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5 of the best TV-related apps

Got a smartphone? Like watching telly? Join the club, square eyes – and then whack these apps on your blower to enhance your gogglebox experience

SlingPlayer Mobile £18 (iOS, Android, WP7, BB, WebOS

Hook up a Slingbox to your living room TV and router and you can “sling” TV to your smartphone, no matter where you are in the world – you just need a 3G or Wi-Fi connection. You can change channels and even control your PVR, set recordings and watch stuff you’ve already recorded.

BBC iPlayer Free (iPad, Android 2.2)

Yes, you can probably already use the BBC’s catch-up service through your phone’s web browser, but this app streamlines the experience nicely and adds live TV and radio streaming. And it’s free, so it’s not like you’re ending up out of pocket by installing it.

Gear4 UnityRemote £100 (iOS)

As the name suggests, UnityRemote turns your iOS device into a fuly customisable universal remote capable of taking control of all your AV kit: hi-fi, TV, Blu-ray, you name it. While the app itself is gratis, you’ll need to invest in a box to detect the signal – hence the £100 outlay.

Elgato Tivizen £150, (iOS)

Another free app which requires you buy a separate box, Tivizen is a mobile Freeview tuner which transmits pictures to your iPhone or iPad via its own private Wi-Fi hotspot – no web connection required. You can even timeshift and record live TV.

TVUPlayer £3 (iOS)

Offers access (via Wi-Fi, not 3G) to thousands of worldwide TV channels through your iOS device. There may be a ton of nonsense you’ll never access on there, but on the whole it’s well organised and particularly useful if you want to watch international sports that aren’t on British TV.

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Profile image of Dan Grabham Dan Grabham Editor-in-Chief

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website.  Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Areas of expertise

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home