Aerial TV: Android RTL-SDR DVB-T Decoder Officially Released

Last month we posted about Aerial TV, a new Android based DVB-T decoder that works with RTL-SDR dongles. Back then the app was still in beta testing and had a few operational bugs. Now the Aerial TV app has been officially released.

UPDATE: Due to Google policies Aerial TV has been removed from the Google Play Store. It is claimed that Aerial TV could be used for copyright violation. It is now available on the Amazon store. Official information will always be available on the new official website at aerialtv.eu

The app is based on the new Android DVB-T driver for RTL2832U devices which is written by Martin Marinov who is also the programmer of Aerial TV. The DVB-T driver is open source, and currently supports RTL2832U devices with the R820T, E4000, R828D, FC0012 and FC0013 tuner chips. Of note is that the R828D also has DVB-T2 support.

Aerial TV is free to download and test, but requires a $7.99 licence to use for more than 30 minutes. To use it you will need an OTG (On-the-go) cable adapter and an RTL-SDR dongle with antenna.

Just watch TV – no data plan or wifi connection required. Aerial TV works by picking up digital TV channels off the air with a regular TV antenna.

You will need a low cost USB TV tuner. You can grab one online for less than €10. Make sure to get an RTL2832 tuner. When it arrives, just connect the provided antenna and start watching. You may need a USB OTG cable to plug the tuner in your Android device. USB OTG cables are inexpensive and easy to find.

Note that your Android device must support USB OTG. If unsure, do a quick search online or consult your Android device manual. Also check that there is DVB-T/DVB-T2 service in your local area by doing a quick search online. Signal needs to be strong enough for Aerial TV to pick it up. For best results use an outdoor aerial.

You get free unlimited access to radio forever. You also get to watch all TV channels and experience all features of Aerial TV during the trial period for free. After the trial period ends you can make a one-off purchase and watch as much TV as you want. Remember: you can keep listening to radio even if the trial has ended!

Q: How do I find a supported dongle?
A: All major RTL2832 (rtl-sdr) dongles are supported. These dongles can be easily purchased online. Just type in “RTL2832” or “RTL2832U” in the search box of your favourite online store.

Q: What tuner do I need to watch DVB-T2?
A: If your country has DVB-T2 broadcasts (such as Freeview HD in UK) you will need a DVB-T2 compatible receiver dongle such as R828D in order to watch DVB-T2 with Aerial TV.

Aerial TV Screenshot
Aerial TV Screenshot
Test a android program "Aerial TV (Unreleased)" ver. 1.1 with usb dongle with R820T2 chip

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Anonymous

Amazon link no longer works. they did the same as google.

Joachim Kröger

Hello Martin,
Thanks to provide the driver and your apps!
They run great.

I need the driver to run on an Intel Android platform.
Where can I get that?
In case you know help, plase notify me via
[email protected] directly!

Thanks for help,
Joachim

Martin Marinov

The app is not available on Google Play anymore since Google has removed it due to claiming it could be used for copyright violation. Aerial TV is now on Amazon. Download link can be found here: http://aerialtv.eu/

Marc

Hi,

I just downloaded it at google play…

Martin, is the 2832u chip compatible with dvb-t2? I found no clear info to that.

greets, marc