Comparison

TV Assistant vs PlacePod

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TV Assistant

Enhance your smart TV experience with screen mirroring, remote control, and photo sharing. Optimize your TV's performance and resolve connectivity issues with built-in tools. Designed for convenient and interactive big-screen entertainment.

Highlights
  • Robust screen mirroring
  • Reverse control and interaction
  • Multi-functional remote control
  • Photo wall for family sharing
  • Network diagnostics and optimization
  • Performance cleaning and acceleration
Features
Read full description

A powerful assistant for smart TV users, offering the following features: Robust Screen Mirroring Stream your phone’s screen, documents, audio files, videos, and images to your smart TV with stable, smooth performance, delivering a high-quality big-screen experience. Convenient Reverse Control & Interaction View your smart TV’s screen directly on your phone and control the TV via your phone’s touchscreen. Instantly capture TV screen images and save them to your phone for easy sharing or archiving. Multi-Functional Remote Control Combines traditional remote functions with innovative operations, offering multiple control modes to enhance interaction flexibility—perfect for intuitive, seamless TV management. Heartwarming Photo Wall for Emotional Connection Batch-transfer photos from your phone’s album to your TV and showcase them in elegant artistic frames or set them as screensavers. This feature lets families share cherished memories on the big screen, strengthening emotional bonds in home entertainment—a rare and delightful addition to TV apps. Network & Performance Optimization Built-in network diagnostics quickly resolve connectivity issues, while cleaning and acceleration tools optimize performance, extend your TV’s lifespan, and enhance your overall usage experience. Ideal for elevating your smart TV experience with convenience, creativity, and family-centric warmth.

About

PlacePod

Features
Read full description

A pleasure every time you open it. A stylish file manager and sharing app with a beautiful digital clock. The lock screen is a clock elegant enough to double as decor. Behind it: serious file management, sharing, and transcription. ■ A beautiful clock - Swipe through classic, minimal, Roman-numeral, neon, and photo-real faces - Alarm and time signal — rings even when the app is closed, like a real alarm clock - Per-second ticks and spoken time announcements ■ File management - Organize and store files safely inside the app in My Files - Move things freely to and from your photo library - Copy or move whole folders; filter lists by photo, video, or audio - Photos and recordings taken in the app go straight to My Files, never to your camera roll ■ Transcription and subtitles (13 languages) - Turn video or audio into a subtitle file (.srt) with one tap - Japanese, English, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Korean, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, and Vietnamese - Translate subtitles into another language (the original is kept) - Everything runs on your device — audio and text are never sent anywhere - Media with an .srt next to it plays with subtitles automatically ■ Network connections - Connect directly to Samba (Windows/Mac/NAS), NFS, and SFTP servers - Stream videos without downloading - Plays mp4 and far beyond: mkv, webm, wmv, TS, AV1, and more ■ Sharing - Share encrypted files with just the people you choose in Cloud Files (auto-deleted after 7 days) - Chat and exchange files with your circle - Hand files to and from other apps — PlacePod appears in the share menu ■ Privacy and security - No account needed — no email address, no phone number - Lock with a PIN, biometrics, or a trusted location - Intrusion alert silently photographs failed unlock attempts with both cameras - Cloud storage is encrypted with AES-256 Some features require the paid version (monthly, yearly, or one-time purchase). ``` ### What's New in This Version (build 12) ``` Transcription is now much more capable, and subtitles can be translated. ■ Better transcription Now supports 13 languages (Japanese, English, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Korean, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, and Vietnamese). Every format the player can play — webm, mkv, TS, and more — can now be transcribed. Everything runs on your device; the audio is never sent anywhere. ■ Subtitle translation Translate the current subtitles into another language from the translate button in the player (iOS 18 or later). Translation also runs entirely on-device. The translated subtitle is saved alongside the original file, and the original-language subtitle is kept as "name.language.srt". ■ App languages The app's interface is now available in 13 languages, following your device's language setting. ■ Copying and moving folders Select folders and copy or move them with their contents — including to and from network connections. Destinations without folders, such as the photo library, receive the files inside instead. ■ Other improvements and fixes - AV1 videos can now be played - Large file transfers are more reliable, with progress that reflects actual transfer - Network connections now reconnect automatically when dropped - Tapping the black bars around a video now shows the controls ■ Pricing - The core features are free - Some features require a plan (Monthly / Yearly / Lifetime) ■ Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

TV Assistant4 screens
PlacePod4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TV Assistant at none against PlacePod's 3. TV Assistant also leads on ads (none vs shown). PlacePod's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PlacePod sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. TV Assistant asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TV Assistant ships an update every 6 weeks, PlacePod fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
TV Assistant versus PlacePod: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTV AssistantPlacePod
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS14.7 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB110 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShenzhen Horion Software Co., LtdSurgeSpace Corporation

In-app purchases

None

TV Assistant

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

PlacePod

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Plan$69.99

Questions

Is TV Assistant free?
TV Assistant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlacePod free?
PlacePod is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TV Assistant or PlacePod have ads?
PlacePod shows ads; TV Assistant does not.
Which is updated more often, TV Assistant or PlacePod?
TV Assistant ships an update every 6 weeks, and PlacePod fortnightly. Most recently, TV Assistant was updated on October 24, 2026 and PlacePod on October 24, 2026.

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