In the context of “free tv“, nothing fits that phrase more accurately than over-the-air television or “ota TV” for short. It has long been the go to place for those not looking to pay for traditional cable and satellite services.
I’ve been using the MyGica ATSC digital TV tuner for about a month now and I must say, right out the box it exceeded my expectations. It gives you the at-home experience wherever you are.
Included with the tuner is 2 tv antennas, 2 vehicle mounts and a SMA adaptor. To get started, I had to first download the “Pad TV” app, no sign-up required. Pad TV is a Geniatech Inc company based in Shenzhen, China. After that I had to connect the tuner to the charge port on my phone. The Pad TV app recognizes the tuner and a popup appeared asking me if I wanted to watch TV.
Once you’re in the Pad TV app, everything is similar to what you’d see on a regular TV or converter box. Before you run a channel scan you can select from a list of available countries.
The program guide displays program info and lets you see what’s coming on up to 7 days ahead. You cannot set timers or recordings for future programming. But you can record a current programming to your device.
Other features include closed captioning, mini player, share, TV guide, audio subtitles when available and screen resolution settings.
Pros and Cons of MyGica ATSC Digital Tuner
One of the pros is that you can record shows to your device to watch at a later time. The con is you can’t change the station. This device does not a a pass-thru for charging which sucks because watching video for hours can do damage to battery life.
Another pro is that once you download the app and set everything up, you don’t need an internet connection to watch TV. So this device would be perfect for van dwellers because you do not need an internet connection for it to work.
