TV gateway

A TV gateway (also called network TV tuner) is a television headend to a network UPnP router that receives live digital video broadcast (DVB) MPEG transport streams (channels) from terrestrial aerials, satellite dishes, or cable feeds and converts them into IP streams for distribution over an IP network.

TV gateways allow users to stream broadcast live TV content to connected devices on the IP network, including tablets, smartphones, computers, gaming consoles and smart TVs. They also allow multiple users to watch and record different channels at the same time.

The device offers multi-platform, multi-screen broadcast television with rich live TV content and high quality HD channels.

Most TV gateways support free-to-air (FTA) television services found in many countries. These include services such as Freeview and Freesat in the United Kingdom, TNT in France and TDT in Spain, and basic cable packages in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and others.

A few TV gateways also support third party conditional access modules (CAMs) for premium pay TV channels, which are transmitted by using a CAM CI card provided by the broadcasters or by third party manufacturers to access their TV service.

While many first-generation TV gateways support only one channel or a limited number of channels, modern TV gateways provide multiple TV tuners that can process several channels simultaneously. The more channels a TV gateway provides the more users it can service at the same time. Modern TV gateways also allow users to record TV programs to a USB flash drive, or external hard disk and in some cases, shared folders or network attached storage (NAS).

An electronic program guide (EPG) is like a traditional TV listing magazine but available online or on a TV service like aerial, satellite or cable. It allows viewers to find out what shows will air and search for programs they’d like to watch. EPG's also allow users to set reminders and record shows automatically.

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