Phone with a TV tuner - rating of the most famous models

Despite the fact that a phone with a TV tuner is not in great demand among users, smartphone manufacturers continue to produce devices with the ability to watch television channels. These devices have found their fans among those who like to have a good time.

The first phones with a TV tuner appeared more than 10 years ago. And although modern smartphones still cannot boast of high-quality TV broadcasts, the technical characteristics and diagonal of their screens allow you to watch videos comfortably.

general information

At the beginning of the 21st century, smartphones with a TV tuner appeared in China. Since then, their popularity has remained at the same level within the Asian market.

Chinese phones are equipped with a built-in TV tuner, which is necessary to pick up a television signal at a certain frequency. Thanks to this equipment, the devices perform the functions of a TV without an Internet connection.

Users need to know that not only smartphones have the ability to watch television channels. And proof of this is the regular push-button phone Nokia N 92, which was released back in 2005. However, today it is possible to choose new mobile devices with TV tuners.

On a note! Nokia is known for its phones, which were equipped, like a TV, with antennas that could extend to watch TV channels and pick up signals. Later, the company was bought out by competitors from China.

After the spread of the Android operating system, which most modern smartphones work with, the need for antennas has completely disappeared. But, with the increase in screen diagonal, devices again require this additional “trick”.

However, now manufacturers of smartphones with tuners are trying to hide the antenna inside the case, and sometimes even include it in the design of the headset.

Today the following phone models with a TV tuner are popular:

Asus Zenfone GO TV;
smartphone with DVB-T2;
Explay STAR TV;
LG Optimus VU;
Texet TM-607 TV;
Alcatel Tribe

Also worth mentioning is the Explay JoyTV phone, which has a TV receiver, 1,300 MHz dual-core processor, and 4 GB memory. No less interesting is the Huawei Honor Bee phone, which has a 1,200 MHz processor (4 cores), a video resolution of 1920x1080, and 1 GB of RAM.

Each of these phone models with a TV tuner is interesting in its own way. Of course, their technical characteristics are not comparable to those of modern Android smartphones, such as Xiaomi Mi Max or Samsung Galaxy J8 (2018).

But if the user does not aim to use the modern capabilities of phones, but simply wants to get a reliable, portable and compact TV, then they are quite consistent with expectations.

The following are known modern phone models with a built-in TV tuner:

Mafam D99 – with a 2,000 mAh battery, a 3-inch screen and 32 MB of RAM;
BQ BQ-2808 TELLY – does not have a camera, has a small capacity battery, a classic case, with an mp3 player, microsd bluetooth 2 with support for a2dp micro usb 2;

On a note! Despite the small battery capacity of the BQ BQ-2808 TELLY, it is quite enough for autonomous operation during the day. And this is not surprising, given the lack of additional energy consumption due to minimal equipment.

SERVO X7 – has good battery capacity, the ability to use three SIM cards;
DBEIF D2016 – battery capacity 3,000 mAh, ability to expand memory up to 32 GB using a flash card;
Huawei Honor Bee – screen diagonal is 3.2 inches, 1.3 megapixel camera and 1,750 mAh battery.

The technical characteristics of some phone models with a TV tuner are described in more detail below.

How to connect a smartphone to a TV: from simple to complex

So, you bought a Chromecast, what next? Connect the set-top box to your TV via HDMI and install the proprietary Google Home application for Android or iOS on your smartphone. After this, switch the TV signal source to the HDMI port of the set-top box and configure it, following the simple and clear step-by-step instructions.

Miracast

Unlike connecting via Chromecast, here you do not need to buy any additional gadgets. In order to use this connection method, any TV with Miracast support and any modern smartphone are suitable. Just activate Miracast mode in the TV menu, and turn on the “Wireless Display” function on your smartphone.

Of course, if your TV does not have this mode, but you want to broadcast your smartphone screen this way, then you can buy an adapter that will add this function to your TV. However, although such an adapter costs much less than the same Chromecast, it is much inferior to it in its capabilities. Therefore, we would recommend buying a Chromecast.

Wi-Fi Direct

To use this method, you not only do not need any additional gadgets, you do not even need a wireless Wi-Fi network in your home. All you need is a Wi-Fi Direct compatible smartphone and TV.

Activate the Wi-Fi Direct function on the TV, after which it will create its own Wi-Fi network. Enable Wi-Fi Direct mode on your smartphone in the “Wireless Networks” -> “Wi-Fi” -> “Advanced Settings” menu and select your TV’s network. Despite its simplicity and unpretentiousness, this connection method is not very fast, so it should be used only when all other options for working with the TV are unavailable.

DLNA

This is another way to connect a smartphone to a TV that does not require the user to spend anything at all. All you need is a DLNA-enabled TV. True, unlike Wi-Fi Direct, you cannot do without a home Wi-Fi network.

