A few years ago during a big sporting event, I found myself at a sports bar that was playing the NCAA tournament. Of course, it was noisy and the TVs were muted — but I really wanted to hear the announcers. It wasn’t possible.
Then, I found the app “Tunity.”
Tunity streams audio of what’s playing on the TV to your smartphone. It sounds cool, but does it really work?
Back then, I got mixed results. But recent updates have improved the app considerably.
Here’s how it works: Open the app and you’re asked to give it permission to use the phone’s camera. You then aim the camera at the TV you’re watching and tap the screen.
“Tunity” detects the channel that’s playing on the TV, and after a few seconds, begins playing the audio through either the phone’s speaker, earbuds, or a Bluetooth speaker.
I found that — while the audio hardly ever synced perfectly with the announcer, you can fine-tune it so you don’t hear the announcer say the shot was good before seeing the ball leave the player’s hand.
“Tunity” works with channels showing live TV events and shows. The supported channel listings include almost all major networks. It does not work with Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, etc.
Considering you can hardly ever sync voice to video perfectly enough to enjoy TV shows where actors are speaking dialogue,“Tunity” is best for sports — where the announcers are not always on screen.
The “Tunity” app is free for iPhone and Android device.
If you find yourself frequently trying to watch a sporting event in a sports bar, gym, airport, doctor’s office, or any place with a muted TV — it’s an app you’ll be glad you “heard” about.
