Freecom DVB-T & Analog TV USB Stick review

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Verdict:

Review Date: 19 Sep 2007

Price when reviewed: £39

Buy it now for: £50
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.cclonline.com

Reviewed By: Seth Barton

Our Rating 5 stars out of 5

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Freecom's USB stick is a hybrid digital/analogue tuner with a sturdy black casing.

The RF input uses an adaptor to attach a full-sized RF lead, so you must be careful not to lose it. The mini antenna has the usual magnetic base, but also comes with a handy suction cup. Without diversity support, such a small aerial is inadequate for digital TV. Analogue reception was also poor, with lots of ghosting and noise. With a rooftop antenna, some ghosting still remained.

The drivers and software install in one easy package. The software supplied is Arcsoft Totalmedia 3, which looks like Media Center in many ways and can also deal with video, audio and photo files. A wizard guides you through the setup process. Radio and TV channels are mixed together, but you can re-order them without too much difficulty.

The interface is easy to use and self-explanatory. However, the bundled mini remote doesn't have enough buttons to properly navigate the software's various menus and EPG. The EPG shows the current programme on a list of channels and future programmes on a single channel. It's not quite a proper timeline, but it does mark scheduled recordings for you. Alternatively, you can use the subscription EPG TVTV.

This is far from being the cheapest tuner here, but its interface is easy to understand and all the features work as expected. A DVB-T only version (part code 25451) is also available for the bargain price of £25.

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