£5 USB Digital TV Receiver

Digital TV receiver from Banggood, £5 / $7.50 including delivery.
Purchased from www.banggood.com, item number SKU007322
3 weeks for delivery from China to UK.
Software included does work, however is many years old.
Video shows it installed on Windows 7 Pro 64.
Update: • USB Digital TV Receive...

[@alanmumford8806]

I bought a similar device for a similar price - it too worked just fine straight from the box. The channels can be sorted manually into your preferred order, including blacklisting of unwanted channels. It also has dual tuners, so you can watch one channel while recording another to HDD. Brilliant little piece of kit, a TV in your pocket.

[@MarkTheMorose]

I got a very similar device last year on behalf of a colleague to use on his laptop when the other tellies in the house are in use. I made sure to the the more up-to-date DVB-T2 compliant version, though, and got it from a UK seller on eBay. Still had the same old Blaze software, but it works well enough and he's pleased.

[@ChaplainDaveSparks]

I just saw where one software vendor mentioned a prize within a licensing agreement for the first person to actually read through and find it. It wasn't claimed for a month or two! :-)

[@davidlisney2059]

As others have said these are usable as Software Defined Radios too, supported by various softwares in Linux, Windows and even Android. I tend to chuck the discs provided and get the drivers etc from the 'net.

[@robertherberg9595]

We have the same monitor. Mine warms my room nicely.

[@chan.sorman]

In my area, the transmitter can be seen on a clear day but due to the town being in a steep river valley, external aerials with signal boosters are used.

[@dondenter]

Hey John I asked if the unit would work here in the US but was told by the supplier it was Europe's system and not suitable for the US. It is as well to add this so that people here do not buy and find it does not work. Maybe there is something similar that will work here. Great informative videos. More power to your elbow.

[@malcytull]

Nice one John, thanks for posting.

[@kierankay100]

you think these would be really popular

[@Elfnetdesigns]

That plug is an MCX type. You can buy adapters for it on ebay. You also can use these cheap dongles in linux with GNU Radio and create a pretty decent 24 MHz to 4GHz continuous radio receiver with different displays. With the right filtering in GNU radio you can listen in on MPT1327, P25, and OpenSky format radio systems. With two of these dongles you can track trunking radio systems. Another neat thing is you can decode weather satellite data with these and get a live map as the bird flys overhead. Another trick is to modify a usb extension cable to carry the ground shielding directly to earth ground and encase the dongle in a metal grounded box to reduce interference generated by your PC on the USB sockets..

[@QlueDuPlessis]

ElfNet Gaming It's important to keep in mind that it depends on exactly which combination of chips they used if you want to use it with GNU radio. I purchased one a while back that came with a standard TV antennae socket.

[@Elfnetdesigns]

Aadil Shah the realtek chipsets work and so do the bootleg Chinese knockoffs. Define "standard TV antenna socket" because for me the standard is a female "F" type connector.

[@cjmillsnun]

ElfNet Gaming In the UK the standard aerial socket is the Belling Lee connector.

[@QlueDuPlessis]

Is that what it's called? I've always just called it the aerial plug! :P

[@Elfnetdesigns]

MCX or PAL types, ebay has pigtails that will give you an "N" type connector from and MCX or PAL

[@johnussss]

Bought a similar one "RTL2832U+R820T" chip, Australia, Win7, full size RF connector, not the SMB Connector as on yours, the small antenna picked up all but one broadcaster, connecting the roof mounted antenna all were received and all DAB+ channels, which are within the TV broadcast frequency rang in Aus, so not surprising they were available, bought it just for the DAB+ radio option, sadly only received a trial version Blaze TV.

[@JohnnyX50]

I have a similar usb dtv, only a standard digital, not hd. Depending on the chip set inside there are dozens of other uses for them. you can use them as radio recievers, 50 - 2000 Mhz oscilloscopes , all sorts, using 3rd party drivers and software. I bought an upconverter to make mine a shortwave radio reciever :) mine has the full size ariel socket though. anyway what i wanted to say was i use the silly antenna they give you as a magnetic sticky metal poky thing as its useless for any reception other than strong transmitter areas like you said :) Love your videos, thank you for sharing :)

[@johnussss]

+JohnnyX50 Is the Arial yours came with a blow up doll or some other Cartoon merchandise?

[@copelandaa]

Bargain, I thought this was going to be a 'failed product' video and I was pleasantly surprised something from China actually worked for once. Does the USB Dongle get hot during use?

[@egementutkunforreal]

Yeah mine gets hot

[@wisteela]

Great for the amazing price.

