Despite the similarity in the name,
Belkin’s @TV Plus is almost the Yin to the Apple TV’s Yang. Where Apple’s
device is all about bringing content from the web onto your big sceen, Belkin
has created a device that’s designed to push your live and pre-recorded
television content onto the internet, so you can watch it wherever you are on
your iOS device.
Belkin
@TV Plus
Setting up the @TV is simple on paper,
although it has the potential for difficulty in the real world. Despite having
integrated Wi-Fi, you need to connect your @TV Plus to your router via an
Ethernet cable for the setup process.
If your router is located a long way from
your home theatre setup, that can post problems, as you need to connect it to
your DVR or set top box at the same time. After that initial setup though, you
can thankfully switch the @TV Plus to Wi-Fi, which makes the ongoing use of the
device much easier.
Connecting the device to your DVR or set
top box is a bit disappointing thanks to the lack of HDMI connectivity.
Admittedly, the @TV does only stream content to your mobile devices in standard
definition, but the fact is that because you pass the signal from your DVR
through the @TV and then to the television, using only composite or component
cables, you won’t be able to get a proper High Def experience at home thanks to
this device.
If you want to access your TV content from
outside your local network, you’ll also need to configure your router for the
process. Port forwarding may be second nature to Bittorrent users, but it is a
rather complicated process for novices. Belkin does a good job of holding a
user’s hand through this stage of the setup, but it could still prove too
daunting for many consumers.
Belkin
has decided to offer the companion iOS @TV app for free on the iPad, but it is
a $14 purchase for the iPhone.
Once you’ve gotten past the initial setup
stage, the device is nice and simple to use. Belkin has decided to offer the
companion iOS @TV app for free on the iPad, but it is a $14 purchase for the
iPhone. There’s also a free version available for Mac.
Given you already have to fork out $200 for
the hardware, that extra charge for iPhone users does fell like a slap to the
face, even if it is cheaper than the rival SlingPlayer app.
The app itself is simple to navigate, and
offers a full selection of controls for your DVR. You can easily change
channels, access recordings, set new recordings and even record programs
straight to your mobile device, which will save you from having to stream
content over 3G.
The stream quality itself was great when
running off the home network, responding quickly to commands and without any
serious buffer issues. Video quality was pretty good too on an iPad 2.
Remote access was quite different, as you’d
expect. Trialing the service on Telstra’s 3G network, the picture quality and
bitrate were a bit slower, and we did suffer the odd stutter while testing on
the train. Controls also suffered from quite significant delays. But overall,
it was a pretty solid effort, made better by the fact that video steaming
settings can be manually adjusted from the mobile app.
Our buying advice.
If you want to watch your TV content on
your iOS devices, this is one of the best options out there. But it has a
slightly daunting setup, requires a sacrifice in AV quality for your TV viewing
and, at $200 for the unit, isn’t overly cheap. Especially when many DVRs let
you export your recordings to iTunes for free…
If
you want to watch your TV content on your iOS devices, this is one of the best
options out there
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Info
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Belkin
·
Pros: good quality streaming; remote recording
functionality
·
Cons: Complicated setup; no HDMI connections
·
Price: $199.95
·
Rating: 3 ½ /5
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