Thursday 21 May 2015

Deaf Girly Reviews Live Subtitled TV on an iMac



As I type this, I am watching BBC Breakfast news LIVE on my iMac in the living room.

*dances around the said living room

I know! I cannot believe it. And do you know how much it cost me to achieve this?

Just £13.75.

So it all started when FJM and I went to the Apple store to buy a new iMac for the flat. We don't have a TV and wanted a big screen for watching Netflix and catch up TV on and a computer, too. The guy in the Apple shop was an amazing super geek and when I started asking him about whether I could use the iMac as a TV, he told me about Elgato Eye TV, which costs in the region of £80.

Logging onto Amazon when we got home, I wasn't that keen on spending this much money when the reviews were not sparkling, so instead I hunted around on Amazon and found the August DVB-T208, which works on a whole load of computers, not just Macs.


Reading the reviews they talk about how it's a bit flimsy, but I was guessing this was for laptop use where the USB ports are around the side not at the back so I took a chance on this not being an issue on the iMac, which has USB ports at the back and clicked buy. The reviews also warned that you should not attempt to use the mini CD to install the software as it jams Mac disc drives and instead download it from the August website. I truly believe this is a crucial tip.

When it arrived just three days later, I was slightly nervous that I would be disappointed, but I downloaded the software from here and plugged the little USB stick, attached to the main TV aerial and opened the Fuugo TV for DVB-T application.

After a short search for channels, the whole thing was up and running and honestly, it's amazing. There's a programme guide, a record option and you can flick effortlessly between channels by scrolling along a pop-up bar at the bottom. The subtitles are exactly the same as they would be on a normal digital TV from what I can tell, which means you get the usual delay for live programmes, but it's a lot better than the alternative, which is live TV streamed over the internet with no subtitles.

Sadly it wasn't Bill Turnbull on the sofa this morning

It's been a while since I've wanted to shout about an amazing product for deaf people, but I honestly think this is one of them. This product allows you do ditch the TV – if you want to – and access TV on your computer like hearing people can. It allows me to get back to my routine of peanut butter on toast and the lovely Bill Turnbull on the BBC Breakfast sofa in the morning. And what could be better than that?


Just to let you know: I wasn't paid or asked to do this review – I did it out of the pure excitement of finding a fabulous product. *beams

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