[@JMcBride1985]

Looks very good for £5 - unbelievable value! Do you have "Windows Media Centre" on your pc. If so, you could try setting it up in there, which will give you full EPG along with DVR functionality

[@flybobbie1449]

Make your own aerial. strip back the coax to 44cm. Separate the shield and core and bend in opposite directions to make a dipole. Tape to a piece of wood. Has worked on several devices and the uhd tele i'm watching now.

[@MylesNicholas]

Excellent USB tuner.

[@kipronodanson7855]

So the small antenna does not work

[@seanregan730]

Hi John liked the review, However I noticed the drivers loaded were the BDA drivers. If my memory serves me right I think you will find the device will work with Windows Media Centre. You will find a totally different setup experience and it is long winded however the EPG and channel list is far better give it a try you may be quite pleased and surprised.

[@JohnnyX50]

I know its a bit late now but windows media center picks it up straight away :)

[@rich1051414]

+JohnnyX50 I would presume it has a very common cheap chipset, used by all kinds of different DVR devices. Not surprising at all.

[@PerMejdal]

Try it in linux.

[@Mtaalas]

You can't just splice coaxial cable into another and expect the signal integrity to stay reasonable. You need to have proper adapters since digital-tv is sent in such a high frequency and requires such a large bandwidth to work properly that any discontinuities in the signal path will affect the signal enough to make it unusable.

[@ChaplainDaveSparks]

You can for a "quick and dirty" test, or if you have a lot of signal strength to spare, but you're right. You wouldn't want to do that for a permanent installation. As a ham radio operator, it's amazing how often you can make contact with an antenna and coax combination which "shouldn't work".

[@Synthematix]

of course you can lol

[@paulmandara232]

hi john could you do a video to show how you would wire up intermediate lights on a town house over three floors working the ground floor light, the 1st floor light from the ground. then controlling the 1st floor light from either end of a landing corridoor and then controlling the 2 nd floor light from the 1st floor and controlling the 1st floor light from the 2nd floor ?? show this as a video or as a diagram of how you would wire it up ?? cheers

[@Beastriderpav]

Good choice of Rioja :)

[@alistairstuart2009]

i would recommend using windows media center if it supports this device

[@alexanderagbayani8431]

..the trick is.. to have a good aerial antennae to have a good reception ..

[@chrislambert8690]

Very strange i purchased the same item from the same seller on ebay a few years back, and could never get it to work

[@imark7777777]

So five years later and I'm asking … why? So many of these videos seem to have like a purpose and this just seems so random. Of course I’m one to talk I have 3 Tuner's and I love the whole DVR under my control aspect or the ability to watch 3 channels at once! I guess it's just that this video seems like it's part of a bigger project that hasn't been disclosed yet. Also I went with the old Elgato/Eyetv ecosystem I guess 10 years ago now, it predates all this cheap stuff on eBay. :-( I will recommend the HDHomeRun it’s a network tv Tuner(s) if you're mostly looking for TV and not SDR. They're even improving their software, although it is fairly standard.

[@blootoofblue6951]

I know it's an old video but am I right that you chopped the aerial that came with it and wired it to an existing coax you had? And did it work ok?

[@jonk6834]

I remember buying one of these when they were “new” - 2006 or thereabouts. It never really worked, although the software would claim to find a signal it never actually got as far as displaying a television channel. Not even when connected to the rooftop aerial! BlazeHDTV = junk, that was my conclusion anyway.

[@scratchpad7954]

Do these USB TV sticks pick up ATSC for US customers?

[@LachiBoii]

Why did you need to blur out the license code when you wouldn't be able to use the code on another computer?

[@1969gawa]

lachlan duggan As far as I know every Blaze TV software disc had the same code printed on it. I've had 3 or 4 over the years and all had the same license code on them, including one,bought from eBay, where the seller sent me a link for the software and an email with the same code.

[@CodeAsm]

RTL-SDR ... much more usefull with these adapters

[@leonvdd]

you couldve just used windows media centre for the dongle to setup the dongle

[@djcazzah6511]

I recently bought one and would like to know if it would work in Kodi as Kodi now has a built in PVR function in it.

[@choochoochooseyou]

Mine arrived today. Can anyone explain how to splice the supplied antenna to the house aerial as JW does here? Thanks.

[@OZHKAR1]

does your USB device lights up? I connect mine and I see no LED flashing

[@GarethOfUll]

u still got this

[@seanregan730]

I have just read further down the comments and Windows Media Centre has been mentioned. A question also is does the dongle get warm after prolonged use? many thanks Sean

[@jwflame]

Sean Regan Very slightly warm after several hours use, hardly noticeable. It's still working 8 months later.

