In connection with televisions, terms such as twin, dual or triple tuner are often heard or read. But what is actually behind it and what advantages does such a tuner offer? TECHBOOK explains.
Anyone who used to receive their television program via antenna or satellite dish had to buy a small reception box with a built-in receiver. In the meantime, many devices already have the receiver built in. Twin tuners, dual tuners or triple tuners play an important role here.
What are tuners?
Televisions or radios are equipped with the receiving parts called tuners. This is imperative to filter out the correct signals through the antenna, cable or satellite dish. In addition to the tuner, you need an amplifier – both in combination are called receivers. Without it, no signal could be displayed correctly on the TV, and the screen would end up black.
Dual, twin and triple tuners – differences
Older devices usually have built-in dual tuners. In this case, dual means that the television has a built-in receiver for receiving TV signals via satellite (DVB-S) and antenna (DVB-T). A triple tuner (“Triple” stands for “triple” here) also supports reception via cable (DVB-C). You have a choice with a triple tuner – the TV supports all types of reception.
From time to time there is also talk of the “twin tuner”, not to be confused with the dual tuner. Twin tuners can transmit two channels at the same time. This is useful, for example, if you want to record a film or a series on an external hard drive and watch another program at the same time. Triple tuners and twin tuners are therefore not mutually exclusive.
Beware of old DVB-T models
In 2017, the old DVB-T antenna signal was replaced by the new DVB-T2 standard. This enables the transmission of HD channels, for example. However, the old DVB-T receiver has become unusable as a result of the changeover. New television models have a DVB-T2 receiver installed accordingly. With old devices, you will inevitably have to switch back to an external receiver, since the integrated triple tuner in the TV is not so easy to replace.
These are the advantages of televisions with triple tuners
If you have a TV with a triple tuner, you do not need an additional receiver with an additional remote control, which not only saves you money but also space. In addition, from an aesthetic point of view, you can do without another cable in the TV area. The tight integration into the TV’s operating system also simplifies operation, since you don’t have to switch between different inputs. Instead, the signal source to be used for channel search is selected directly when the device is set up. This source is then simply always used for television.
Does the triple tuner also work with IPTV?
There is no integrated receiver to be able to receive television over the Internet with IPTV. This is not even necessary for this. You need an additional device from the respective provider for reception via the Internet.
For example, if you have a smart TV, you can use IPTV via an app. If you don’t have a smart TV, you can easily use it with an HDMI stick, such as the Amazon Fire TV stick or the Google Chrome stick.
Also interesting: These are the advantages of Internet television IPTV
Do all televisions have a triple tuner?
First of all, a receiver (triple/dual/twin tuner + amplifier) is integrated into all modern flat screen televisions. This is an advantage for you, as you do not have to purchase a separate receiver such as a DVB-T2 HD, cable or satellite receiver, and you do not need a second remote control.
A triple tuner is already integrated into most flat-screen televisions, so that you can receive antenna, cable and satellite television. If the receiver breaks down, you can connect an external one.