Turn on the DLNA function in the TV menu. Set your TV as a player on your smartphone, launch the standard Android gallery and open the desired media file. The downside is that this function does not support screen casting; everything is limited to regular media files.

DLNA does not provide universal content display - it only transfers music, photos and some video file formats. In this case, the image resolution depends on the receiving device.

Apple AirPlay

This method is perfect for owners of an iPhone and a TV compatible with AirPlay 2. Fortunately, there are a great many of such TVs. First of all, make sure that your TV and smartphone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. After that, find the video you want to display on the big screen, click the AirPlay icon and select a compatible TV model.

If you want to broadcast not video to your TV, but the entire screen of your smartphone, then connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network, swipe down from the top right edge of the screen, click “Screen repeat” and select the desired compatible TV. To stop streaming, open Control Center, tap Screen Snooze, then tap Stop Snooze, or use the Menu button on your Apple TV Remote.

Asus smartphone with TV tuner

The Asus Zenfone GO TV smartphone allows you to enjoy digital terrestrial television anywhere. To be able to watch television channels, you will first have to connect the antenna to the phone, which is included in the package.

Essentially, this is a regular headphone adapter. Manufacturers have also provided a special application that makes watching TV even more comfortable.

In general, the smartphone has the following technical characteristics:

Screen size: 5.5 inches, touch (1280x720);
camera – 13 megapixels;
RAM – 2 GB;
internal memory – 16 GB;
battery capacity – 3,010 mAh.

The advantages of the phone, in addition to the built-in TV tuner, is a separate slot for a memory card, which allows you to increase the storage space up to 32 GB. Both SIM cards are capable of supporting 4G.

There are some drawbacks, among which the main one is the low performance of the smartphone. The phone is equipped with the Android 5.1 operating system - a rather outdated version that limits the capabilities of the modern user.

USB connection

The algorithm of actions is extremely simple. USB connects to the TV port and to the phone. Your gadgets are already “bundled”, while the phone’s battery is being recharged.

Healthy! Connecting via USB does not require hardware compatibility between gadgets, since the iPhone is defined as a removable storage device (flash drive). That is, it is possible to pair a wide variety of device combinations, provided that the TV has a USB port.

Smartphone with DVB-T2 TV tuner

The Geniatech company has developed a small device that makes it possible to view television channels on smartphones or tablets with the Android operating system version 4.1.2 or higher. and higher.

You can connect this miniature device via a USB connector.

For a smartphone to use television capabilities, the DVB-T2 receiver must be located near the gadget. However, direct line of sight to the television tower is not required. To pick up a signal outside the city, a smartphone needs a high-power antenna.

A full-fledged device is the Geniatech PT360, which can be used absolutely anywhere where a signal of the required range is received.

Method 2: Download a special program

There are several other methods, but for them to work you need to download special applications. If this is not a problem for you, read on.

Option 1: Official apps

Many popular TV channels not only have their own website, but also an app. If you are a fan of STS, TNT or any other channel, you can try to find the corresponding program on the Internet so that you can access the live broadcast at any time.

For example, Channel One has its own application. Go to Google Play and download this utility. Usually no registration or fee is required for basic use; we just launch and watch the broadcast.

Option 2: Third Party Applications

If you want to have access to any TV channel on your device whenever you want, you will have to download unofficial applications. In them you may encounter a lot of advertising, but you will have to pay something for the opportunity to watch for free. You can find the best apps for watching TV on Android in our thematic selection.

Step 1: Open Google Play Store and download this app. Launch it.

Step 2: Scroll through the start screen and press the Start key.

Step 3. If your device supports Picture-in-Picture mode, a special window will appear in which you need to activate the “Show on top of other applications” function (optional).

Step 4. A list of TV channels will appear on the main screen, select any of them. Click on the “Accept” button to agree to the user agreement. You can watch.

Step 5. In some cases, the program may require authorization into your account. To do this, click “Login” and fill out the form, or select the “Register” button to create a new profile.

Option 3: Use IPTV

The last and most effective way is to use IPTV playlists. Thanks to this, you can watch absolutely any TV channel for free in a couple of clicks. There is no need to register for any services or purchase subscriptions.

Step 1. Follow this link and download the IPTV playlist from this site. In our case (at the time of writing), we select the first line - the latest program schedule for July.

Step 2. Click the “Download” button and place the downloaded file in the memory of your smartphone/tablet.

Step 3: On your mobile device, open the Google Play Store and download this program and then launch it.

Step 4: Open the side menu by swiping from the left edge of the app's home screen and tap the Add Playlist button.

Step 5. Select the line “From a file on the device” and grant the program access to the storage by clicking on the “Allow” button.

Step 6. Go to the directory (folder) where you placed the file downloaded in the second step and select it.

