Currys still struggling with demand, but popular British-made Freely box is back on Amazon (for now)

If you're not familiar with Freely, it launched in the first half of 2024.

Built by the same team behind Freeview and Freesat, this new broadband-powered platform is forecast to overtake both by the end of the decade. At the beginning, Freely was only available on brand-new Smart TVs built from the ground up for its software, which lets you pause live free-to-air television channels and rewind a show that's already in progress. The TV Guide lets you scroll backwards in time, bringing a selection of on-demand content drawn from catch-up services like BBC iPlayer and ITVX into the EPG.

But if you didn't want to upgrade to a new flatscreen, you had to stick with Freeview or Freesat. That's all changed with the arrival of these Apple TV-like boxes that bring the latest Freely features to any television with a 10Mbps internet connection.

The Aero 4K TV Streamer is built by the British brand, Manhattan.

Plug this box into the HDMI port on the back of your telly, and you're able to stream the biggest free-to-air channels, including GB News, ITV, BBC, Channel 4, and more.

There's also an on-demand catalogue brimming with over 75,000 hours of on-demand content (believe it or not, that's more than Netflix).

Unlike Freeview, Freely boasts several clever features that you'd usually only associate with paid-for platforms like Sky Glass or Sky Stream, including pausing live television and rewinding a show that's in progress.

While the TV Streamer rivals the Pleio with nearly the same features, Pleio has a couple of noteworthy extras that you may deem worthy of the slightly higher price tag. Currently, it's on sale at its original debut price of £109, but it just went through a price rise in the last couple of months.

The Pleio box includes a set-top box, remote, game controller, a 12-month subscription to premium channels, and cloud gaming.

It's worth remembering that ownership of the hardware is deferred until the 12-month subscription period ends, which means you’re essentially leasing or financing it as part of the subscription. You can't sell the Pleio box after six months as a second-hand item, since you don't technically own it at that point.

If you're not much of a gamer, the Manhattan Aero 4K TV Streamer may be a better pick since it misses out on the game-streaming capabilities of the Pleio.

However, if you're willing to splash out a bit extra, the Humax Aura EZ 4K TV Recorder with Freely was just unveiled for £249.

• Buy the Humax Aura EZ 4K TV Recorder with Freely

This is the third set-top box to launch with the Freely platform baked into it. Inside the Aura EZ 4K TV Recorder is a 2TB hard drive capable of recording up to 1,000 hours of content. When connected to an aerial, this new Humax device enables viewers to record up to four channels while watching a fifth channel live, ensuring they never miss their favourite television shows, sports fixtures, or films.

To schedule a recording, you can tap the Menu button on the remote control to reveal the seven-day TV Guide, making it faster – and simpler – to select a show for recording. The Humax Aura EZ comes with a dedicated Freely button on the remote control, enabling fast and convenient access to the newest streaming platform.

Unlike the Pleio and Aero boxes, the Aura EZ requires an aerial for full, traditional recording functionality and does not appear to support third-party apps like Netflix or Disney+.

Each of these Freely-powered devices arrives just as Freeview faces a potential switch-off in the next few years.

According to a recent study, dubbed Stream On: The Future of UK TV, every UK household could have access to internet-delivered TV by the mid-2030s, allowing traditional terrestrial distribution to be retired. A vast number of us have already made the switch, with 94% of UK adults having access to internet at home and 92% of us relying on one video-on-demand (VOD) service, like Netflix, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and others.

While streaming can be more convenient — and unlocks Sky Glass-like features like the ability to pause or rewind live television – there are downsides. Aside from the BBC licence fee, there’s no cost when tuning into linear TV channels using an aerial.

Likewise, if you have a satellite dish, Freesat lets you watch dozens of free-to-air channels at no cost. However, this isn't the case for broadband-based television, which requires an internet connection in your home.

You'll need a minimum connection speed of 10Mbps for Freely, with most broadband companies charging at least £10–£15 a month for the sort of speed you'll need to watch. Millions of UK viewers could be "forced into paying for broadband" as a result.

And there are thousands of UK homes still without a broadband connection.

For those who aren't yet connected, the UK Government's target of 99% broadband coverage by 2030 should help plug the gap. The latest research was put together by Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates based on a representative survey of 1,000 UK TV viewers. It was published by Sky, which recently retired its own satellite solution in favour of internet-powered solutions like Sky Glass Gen 2 and Sky Stream.