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SOFTWARE REPORT

Tiviar App

Air Tivi+
Commande les appareils grce votre rseau domestique Transmet en live la TV votre iPad ou iPhone Fonctionne mme avec des chaines HD Fonction PVR intgre Ne convient pas actuellement aux antennes motorises
98 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 09-10/2013 www.TELE-audiovision.com 99

www.TELE-audiovision.com 09-10/2013 TELE-audiovision International

SOFTWARE REPORT

Tiviar App

Add-on App for the Tiviar


Thomas Haring
In our previous issue 0708/2013 of TELE-audiovision we presented the new Tiviar receiver to our readers. The manufacturer has now launched a smartphone/ tablet app called Air Tivi+, which can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple iTunes store and works with all iOS devices. All you have to make sure of is that both the Tiviar receiver and the iOS device use the same network and a WiFi connection is available for the smartphone or tablet. In the bottom line of the apps home screen the following functions can be selected: Channel, Schedule, Remote and Settings. The Remote section is of particular interest, as it allows operating the receiver via the iPhones or iPads touchscreen. Due to the different display sizes of phone and tablet the virtual remote control differs slightly on both devices. The system worked without any lag at all during our test, something we did not really expect and which impressed us all the more. Whats more, the virtual remote control is obviously much bigger (at least when an iPad is used) and more convenient to use than the original remote that comes with the receiver. So how does it actually

work? Simply select a channel for playback on your device. A small window then pops up counting down from 10 to 0 until enough data is stored in the buffer memory for smooth video playback.

Another touch of a (virtual) button is all it takes for full-screen view, which also works flawlessly. It goes without saying that we were particularly curious

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1. We had to enter the receivers IP address manually in our test automatic detection did not work 2. TV channel list of the Air Tivi+ app on the iPad 3. Channels sorted by groups 4. Setting options of the Air Tivi+ app 5. Virtual remote control on the iPad 6. Live playback of an HD channel 7. Complete EPG data for all channels is available with the app 8. A single touch of a button marks events for recordings 9. Editing existing timer entries 10. Full-screen playback of an HD channel

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In the previous isue 07-08/2013 of TELE-audiovision we


presented the new Tiviar Receiver
http://www.TELE-audiovision.com/TELE-audiovision-1307/eng/tiviar.pdf

100 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 09-10/2013 www.TELE-audiovision.com

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as to how the system would cope with HD channels and we were delighted when we were shown HD content even before the initial countdown had reached 0. A word of caution: We found out during our thorough test that HD channels put considerable strain on the WiFi connection, which means that they work smoothly only if the network is in mint condition. Move away too far from the router and youll soon experience signal drops. With SD content, on the other hand, we never had a problem. Each of the three Tiviar tuners can be chosen to provide its signal to the app, with the two other tuners remaining available for recordings or live viewing with the receiver itself. It is even possible to record two different channels with the receiver and use the third tuner for watching TV with the app. And not only is this possible in theory, it also

works flawlessly in practice. One aspect we noticed and which to us didnt make a lot of sense is that the channel order in the app is different from the channel list on the receiver. And by the way, streaming only works if the selected channel is available right away. In other words, users of a DiSEqC motorised antenna, whose system may take some time until the required antenna position is reached, can use the app only for channels on the cur- 12 rently received satellite at this stage. In summary, the general concept and design of the new Air Tivi+ app did not fail to impress us and once the remaining bugs are eliminated, it will offer a vast enhancement to the Tiviar receiver.
11. List of timer entries shown on the iPhone 12. Virtual remote control on the iPhone page 1 13. Virtual remote control on the iPhone page 2 14. Virtual remote control on the iPhone page 3 15. Channel list with live TV on the iPhone

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102 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 09-10/2013 www.TELE-audiovision.com

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