Step 7. Click the "Save" button. Here you can, if desired, change the name of the playlist (top line).

Step 8. After this setting, the playlist will be saved in the application. All channels can be seen on the main screen of the program by going to the “Playlist Manager” section.

Step 9. Select the newly downloaded “freeiptv” playlist by clicking on the corresponding line.

Step 10. A list of channels and TV programs for each of them will appear. To view it, just click on the line with the title.

Explay STAR TV

The Explay STAR TV smartphone first appeared on the market in 2013. Its technical characteristics hardly meet the requirements of a modern user:

screen size: 3.5 inches;
camera – 3.2 MP;
RAM – 256 MB;
internal memory – 512 MB;
battery capacity – 1,400 mAh.

The general parameters of the phone are, to put it mildly, not impressive. It is also worth adding that the smartphone runs on the Android 2.3 operating system. Why did users like the gadget, if even the screen with a resolution of 320x480 is not pleased with its large size?

The smartphone has found its consumer thanks to the built-in TV tuner and low cost. Thus, if you need a compact device for watching television channels at an affordable price, then Explay STAR TV is exactly what you need.

Possible connection problems and their solutions

Problem 1. When connected to a TV or PC, the phone does not see Wi-Fi or sees it with errors.

Solution. If you connected your device via Wi-Fi, disconnect it from your computer, TV, router, or access point. Try connecting your smartphone to your computer directly or via cable. Make sure the connection is established correctly.

Problem 2 : Error when connecting to a smartphone on the TV.

Solution. The problem is in the smartphone itself. Reboot it. To do this, press the power button twice and hold it for about 10 seconds. Make sure your smartphone has network access. Check your security settings, particularly your antivirus software. Make sure your phone settings are set to automatically connect to the network. To do this, select the “Offline Mode” tab and check the box next to “Access the Internet manually.”

LG Optimus VU

Trying not to be left behind by competitors, the Korean technology manufacturer has released a phone with a built-in TV tuner.

Technical characteristics of the smartphone:

screen size - 5 inches (video resolution 1024x768);
camera – 8 megapixels;
RAM – 1 GB;
internal memory – 26.5 GB;
battery capacity – 2,080 mAh.

A review of a smartphone with a TV tuner clearly indicates that the device belongs to the middle class. But this is now, and in 2012, at the time the phone was released, such technical characteristics were considered quite acceptable.

The built-in TV tuner allows you to enjoy watching television programs. The smartphone has good screen characteristics, a user-friendly interface, and a relatively low price. Perhaps these are all the advantages of the phone.

Among the main disadvantages, the camera quality is not very good and the battery capacity is low.

conclusions

It's rare to see the latest smartphone that comes with a TV tuner. And the reason here is obvious: the great capabilities of the Internet, as well as additional technical indicators, make it possible to achieve the required result in an easier way.

This leads to an increase in the cost of the gadget, which users who are accustomed to seeing communication sources and pleasant additions in the form of a small TV do not want to put up with in devices. Such owners will always hold smartphones with TV tuners in high esteem.

Texet TM-607 TV

The smartphone has a high-quality display and a high-power processor. The uniqueness is added by the retractable antenna, which is equipped with a phone with a TV tuner.

Technical characteristics of the smartphone:

screen size – 3.5 inches;
camera – 1.3 MP;
RAM – 64 MB;
internal memory – 128 MB;
battery capacity – 1,000 mAh.

And although the screen diagonal of the smartphone is not too large, for some users it is quite enough for comfortable viewing of football matches and movies.

If you need a portable pocket TV that does not take up much space, you can choose the Texet TM-607 TV smartphone and enjoy over-the-air television at any convenient time.

Connection via HDMI

The most common option is the HDMI interface. With this connection, the TV plays the role of a projector. You can watch a movie directly from your iPhone, but you will need to buy the appropriate adapter. This plug is commercially available, but not everywhere and does not fit every iPhone model. In addition, you need a Lightning cable with a power supply, which is included with each phone.

Using such an adapter, you can broadcast YouTube videos from your iPhone display to a TV monitor, while controlling the broadcast from a small screen.

The pairing algorithm is extremely simple because it happens automatically. We only need to connect the devices by inserting the cables into the connectors. If the settings fail, then you will have to configure the connection manually.

Manual setup involves activating the function on each of the gadgets.

Alcatel Tribe 3041

The French manufacturer Alcatel tries to maintain the quality of its products at an acceptable level, and therefore its Alcatel Tribe 3041 phone with a TV tuner has a long service life.

The technical characteristics of the smartphone are suitable, perhaps, for undemanding users:

screen size – 3.5 inches;
camera – 2 MP;
built-in memory – 128 MB;
battery capacity – 1,000 mAh.

