Humax Tivizen TV review

Although there’s a world of entertainment to download or watch online, good old-fashioned television hasn’t gone out of fashion just yet. The real question, is how do you get it if you’re away from your home? That’s something that Humax thinks it has the answer to with the Tivizen TV.

This simple product is a battery-powered Freeview tuner (not Freeview HD) with built-in Wi-Fi. Using the Tivizen TV couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is connect your device to the Tivizen’s internal Wi-Fi network, fire up the app (it’s a free download from the Apple App Store) and follow the wizard through to tune in TV and start watching your favourite shows.

This battery powered Freeview receiver connects to your iOS device via Wi-Fi

Using Wi-Fi for the connection is a clever idea, as it means you can place the tuner where it gets best reception while still being able to watch comfortably from your device. The downside is that you have to disconnect your device from any Wi-Fi routers that you’re using, removing internet access while you’re watching TV. There’s also no security on the Tivizen’s Wi-Fi network, although the app only allows a single iOS device to connect at once.

This is more a limitation of the version sold by Humax, as there’s also a German import available (the Elgato Tivizen TV), which has a different app available, which lets you set a network password and even connect the Tivizen TV to your home network. We tried this app with our Tivizen, but it refused to connect.

We don’t see the more restrictive app as a massive problem, as the main reason for a product like this is so that you can watch TV when you’re out and about, and not near a Wi-Fi network.

An extending aerial helps you get the best signal strength

Once you’re connected, the quality of the TV stream depends on the strength of the signal it can receive. Wi-Fi means you’ve got flexibility in placement and the extendable antenna helps improve the signal and gives you a bit more flexibility. Ultimately, though, you’re at the mercy of the Freeview signal strength. In our tests, this varied from no signal at all, unless we stood outside and held the Tivizen TV in the air (not hugely practical) and full-strength. Generally speaking, placing the Tivizen TV in a window gets you a good signal, while in an unobstructed field, such as when you’re camping, gets you the best image quality.