Even though it seems crude old way of watching over the air streams of TV on your iPhone or any other smart phone.. it is decent option and if improvised, it could result in great alternate viewing experience.
Aereo is real great innovation on it's own. But the path looks tough as they are going to get hard time from broadcasters who are feeling tricked and left out. Aereo's service is real killer when it comes to process innovation and providing great service at the expense of broadcasters.. Broadcasters are in kind of soup I feel.. slowly, they are loosing their bargaining power. If and IF.. Aereo is validated by Supreme Court, where it will go sooner or later.. Then only alternate for these guys will be to move most of the good content to paid Cable Channels forcing people to dump over the air altogether. Don't know how it will pan out in future.. Here are some of the pics of Aereo antenna which clearly explains concept.. Third image is screen shot from Aereo's web site for future plans. Right now they are limiting to NYC area only.
Coming back to these Dongles.. they may be quite a good alternative to watch these shows.. However, if they just stick to live broadcast then they will have very limited usability. If somehow, they can leverage iPhone or iPad's local storage to automatically record over the air content and then allow app on iPhone/iPad to watch it later with skipping ads etc.. that would be killer deal.. In this case, I would not take a second to switch to Android devices where I can plug in my SD card and store and play as much content on my mobile/tablet device. May be it is already there.. I need to check detailed specs of these dongles..
Yeah.. it is there.. They have DVR type of feature.. though there are some issues on quality of video and also specs are not clearly outlined on their sites.. Most of the local channels over the air have HD quality.. though it depends on your location and type of antenna.. I don't know how well these miniature antennas will perform for these HD signal.. It is matter of time before they will also mature..
It could be ideal if Apple or Google can include this antenna in iPad/iPod/Nexus 7 as built in feature.. just like 3G/4G/LTE mobile radio this could be another option.. As these external dongles have two minor issues.. #1 you have to carry yet another device.. #2 and this is more important.. you can't charge your iPad/iPhone while watching this over the air video, unless these guys comes up with plug in option for their device and use that power and even pass it on to iPad/iPhone..
Interesting.. Though, I will still go for Aereo type service.. where I not only get my own antenna in cloud but also cool DVR. Which is independent of my location. I guess, internet access is going to be ubiquitous and won't be any problem in very near future..
‘Dongles’ battle video service
TV broadcasters back device in fight with upstart Aereo
By Ryan Nakashima
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — The key weapon in TV broadcasters’ fight with Internet video upstart Aereo is something inelegantly known as a dongle.
The miniature TV antenna picks up free, mobile broadcast signals. It attaches to iPhone and iPad power ports and extends about 7 inches, allowing users to view live local TV channels at not-quite-highdefinition quality.
The device scans the airwaves for signals with the help of an app. The antenna doesn’t sap a user’s data plan or rely on Wi-Fi signals, but it does need to be recharged. “If you’re at a ball game or a Starbucks and everyone’s trying to access the news, you’re not going to get (video stoppages),” says Karen McCall, a marketing representative with Dyle Mobile TV, the venture backing the devices.
The dongles are on display at the annual gathering of broadcasters, the NAB Show, taking place this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Dyle says it plans to release units for Android devices soon.
Dyle is actually a coalition of 12 major broadcasters including Fox and NBC. Those networks, along with ABC and CBS, are waging a legal fight against Aereo, a service that pulls down broadcast station signals with thousands of tiny antennas and sends the signal to mobile devices or computers over the Internet. Aereo users don’t require a dongle, just a wireless Internet or cellphone connection.
Broadcasters contend that Aereo illegally steals signals from the air without paying for the rights before reselling them to customers. Aereo has prevailed so far. It won a preliminary ruling in an appeals court last week that allowed it to continue offering its service in the New York City area. It plans to expand to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington and 18 other U.S. markets this spring.
Dyle began selling its dongles, made by companies such as Elgato and Escort, late last year on Amazon. com.
Elgato’s EyeTV Mobile sells for $83.98 or more, while Escort’s Mobile Digital TV lists for $119.99.Compared to the $8-amonth streaming service by Aereo, the price seems high, but the dongles have the backing of major broadcasters.
The Elgato and Escort devices were designed before Apple reduced the size of the power ports on its newer iPhones and iPads. As a result, people who use the latest iPad and iPhone 5 will need to employ an adapter, which can make the contraption extend somewhat precariously.
The gadgets receive signals only from stations that specifically broadcast to mobile devices. So far, the dongles will work for the signals from 116 stations in 39 markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Signals come from affiliates of NBC, CBS, Fox, Univision and Telemundo among others.