[@DerekHundik]

JW loves to say HERE

[@SakileSorkar]

How can i get it full display, my laptop is not make full display when i make it maximize

[@iamdarkyoshi]

Related videos "How to get free TV" Well... you use an antenna... they have been around since TVs were first released...

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

You can get free TV with a TV set and no license. Just have to hide indoors with the curtains closed and pretend to be out if the doorbell rings.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

You can put an antenna on your roof, point it towards the TV transmitter towers. You don't need to to hide yourself when you get free TV. It's perfectly legal, plus you get ABC, NBC, CBS, CW and FOX for free along with countless digital subchannels all depending on your geographic area.

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

Justin Hill Oh dear, that shows it's been a good while since I had a telly.

[@JohnDoe-qx3zs]

+Justin Hill Except that in some places there may be a local building regulation limiting the size or look of outdoor antennas, because some people think they are ugly. Also if you don't own your roof, the owner may want extra pay for renting you a spot on the roof. Stuff like that.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

John Doe Yes, I live in an apartment, so I have to use indoor antennas (rabbit ears, hoops, bowties, flat panel antennas, etc.).

[@anitiaglypth2270]

I RECENTLY BOUGHT THIS SAME STYLE DONGLE STICK SAME COLOUR SILVER BUT RECIEVED WRONG DRIVER DISC PLEASE CAN YOU PUT YOUR DRIVER DISC UP PLEASE ITS THE BLAZE SOFTWARE BUT CANT GET ON SITE AS IT KEEPS SAYING IT IS HARMFULL SO CANT GET ON SUPPORT PAGE PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ME

[@jwflame]

I do not have the driver disc, this video is from 4 years ago.

[@alicoolman1xx]

Is there an adapter for the antenna to cox cable instead? And where can I find one?

[@rajlkatrodiya]

I have same one looking for driver. From where can I get software? thanks,

[@plentyponies5886]

Well it works OK on the laptop, but only if I use the house aerial as the aerial it comes with doesn't pic up any signal I think it's analogue due to its style like a old car aerial and not digital. I did see a video of a guy using the supplied aerial and on a android phone he got a picture I wonder how he did that as you need the drivers from the disc to install it and make it work, also I recon he might have been from a analogue country.

[@chrisakaschulbus4903]

some time ago is saw that you can with specific drivers listen to other frequencies... can this work with such an usb device?? sry for my english :D

[@balajiLILG]

i bought a similar card from ebay and it came with a software called presto pvr. i didn't have any issues listening to FM but i am not able to watch TV. i tried scanning for channels with different options , changed the county and performed the scanning still nothing. could you plz help me. by the way i am from india

[@petermcarthur7450]

+balaji hustler The device that John Ward tested isn't configured to work in India.

[@martinwickenden4474]

do you need a TV Licence.

[@jwflame]

If it's used in the UK, yes.

[@alireza1660]

How did you make the wire that the signal was found?

[@xlxl2589]

I bought it but unfortunately only works a few TV channels else.hi for macedonia

[@Robothut]

I bought one about the same time as this video and never got it work, even with the out side antenna connected. I wonder if they sell them cheep so the soft ware that you load can put some sort of bad programing on your computer ?

[@jwflame]

***** Unlikey, there are much easier ways of distributing malware. Probably just cheap manufacturing with little or no quality control, so whether you get a working one is something of a lottery.

[@mickeythompson9537]

Well, I've noticed that every time I buy something like this from China, I get a burst of junk mail to my eBay specific address. So the process seems to harvest email addresses, a much easier way to distribute malware.

[@aaronsharp3858]

How did you splice the cable how many wires are inside the wire from the tv tuner and how to they need to be connected to the coax cable thanks if anyone answers and great videos John

[@jwflame]

The supplied cable is just a small size coax with a single centre wire and an outer braid.

[@coondogtheman]

Does this have the ability to record TV shows like a DVR? I did see in the website you showed it did say recorder. I might look at one of these but I don't have a roof antenna like you do. I also see that it picked up some music stations, can this pick up HD radio too?

[@jwflame]

The device is just a tuner, recording and other functions depend on the software used with it.

[@coondogtheman]

John Ward I have Windows 8.1 on my pc so I guess media center won't work for me.

[@norbertwende9645]

coondogtheman1234

[@JohnDoe-qx3zs]

+coondogtheman1234 You would need to buy a home to pro upgrade key, but Microsoft stopped selling those just to annoy you and make things generally miserable.

[@coondogtheman]

John Doe What about this + windows xp media center?

