Introduction
As part of the 20% of UK TV owners that doesn’t have an aerial, I’m the perfect candidate for Manhattan’s Aero 4K TV Streamer – but that’s not to say the tiny Freely set-top box can’t also smarten up your telly too. Maybe you want broadcast TV in another room but don’t have an aerial socket – and don’t fancy paying a professional to put one in. This £70 streamer is the inexpensive alternative anyone can fit, without having to break out a ladder or power tools.
It also doesn’t incur a monthly subscription like Sky Stream and Virgin Media Stream, is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a whole new TV with Freely built-in, and comes with a user-friendly TiVo interface that’ll have many older smart TV systems licked for speed and streaming support. With the UK government still considering a terrestrial switch-off in the 2030s in favour of Internet provided television (IPTV), it will also future-proof your home cinema setup.
Design & features: box clever
The box itself has the same footprint as a drinks coaster and is a sliver thinner than the latest Apple TV 4K. Since the accompanying remote is wireless rather than infrared, you can stash the box completely out of sight if you like. A dongle-style design would’ve made this even easier, admittedly, but some stick-on wall mounts will only set you back a few pounds and let it lurk behind your TV. It draws more power than your TV’s USB ports can supply, however, meaning the bundled power brick is a necessity.
There’s a solitary HDMI port at the rear (with a cable included in the box) which supports up to 4K resolution at 60Hz. It won’t do Dolby Vision, but plays nicely with HDR10+ and supports Atmos passthrough if you’ve got a compatible home theatre system or soundbar. The wired Ethernet port is handy if your Wi-Fi network isn’t especially speedy, and the single USB-C port lets you hook up an external drive for playing local content through Plex. Just…