm pretty sure it can also transmit live data.)

It currently runs on linux (I use a dedicated raspberry pi with usb tuner), but it looks like there are people porting it to windows. Presumably there are alternatives available.

I saw a really old version of the Slingbox, which does the same thing. It's just a box that you plug in to a video source (Sky box, Freeview tuner, etc.) and connect to your LAN. Then you can watch TV over your local network, or from anywhere you have an internet connection.


The latest versions are much more sophisticated, with support for wifi, mobile devices, HD resolution, etc. Or maybe the OP could find an older secondhand version on eBay...?



http://www.slingbox.com/

Charlton_King wrote: »

Grateful for the thoughts.

Ok, so forgetting about the internet for a moment, is there anything like a small, portable, hand-held TV (NOT a tablet) which would fit the bill?

Just imagine for a moment that there is no possibility of broadband connection via whatever means, but that broadcast signal IS available via close proximity aerial sockets.

With something like the Slingbox, all you'd need is a wi-fi connection. It wouldn't need broadband at all if you're watching it over your local network.


If the wi-fi signal is poor in the house, you could look at getting additional access points (ideally) or powerline adapters, or wireless repeaters.