Televes Smartkom evaluate: Most over-the-air TV reception

For many people, slicing the wire and switching to free, over-the-air TV is straightforward—merely set up an antenna. However for those who reside someplace that makes it tough to tug in your native channels as a result of the printed towers are in reverse instructions, you may want one thing like an antenna rotator. This motorized gadget will reorient your rooftop antenna relying on the channel you wish to watch, so it may well pull in alerts from towers in disparate places.

However an antenna rotator comes with its personal set of limitations. It requires an additional cable coming into your own home, an additional field close to your TV, and for those who’re feeding the sign to a couple of TV, each units might be restricted to no matter channels can be found from the route the antenna is dealing with. That’s the place the Televes Smartkom is available in.

Relatively than arrange a single antenna on a rotator, you’ll be able to set up as much as three antennas, with each pointing to a unique transmitter. The Smartkom combines the feeds from every antenna, figures out what every is receiving, and selectively amplifies solely these channels. This not solely means the ensuing mixed feed coming to your TV tuner consists of solely the alerts your antennas are bringing in, it additionally means you’ll be able to ship all of these alerts to a number of tuners, and each can obtain all of the channels accessible in your space, regardless of which route the printed towers could be.

Set up and setup

Putting in the Smartkom is fairly easy. The unit is available in a weatherproof field that you simply’ll zip tie to your antenna mast. It has three ports for connections to as much as three antennas, and a fourth port for the coax cable that may go into your own home. Inside the home, the coax connects to a 12-volt energy provide that feeds the Smartkom over the coax cable. Lastly, there’s an output connector that you simply’ll run to a number of televisions.

When all the things is related up, the Smartkom must scan for channels to find what’s accessible and the way it ought to swap between antennas. When you’re up on the roof, there’s a button on the rear of the unit to do that, however for those who’re again in the home, there’s a button on the ability provide unit. It’s also possible to use the Televes Asuite app for this process.

Televes

The app, which is accessible for Android and iOS, connects to the Smartkom by way of a Bluetooth radio within the energy provide unit, however it additionally serves different capabilities. After scanning, it presents you with data as to what it’s determined. You’ll see which channels it has assigned to every antenna, however you’ll be able to click on on every antenna to override the Smartkom’s choices, do you have to want. The app additionally means that you can fantastic tune the amplifier and add a bit of additional or much less amplification to every channel.

Day-to-day use

Martyn Williams/Foundry

So, how did it fare? Within the location the place PCWorld assessments TV antennas, we’re fortunate to obtain stations from two broadcast TV markets in virtually the identical route, so a single antenna is often enough. However there’s a pesky VHF station off to at least one facet that doesn’t usually are available.

The Smartkom will work with any model of TV antenna, not simply Televes fashions, however TechHive’s present prime TV antenna decide is the Televes Dat Boss Combine LR, and I occur to be additionally engaged on a evaluate of the brand new Televes Dinova Boss, so I related the Smartkom to them each, utilizing the latter for reception of that secondary TV station.

Martyn Williams/Foundry

After set up and scanning, the Asuite app accurately assigned the Dinova Boss to reception of the off-angle VHF station and, surprisingly, a few the opposite stations I usually obtain with the Dat Boss Combine. I in contrast alerts by manually switching between the 2 antennas, and whereas each delivered a superb sign, the antenna the app selected was barely higher.

One other benefit of putting in the amplified on the roof is that it minimizes the size of your coax run, decreasing sign loss earlier than the sign will get amplified. This resulted in barely higher sign ranges throughout most channels in comparison with my earlier set up the place the amplifier was indoors.

Additional studying: This evaluate is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of one of the best TV antennas.

Must you purchase the Televes Smartkom?

The Smartkom is a neat and intelligent piece of equipment, of a high quality not sometimes discovered within the North American client TV market.

You probably have TV alerts coming from a couple of route and wish to maximize the variety of channels you obtain, it might be a superb addition to your TV reception system alongside two or three good-quality outside TV antennas.

Notice: Amazon additionally sells an older model of this gadget (Televes mannequin quantity 531981) that we now have not evaluated.