Quick Summary
The second Freely box has arrived, this time from British AV brand Manhattan TV.
The streaming device gives you access to the UK’s biggest TV channels for free, plus 400+ additional services and on demand content, all wrapped up in a TiVo front-end. And it costs just £69.99 all in.
Until the end of last year, Freely was limited to new Smart TVs from a handful of manufacturers. If you didn’t own one of them, you couldn’t make use of the fastest growing free streaming service in the UK.
(Image credit: Manhatten TV)
Up steps Manhattan TV – a British brand already known for its Freeview / Freesat boxes and digital recorders. It is now adding another device to its lineup, and this time it embraces Freely completely.
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Not only that, but the Manhattan Aero runs on the TiVo platform – yep, the intuitive, fuss-free front-end that Virgin Media customers enjoyed for the best part of a decade. Indeed, it’s been greatly improved since then, combining Freely live TV streaming with other free channel support and all the main streaming apps you could hope for.
Like the Pleio (and Sky Stream / Virgin Stream), the Manhattan Aero 4K TV Streamer with Freely (to use its full name) is an internet only device. You hook it up to your network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet and away you go.
(Image credit: Manhatten TV)
What does the Manhattan Aero 4K TV box give you and how much does it cost?
It gives you the 60+ free channels available through Freely – including those from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5 – and offers another 400+ channels to stream, for good measure.
There’s voice control too, thanks to the TiVo remote having a microphone built-in. That means you can search for what you want to watch, without the need to scroll through pages.
Unlike Pleio, you do not have to pay any subscription fee if you don’t want to – you’ll receive all the free channels (Freely and otherwise) and on demand content in perpetuity. You just pay for the set-top-box and that’s it. And considering it’ll set you back just £69.99, that’s a hugely compelling offer.
(Image credit: Manhatten TV)
On top of that, thanks to app support with the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ available, you can choose to pay for those separately if you want and keep all your viewing in the one place.
It supports 4K HDR10 video through HDMI, with up to Dolby Atmos on passthrough (to an amp or soundbar), to ensure you get the best picture and audio performance where available.
The Manhattan Aero will be available in February from Currys, Amazon, John Lewis and other UK retailers. T3 will be bringing you an in-depth review in the coming days.
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