[@CBurrows288]

My one, identical to yours, came with a belling female co ax to device plug However, within 10 minutes it's too hot to touch...

[@umeshverma1013]

Do you have any website?

[@mohammadyousuf6219]

Can this device work without internet or what ?

[@jwflame]

Yes - no internet required, it receives signals from an aerial / antenna.

[@wesleypoon7043]

Hi, i got a question, did it got FM feature. Did it can received the FM signal and record the programs?

[@jwflame]

+Wesley Poon Not with the software supplied, it may do that with other software.

[@MegaZsolti]

Wouldn't this be illegal, since you have to pay for channels?

[@jwflame]

MegaZsolti No, these are all unencrypted free to air channels.

[@MegaZsolti]

***** Oh, alright...too bad, hehe.

[@mihaipredescu]

Does this type of tuner work with JUST A SIMPLE PC MONITOR? (DVI/HDMI) and a DBV-C cable provider?

[@jwflame]

No, it has a USB connector and requires the computer for decoding.

[@mihaipredescu]

@@jwflame Thank you for your quick response! Have a wonderful year 2019!

[@mihaipredescu]

@@jwflame I found the answer to my question: I need a Android TV BOX Hybrid which also has tuner both DBV-C, DBV-T.

[@tauresattauresa7137]

can this be used on a tv? and it there a coaxil cable that can be bought and used with this, rather than doing it yourself?

[@jwflame]

Cable can be obtained, it's a standard connector. I did not have a connector of that type at the time, it was quicker to just splice the cable to another one. It requires the computer and software to decode the video & sound, so cannot be used with anything else.

[@tripsadelica]

You can't use it on a tv without hooking it to a computer linked to your tv set. I have this very same unit here in Australia and it handles our DVB-T signals without a hitch. You can buy a little adapter for as little as a pound on Ebay that will adapt the plug to accept a standard coax connector...then you can link it to your outdoor antenna. Forget about using the little bee sting antenna that comes with the unit...it can only receive super strong signals so unless you live right next to the transmitter, just bin it, If you are using Windows 7 or 8 (not, unfortunately, 10) then you are better off going through Windows Media Centre and following the installation instructions there. Windows will find a more recent driver, scan for channels and act as a PVR should you wish it to. You even get a comprehensive tv guide from which you can select programs to record.

[@picobyte]

Not worth the components but fun on older devices and for persons that still watch "TV" . There even are TV satellites still going putting out terrible high compressed digital TV streams. Looks as crappy as shit movie compressed to CD/DVD format. or worse...

[@1marcelfilms]

digital tv sucks. cable tv all the way

[@animationstation3095]

Are you American or British, John?

[@jackclancy3508]

really?

[@animationstation3095]

+Clanky Bob I am an idiot, I understood his accent was English and he said 'Dollars' In the video.... and I would usually think he would refer to the UK's currency which is the Pound and Only the pound. I was not expecting him to compare between US dollars and GBP. ARGH I am such an idiot

[@Thereal_Antek]

why here is 666 likes💀

[@أمين-ز1م]

Please can you give the driver ...i have SAME this ... its not installed in windows 7

[@svetlanasme1438]

will it work in a tv to receive freeview?

[@jwflame]

No, it requires a computer to decode the picture and sound. USB sockets on televisions are normally only for power, or to view media on a storage device.

[@svetlanasme1438]

John Ward thanks that’s exactly what I needed to know

[@Suni777]

plese say me any one it requiers internet connection

[@jwflame]

No internet connection, all channels received via the aerial/antenna.

[@panostampakologos156]

Hi, Do you have the drivers for windows xp or windows 7 because i have lost my cd.

[@lanhpham7646]

Dvb-t2 ?

[@jwflame]

No, T1 only.

[@lanhpham7646]

Thank you! 😍

[@urbansnipe]

hes using NOD32 antivirus probably the best antivirus you can get this guy obviously knows his computers aswell :D and hes not using that shight windows 8 otherwise known as windows HATE

[@MKhurramAziz]

+urbansnipe the best antivirus is common sense. All others are optional.

[@ahmedssemanda9930]

where can be found Or to buy it in Dubai - UAE # feedback required

[@rammohans717]

Can this work in india

[@jwflame]

Possibly, it's a DVB-T receiver so if that standard is used in India this device should work there.

[@bablubiswas1]

Will it work in India? We use Set top Box , Tv video input mode to view tv

[@jwflame]

It will work if India uses DVB-T for broadcasting. Otherwise no.

[@catalialia9264]

Hi..will it work in malaysia?

[@TheTommy83180]

Like

[@willwonka1325]

Great video aside from the er, overuse er, of the word er.