The Sagem STB was easy to install and was very small in size. However, it wasn’t as solidly built as the Thomson DTI 2300 and the rear panel Scart connectors were not screw anchored for additional protection against possible damage.
The ITD 64 had good sensitivity but failed to pick up the very weakest Freeview signals during our tests (signals that produced a watchable picture on the Humax F2FoxT). Under these extreme reception conditions, the Telecam 10dB signal amplifier did help and many more stations were then received. The threshold for DVB-T reception was in the order of 37dBuV without the amplifier.
Guide Price: £50.00
Main Features
1 Instant digital radio access using a separate radio button on the remote control
1 Innovative on-screen display mode for radio station selection and volume control. The display dims to reduce the risk of long term screen burn damage.
1 Support for 4:3 (all picture modes) and 16:9 TV aspect ratios
1 VCR Scart socket for easy digital TV recording
1 VCR and Events timer function for automatically changing channels for VCR recordings
1 Fast EPG and digital text access
1 Variable RGB output level on TV Scart
1 Protection against set up changes by password; ideal for hotel room use etc.
1 TV Scart socket supporting RGB and CVBS (composite video)
1 Excellent picture quality in RGB mode
1 UHF Loop through, but with no modulator
1 Digital audio output AC3 / PCM only; no phono socket analogue audio outputs
Conclusions
In summary, the ITD 64 is a decent budget Freeview box offering good performance but lags behind the best in terms of functionality and connectivity. Other World Wide Web reviews from owners refer to occasional software lock ups with some mentioning interference problems on the RF loop through with the ITD64, but none of these became apparent during our tests, although our test sample came without a RF loop through interconnect lead.
As with all set-top boxes, it is important that any coaxial interconnect cables used to connect an STB to your TV or to other peripherals are double screened using satellite grade CT100 coaxial cable.
