TechHive: Review: Dyle mobile TV not ready for prime time

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thumbnail Review: Dyle mobile TV not ready for prime time
Jul 17th 2013, 17:00, by Roman Loyola

Belkin's Dyle mobile TV is a TV antenna that works with an iOS device. With the Dyle iOS app installed, you can watch broadcast TV on your iPad or iPhone—but only under certain, rather limited conditions.

Before investing in the Dyle mobile TV, check to see if you're in Dyle's coverage area. The device doesn't pick up the broadcast signal used by a real TV with a DTV antenna—the kind of signal that's available in most places. Instead, Dyle mobile TV uses a mobile video broadcast signal called ATSC-MH, and right now, it's available in fewer than 40 U.S. metropolitan areas.

Roman Loyola
The Dyle mobile TV connected to an iPhone 4S.

Another major limitation is the measly number of channels available on the Dyle mobile TV. I live in San Francisco, and only five channels are available: two "major" networks (Fox/KTVU, NBC/KNTV), a local independent station (KICU), a Spanish network (Telemundo), and a kids network (Qubo). I get many more channels on a TV with a DTV antenna. In some areas, Dyle mobile TV has only one channel available. Dyle's website says the company "continues to work to expand to new markets and add additional stations."

The Dyle app offers a listing of what's on the channels available in your area.

Before we move to the hands-on review, there's one other major limitation to mention. The Dyle mobile TV antenna has a 30-pin connector, and Belkin does not list any Lightning-equipped iOS devices on the Dyle mobile TV's compatibility list (nor does it list any iPod touch models). I was able to get the device to work with an iPhone 4S and an iPad 2 without any problems. Though Belkin makes no mention of using the Dyle mobile TV antenna with a $29 Lightning to 30-pin adapter, I tried it anyway with an adapter and the fourth-generation iPad. The iPad seemed to recognize the Dyle mobile TV device—I was asked to allow the Dyle app to "communicate with the Belkin Mobile TV"—but when using the Dyle app, I got errors stating that the receiver wasn't connected.

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