The era of digital TV: 5 external T2 tuners

The star of the Hong Kong brand Nomi lit up in the sky in 2013. In the company's product range, the key bet is made on mobile phones, tablets and televisions. A useful addition to some of the latter is intended to be an external TV tuner Nomi T201, which receives the signals of television broadcasting in digital format and "digests" them into a view that is digestible for display.

"With a bang" the receiver catches over 30 channels in high quality. Here everything directly depends on the distance to the TV signal repeater tower and the strength of the receiving antenna. Nomi T201 searches for channels independently when it is first turned on. And in case your favorite TV show is shown at the most inconvenient hour, the receiver's arsenal of functions provides support for recording the broadcast to a USB flash drive.

The T2 tuner can not only "write" the broadcast to an external drive, but also play videos from it along with music tracks and photos. However the models "did not bring" support for the most common AC3 audio codec, which is why situations often arise when the picture goes, but there is no sound. You will need to select movies for viewing by the regular media player of the devices more carefully — the sound in them must be encoded, for example, in MP3 or AAC.

The receiver of the television signal turned out to be so tiny and light that even the antenna cable sometimes violates the balance of the receiver. Often it has to be attached on double-sided tape to something else. The device is equipped with connection interfaces consisting of an HDMI port, a linear audio output and a composite video input. The decisive argument "for" in favor of the model becomes a tasty price tag.

A special line is assigned to the shelf of low-cost terrestrial TV signal receivers of the T62D model from World Vision. In addition to the possibility of receiving digital television in the DVB-T/ DVB-T2 broadcasting standards, the tuner is able to work in the DVB-C cable broadcasting network, play content from external media and network sources.

The user has the right to get access to watching videos on YouTube and movies on Megogo when connecting the receiver to the Internet via a Wi-Fi adapter based on Ralink RT5370 and Mediatek MT7601 chips. Moreover, there are two USB ports in the assets of the tuner — once it is placed on the front panel of the device, and the second hides from the rear, where a composite video output and an HDMI port are adjacent to it.

The D symbol at the end of the model name encodes hardware support for Dolby Digital multichannel sound. Using the receiver as a media player, the viewer gets an omnivorous device for a variety of common file formats, which makes it possible to play videos with AC3 audio tracks from USB flash drives.

On the narrow front panel of the model, there was a place for both the aforementioned USB port and an information display along with physical control keys. The TV receiver impresses with a fairly wide functionality and almost complete absence of disadvantages. If the model has any shortcomings, then the lion's share of them is far-fetched and they cannot negatively affect the performance of the T2 tuner.

An unremarkable-looking box, marked with the Romsat logo on the back, hides a remarkable potential in the depths of the plastic case. When connected to a TV, it solves a lot of tasks of a heterogeneous nature.

Basically, the device performs a confident reception of digital terrestrial and cable broadcasting signals. At the same time, the functions of the TV guide and teletext are provided to the audience. Romsat T8005HD also supports video playback, music playback and viewing photos from USB drives. The slot for connecting them to the receiver is placed on the front panel of the device. The receiver works with videos in maximum resolution up to FullHD (1920 x 1080 pixels).

The whole background of the model is revealed when an optional Wi-Fi adapter is connected to it. Together with the wireless "whistle", the receiver's functionality soars to new heights — the doors of IP television, video hosting, online cinemas and other Internet services are hospitably opened to the viewer. The model does not shine with the nimble responsiveness of the interface, but the very presence of such a developed functionality in its assets can already be ranked among the indisputable advantages.

The Romsat T8005HD is connected to the TV both via the HDMI port and with the help of "tulips" — the interfaces for this case are placed on the back panel of the receiver. But what is missing in the design of the T2 receiver is at least a tiny screen. In fact, the model has no other shortcomings, and taking into account its democratic cost and level of functionality, only a few direct rivals can really compete with the receiver.

The Strong brand is part of the Skyworth Group of companies, which is one of the leading manufacturers of television equipment on a global scale. In the category of T2 tuners under the sign of this trademark, the SRT 8203 model is in great demand — a compact receiver of terrestrial broadcasting signals of the DVB—T2 standard.

The receiver acts as an important link between the indoor or external antenna (including the active one) and the TV itself (if there are no built-in TV tuners on board). The device is connected to the image output device via a digital HDMI port or, in the old—fashioned way, via an analogue composite video output, commonly referred to as "tulips". The additional assets of the model also have a linear audio output.

The front panel of the receiver can be said to be empty. With the exception of the USB connector and the receiver of signals from the remote control, there is nothing else on it. The USB functionality of the Strong SRT 8203 provides the ability to record TV shows on a USB flash drive and play audio and video files from it in most common formats (in resolution up to FullHD).

The interface of the device menu is easy to understand even for inexperienced users, including the older age category. The viewer is provided with 800 memory cells for sorting channels in their own way. The only thing that confuses in the external data of the model is the absence of a screen. Among other shortcomings of the Strong SRT 8203, there are sometimes complaints about excessive heating of the receiver housing during its long continuous operation. These disadvantages fade against the background of confident signal reception, even of weak power — in this path, the receiver is as strong as anyone else from the immediate environment.

Ergo DVB-T2 1638 is a good option for a metal—clad TV receiver for watching television broadcasts and consuming multimedia content.

In appearance, the model is distinguished by a catchy design element on the front panel — control keys organically inscribed in an orange contour. You can also find an information screen and a USB port slot for connecting an external drive to the receiver. Video from flash drives is played in resolution up to FullHD, but with support for AC3 audio tracks, unfortunately, the model did not work out. Therefore, even at the stage of downloading movies, you will need to pay attention so that the sound is encoded in MP3.

The tuner can be used both in conjunction with modern televisions, with which the model communicates via the HDMI digital interface, and in conjunction with television equipment of previous years, which is connected via a composite video output. In the presence of a good active antenna powered directly from the receiver, the device is capable of receiving over 30 channels of terrestrial digital television in DVB-T2 format at a considerable distance from the repeater of the television signal. In total, the tuner memory is designed for 1000 TV channels.

The Ergo DVB-T2 1638 menu interface is divided into 7 convenient tabs. From the category of useful additional options, Time shift, TV guide and teletext are bothered to pay close attention to it. In the dry balance, the model is best suited for upgrading televisions that lack a built-in DVB-T2 tuner. The device provides excellent quality of television pictures and sound, coping with its functional responsibilities on a solid "five".