Aereo is real great innovation on it's own. But the path looks tough as they are going to get hard time from broadcasters who are feeling tricked and left out. Aereo's service is real killer when it comes to process innovation and providing great service at the expense of broadcasters.. Broadcasters are in kind of soup I feel.. slowly, they are loosing their bargaining power. If and IF.. Aereo is validated by Supreme Court, where it will go sooner or later.. Then only alternate for these guys will be to move most of the good content to paid Cable Channels forcing people to dump over the air altogether. Don't know how it will pan out in future.. Here are some of the pics of Aereo antenna which clearly explains concept.. Third image is screen shot from Aereo's web site for future plans. Right now they are limiting to NYC area only.
Coming back to these Dongles.. they may be quite a good alternative to watch these shows.. However, if they just stick to live broadcast then they will have very limited usability. If somehow, they can leverage iPhone or iPad's local storage to automatically record over the air content and then allow app on iPhone/iPad to watch it later with skipping ads etc.. that would be killer deal.. In this case, I would not take a second to switch to Android devices where I can plug in my SD card and store and play as much content on my mobile/tablet device. May be it is already there.. I need to check detailed specs of these dongles..
Yeah.. it is there.. They have DVR type of feature.. though there are some issues on quality of video and also specs are not clearly outlined on their sites.. Most of the local channels over the air have HD quality.. though it depends on your location and type of antenna.. I don't know how well these miniature antennas will perform for these HD signal.. It is matter of time before they will also mature..
It could be ideal if Apple or Google can include this antenna in iPad/iPod/Nexus 7 as built in feature.. just like 3G/4G/LTE mobile radio this could be another option.. As these external dongles have two minor issues.. #1 you have to carry yet another device.. #2 and this is more important.. you can't charge your iPad/iPhone while watching this over the air video, unless these guys comes up with plug in option for their device and use that power and even pass it on to iPad/iPhone..
Interesting.. Though, I will still go for Aereo type service.. where I not only get my own antenna in cloud but also cool DVR. Which is independent of my location. I guess, internet access is going to be ubiquitous and won't be any problem in very near future..
‘Dongles’ battle video service
TV broadcasters back device in fight with upstart Aereo
By Ryan Nakashima
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — The key weapon in TV broadcasters’ fight with Internet video upstart Aereo is something inelegantly known as a dongle.
The miniature TV antenna picks up free, mobile broadcast signals. It attaches to iPhone and iPad power ports and extends about 7 inches, allowing users to view live local TV channels at not-quite-highdefinition quality.
The device scans the airwaves for signals with the help of an app. The antenna doesn’t sap a user’s data plan or rely on Wi-Fi signals, but it does need to be recharged. “If you’re at a ball game or a Starbucks and everyone’s trying to access the news, you’re not going to get (video stoppages),” says Karen McCall, a marketing representative with Dyle Mobile TV, the venture backing the devices.
The dongles are on display at the annual gathering of broadcasters, the NAB Show, taking place this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Dyle says it plans to release units for Android devices soon.
Dyle is actually a coalition of 12 major broadcasters including Fox and NBC. Those networks, along with ABC and CBS, are waging a legal fight against Aereo, a service that pulls down broadcast station signals with thousands of tiny antennas and sends the signal to mobile devices or computers over the Internet. Aereo users don’t require a dongle, just a wireless Internet or cellphone connection.
Broadcasters contend that Aereo illegally steals signals from the air without paying for the rights before reselling them to customers. Aereo has prevailed so far. It won a preliminary ruling in an appeals court last week that allowed it to continue offering its service in the New York City area. It plans to expand to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington and 18 other U.S. markets this spring.
Dyle began selling its dongles, made by companies such as Elgato and Escort, late last year on Amazon. com.
Elgato’s EyeTV Mobile sells for $83.98 or more, while Escort’s Mobile Digital TV lists for $119.99.Compared to the $8-amonth streaming service by Aereo, the price seems high, but the dongles have the backing of major broadcasters.
The Elgato and Escort devices were designed before Apple reduced the size of the power ports on its newer iPhones and iPads. As a result, people who use the latest iPad and iPhone 5 will need to employ an adapter, which can make the contraption extend somewhat precariously.
The gadgets receive signals only from stations that specifically broadcast to mobile devices. So far, the dongles will work for the signals from 116 stations in 39 markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Signals come from affiliates of NBC, CBS, Fox, Univision and Telemundo among others.
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