The Manhattan Aero 4K saved me from the dreaded London renters' TV aerial hell
I spent months chasing my building management to fix the TV aerial, and then a little streaming box made the whole thing irrelevant
We all know renting has always come with its fair share of setbacks. But I never expected a lack of TV to be one of them.
When I first moved into my current London flat five years ago, there wasn’t even a hint of a problem. We happily connected our aerial cable and had everything we could want right on the telly.
But, as the years went by, my precious channels started to disappear; at first gradually and then all of a sudden, leaving only the BBC HD ones guaranteed to be working without the picture going and turning into pixelated blocks.
It was every telly addict's nightmare. But a new streaming solution might just save the day (and your binge-watching evenings, of course).
The problem with apps
Of course, I’m perfectly happy with streaming TV, but it doesn’t always work the way you hope. Not everything streams live; certain apps (looking at you, ITVx) are a bit of a nightmare to navigate, and there’s a whole cohort of mid-range free channels (the likes of Really, Dave and Drama) that don’t even have a streaming home.
Beyond that, there’s nothing quite like channel hopping around for some light entertainment; there’s a comfort in having everything at your fingertips in an all-in-one guide to browse when you’re indecisive and have no idea what to put on.
"Watching telly is still a huge part of our culture," says Alex Arbab-Zadeh, COO of Manhattan TV.
"Watching live broadcasts gives people a shared experience – big news events, sports, or even just trending shows that everyone watches and then talks about. Some experiences are just more meaningful when you know you're watching along with everyone else."
As a gameshow fan, that always used to mean throwing on Challenge and watching some reruns of The Chase in the background. Sadly, that’s not an experience that’s easily available via streaming services, where you actively need to have something in mind that you want to watch. I didn’t just give up on terrestrial telly immediately (after all, I’m paying my TV license), but after months of chasing building management to get the aerial working led to nothing, we eventually just stuck to watching The Traitors over iPlayer.
I wondered why nobody else in our building had complained about this, but it seems they all mostly watch streaming TV too, so it’s never been a priority to fix. In fact, this is all a bit of a “grey area” for renters. Of course, a management company should mend a communal aerial, but if they don’t, it’s not like there’s a law requiring landlords or building companies to sort these things out. There are likely obligations in a lease agreement, sure, but management didn’t bother with repairs and, unsurprisingly, it’s not something any renter can tackle themselves.
Enter Freely
Thankfully, Freely is not only the answer to my specific issue, but also to a long list of TV woes — whether your aerial cable is dodgy, you don’t have an aerial connection in a particular room, you have poor weather, signal interference, or a lack of HD channels over the terrestrial signal.
What is Freely, then? Think of it as the long-overdue upgrade to Freeview. Created by the UK's core broadcasters, it streams live TV straight over your Wi-Fi into a unified programme guide, so you can watch things as they’re broadcast.
It also offers a great range of channels including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, and saves you from needing rooftop aerials, satellite dishes, or set-top box installations.
Small box, big upgrade
Given that most solutions with baked-in Freely are built into televisions themselves, and I was very much happy with the TV I already had, just a tiny box full of channels was what I needed.
And exactly what Manhattan has made with its Aero 4K. It costs £89, and affordably brings the Freely service to any TV, even my ageing Samsung.
I got the Manhattan Aero 4K up and running in about five minutes; you just plug it into the HDMI and power, and you’re sorted, with no subscription to worry about. And, yes, although it really shouldn’t need to be said: yes, of course you still need to pay for your TV license!
Using the Manhattan Aero 4K is as straightforward as it gets. It runs on TiVo OS rather than Android TV, and I find that a cleaner, simpler and more integrated experience that’s less about streaming-first. You have a “Guide” button on the remote that takes you straight to your old-school electronic programme guide (EPG) and I’ve found channels load fast, and it’s great that you also get access to TiVo+'s 400-plus free FAST channels (that means “free ad-supported TV”) including Sony Action Hits, the Pokemon channel, Bloomberg, CNN, plus movie and sports channels, too.
"People can buy a very affordable device like the Aero, then find that it has upgraded their viewing experience to such an extent that their old TV actually feels like a brand-new set," Arbab-Zadeh told Shortlist.
While Freely itself is in HD rather than 4K, this hardware supports 4K streaming and brings you all the services you expect too: all the UK catch-up platforms (integrated into the guide) and Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and YouTube are all present. The only major omission I noticed was Apple TV, which is a shame, and one that's hopefully rectified soon. Size-wise, it’s similar to a Sky Stream puck and a little smaller than an Apple TV box, so you won’t have trouble placing it anywhere.
There aren’t many downsides. I did notice it’s not as fast as the Apple TV device that I’m used to using for my streaming; the remote can be temperamental, and I do experience a little lag hopping between menus. It also doesn’t play along with my TV audio quite as well as I hoped, and it’s worth remembering you can't record telly from it. You'd need a different box that probably requires an aerial connection if you care about that. For Freely and getting proper TV over the Wi-Fi, though, this is perfect, and any drawbacks feel minor.
For me, it’s been the solution to my years-long struggle. In the past, I’d had to contend with unreliable live streaming and have missed certain events entirely (yes, not all live streams are available on iPlayer and ITV). This just feels easier than fussing with cables and aerials, and means you can put your TV anywhere in your home, not only where you’ve got a socket.
For renters, the Aero costs less than a couple of months' Sky subscription and requires no one's permission to install. And, much to my delight, it has an entire channel devoted to reruns of The Chase.
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