With a phone of this model, you can watch a TV program at any convenient time, “killing” time on your way to work or during your lunch break. The main difference between the device and its competitors is its wide range of colors.

The most popular connection methods

Some of the most popular ways to connect a phone to a TV are:

connection via HDMI;
via USB;
through the tulips;
via the console;
via DLNA.

HDMI

There are four ways to connect your phone to your TV via HDMI.

The first method involves using an HDMI cable with an appropriate connector, which is only necessary to ensure that the picture is output from the phone to the TV. This method is convenient for connecting Samsung, LG Smart, Sony phones to TVs and projectors that have one HDMI input.

The second method involves using a special adapter that allows you to connect your phone to your TV via an HDMI cable.

For example, adapters from Zyxel allow you to connect cell phones to laptops and computers using a cable with one HDMI input, allowing you to work with two different types of devices.

But not all mobile phones support work via USB interfaces, so it is recommended to purchase a special cable for transferring data from one interface to another. To connect to a TV using this cable, the best model is from Samsung.

The third method involves connecting the phone using a special device - a cradle adapter. For example, LG has two types of this device: the DCD-M2X adapter (for connecting a cell phone and a PC) and the DCD-3P8 adapter (for connecting a phone and a TV).

The fourth connection method requires the presence of a special application for synchronizing Samsung, LG, HTC, Philips phones with a TV. This application is free.

USB cable

You can connect your phone to the TV via a USB cable as follows::

Connect the USB cable from your Xiaomi phone to your laptop.
Disconnect the phone from the USB port on the TV.
We connect the phone to the USB port of the laptop, through which we will launch the synchronization application.
We are waiting for the synchronization to be established between the computer and the phone.
Once synchronization is complete, you can use your phone through your TV. In some cases, you may need to enable airplane mode.
This will allow you to set up automatic synchronization with the Internet.

DLNA

In order to connect your phone to a Sony Bravia TV using DLNA technology, you need:

Turn on the TV.
Turn on the phone (select “DLNA” mode).
Launch the synchronization program on your phone.
Set up your TV to watch movies on your phone (you need to choose to play the movie in HD mode).
On the TV, select the movie you want to watch on your phone.
Select a device to play the movie.
We are waiting for it to load.
Let's move on to setting up the TV control program.
Setting up the TV.
If necessary, open the search for applications for the TV (to do this, press the “Menu” button on the TV remote control).
Select the Media Player Classic program.
The Media Player Classic program settings are similar to the TV settings.
You can switch between TV and phone by pressing the remote control buttons.
To display the TV screen, you must press the “PAL” key on the remote control.

Peculiarities

Currently, it is quite difficult to purchase Geniatech PT360 on the Russian market, but it is expected that very soon these devices will be made widely available. But no one can say for sure under what brand it will gain popularity.

The developer does not value his authorship, so he can easily resell the device to another company.

The mobile tuner is constantly being improved and improved. And all to ensure that users have the opportunity to comfortably watch television channels in good quality.

Phones with a TV tuner always find their fans. And although there are not too many of them today, some users are grateful to manufacturers for the opportunity to purchase a device with TV functions at a reasonable price.

And since budget models with TV tuners lack almost all modern features, few people take them seriously.

Thanks to the built-in tuner, the phone gains the following advantages:

free viewing of your favorite movies, television programs and shows anytime and anywhere, even while away from home;
low price - there are many models with a built-in tuner, the cost of which is less than 5 thousand rubles;
support for a large number of modern digital terrestrial television standards.

Not without its drawbacks:

high energy consumption, which reduces battery life;
the small size and low resolution of the screen makes viewing uncomfortable;
Even with a large screen diagonal by phone standards, its size is difficult to compare with a TV, which causes some discomfort and makes you strain your eyesight.

iPhone for TV

At that time I had saved up about five thousand rubles. I remember looking at some boring push-button Nokias, and then opening a tab with Chinese phones and going crazy.

Of course, counterfeit iPhones were considered very shameful, but I saw them as functionality, not design.

Firstly, I admired the Slide to Unlock option – I’m still sad that it was removed.

Secondly, I then had two active SIM cards: one for the Internet, the other for calls. Just right for the slot in a Chinese iPhone.

And thirdly, I was incredibly excited by the built-in TV. By that time, I hardly watched it, but the prospect of having a pocket TV forced me to make a choice in favor of Chinese slag.

I walked around with that semi-iPhone for two months and I can’t say that I gave a damn. The screen was not entirely made of oak, the battery was discharged within a day or so, the music was wheezing, but still played, and Wi-Fi and the TV tuner received a signal absolutely divinely.

I sold my damaged iPhone only because I had the opportunity to get the original 3G. Then I walked with him and in all seriousness thought: damn, a TV wouldn’t hurt here.