Review: Freecom DVB-T USB Stick

Freecom’s DVB-T USB Stick seems to be the most widely available and popular example of this product group at the moment. Its rounded casing appears to be sprayed with the same, velvety-black, rubber paint that adorned the Psion series 5.

Closer examination reveals that it’s not a finish but a tough case material, a resilient plastic. Aerial connection is through a 2.5mm mini coaxial plug on the opposite end of the case to the USB plug.

Included with the tuner are a USB extension cable, a mini-remote control and a 135mm stick aerial, with a magnetic base and a 1.25m captive cable terminating in a standard coaxial plug. There’s also a screw-on sucker base for the aerial and a standard-to-mini coaxial adapter.

Freecom’s install CD is unusual for this product group because it requires a serial number, printed on the CD sleeve, to complete the install. Two programs are installed; the Freecom DVB-T Player and a second executable, not mentioned in the manual, that enables the infra-red remote control.

A green activity LED on the tuner stick flashes orange when the signals from the remote are being received.

The DVB-T Player application uses a two-pane display plus separate control panel layout.

There is a status display in the middle of the control panel showing selected channel, volume level and so on, with a simulated numeric keypad and option buttons on the left and a round, dial-like set of transport controls for record and play on the right.

As with most of the applications for these tuners, right-clicking on the viewing window displays a vertical menu strip that provides access to many of the software controls and settings.

Aerial signal sensitivity seems reasonable and with its easy-to-use software, remote control and below average price, this is an attractive product if you don’t require both digital and analogue operation.

This article is part of a group test of miniature USB TV tuners. Others are:
Intro and Editor's choice
Freecom DVB-T USB Stick
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 900
KWorld DVBT-350U
MSI Mega Sky 580
Pinnacle PCTV USB Stick
Terratec CinergyT USB XS

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