Hasta La Gadget!

Switch on the pocket-sized Tizi, pull out the antenna and fire up the companion app on your iPad or iPhone. Congratulations. You are now watching live TV.

Elgato’s EyeTV already lets you watch TV on your iDevice, but you need a computer to be switched on, near an antenna and running server software to do it. The Tizi is a tiny, standalone box that does all this for you. It is battery powered, for use both at home and on the move, and gives 3.5-hours of use on one charge. You can also hook it to any USB power-source to charge and power it.

How does it work? The Tizi pulls in local DVB-T/DT signals, decodes them using its ARM 9 processor and then sends them to your iPhone or iPad via Wi-Fi (802.11b/g). Yes, you’ll have to tune your iPad to this Wi-Fi network, but you can still stay connected to the internet via 3G if you have it.

A channel-guide helps you find what to watch, and during ads you can switch away to other apps but keep the audio running in the background so you know when to tune back in.

This looks like a great product. I don’t watch much TV, but I could hang this in the living room, which has a clear view of the sky, and beam signals to anywhere I like in the apartment. Neat.

The Tizi is available now for $150, and the companion app is in the App Store for free.

Tizi product page [Tizi. Thanks, anonymous Equinux mailing-list people!]

See Also:

• ABC's Ingenious App Uses Sound to Sync iPad, TV
• Hauppauge Soars On TV Streaming App For iPad, iPhone
• Apple iPad's Display Is More Like a TV Than a Laptop
• EyeTV HD, Hi-Def Mac-Top-Box Supports iPad