Hands up if you’re sick of receiving emails from streaming services with a subject line referencing “pricing updates”.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve reported on or read about subscription prices creeping up, and I fear that I’ll be doing the same throughout 2026. Frustration from viewers is mounting, too, so what’s the solution?
According to Manhattan’s COO, Alex Arbab-Zadeh, it’s the company’s latest streaming box; well, more specifically, it’s what the streaming box can do.
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The Aero 4K TV Streamer was officially revealed last week, and I had the chance to attend the launch and get a better understanding of what it offers.
Streaming hardware is a crowded market after all, and there are huge international players such as Apple, Google and Amazon all vying for a place in your media unit. So how does this plucky British streamer stack up?
Well, I was sold on the concept by a single quote from Alex Arbab-Zadeh. Upon revealing the Aero 4K, he stated that “you can buy the box and never pay a penny for content again”.
This is because the Aero 4K not only offers access to the free TV streaming platform Freely but also uses the TiVo operating system, which features an abundance of free shows and movies via the TiVo+ service.
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In fact, Manhattan claims that TiVo+ offers over 400 streaming channels and on-demand content options, while Freely offers 70 of its own channels, plus the range of content available on the existing terrestrial streaming apps.
That’s a lot of content for not a lot of money; well, no money if we’re being pedantic. Now, if we’re being realistic, the volume of high-quality productions may not be as high as the likes of Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video, but TiVo+ highlights that it does stream content from some major franchises.
You do, of course, have to put up with ads, but that’s to be expected, and the TiVo OS platform does support plenty of paid streaming apps such as Netflix and Disney Plus if needed.
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In fact, I think that’s where the Aero 4K will hit its stride as a streamer. It’s all about options; there is the free content on board that can supplement the paid services, and it might inspire those who are tired of pricey monthly subscriptions to cut back now that they can supplement the services they wish to keep with an abundance of free content.
We’ve not really seen a streaming box like this; the Award-winning Apple TV 4K expects you to cough up if you want to stream anything other than the free-to-access apps mentioned above, and the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Generation)‘s FreeVee free streaming platform is a bit of a mess right now, as it’s in the process of being integrated into Amazon Prime Video.
With interest growing around free, ad-supported streaming, just look at Samsung‘s commitment to its expansive TV Plus platform; it’s easy to see the appeal of the Aero 4K. However, only time will tell whether it will be equally impressive when it comes to picture and sound quality.
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