If you’re looking to upgrade to a new smart TV in the coming months, the change will likely mean giving up Freeview. That’s because Freely, a new broadband-powered alternative from the Freeview team, is fast becoming the new standard for TV manufacturers in the UK.
Free, which launched in april with a single TV brand on board, there is no software update available for existing Freeview and Freesat viewers. It is only available on brand new hardware designed specifically for the software.
Since that initial launch, Freely has now become the default way to watch linear TV channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky Arts and dozens of other popular channels on new models from six different manufacturers: Hisense, Bush, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp and Metz.
With Freely, the revamped Mini Guide offers additional information about the program you are watching, a shortcut to additional episodes from catch-up services and the ability to start over with one tap
FREE PRESS OFFICE | GBN
The biggest absentee remains Samsung, the best-selling TV brand worldwide for the past 18 years. Everyone in TV has already announced that we can “expect new smart TV brands to roll out in the coming months,” but there’s no guarantee that Samsung will decide to adopt this new platform.
Freely was developed by the teams at Everyone TV — the same organisation behind Freeview and Freesat — and is backed by the UK’s biggest broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. One of its biggest selling points is the ability to stream live TV and on-demand content over a Wi-Fi connection.
This means you can place your television everywhere in your home, not just where there is an antenna.
It also unlocks a range of new features that you’re more likely to see on your smartphone. like Sky Glass, Heaven StreamAnd Virgin streamAnd EE TV boxes — such as the ability to restart a show from the beginning with a single tap if you missed the start of the broadcast. Freely has also worked hard to seamlessly bring together its on-demand library of episodes from streamers like BBC iPlayer and ITVX, as well as upcoming live episodes.
However, this industry-wide trend has led some experts to raise the alarm, saying that people without a decent internet connection would no longer be able to watch live television by 2040.
It’s also worth noting that while Freely offers impressive Sky Stream-like functionality, there are areas where it falls short compared to existing Freeview TVs. While Freely can stream some of the most popular linear channels over a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, you’ll still You will need to connect an aerial to access a channel list closer to what Freeview expects.
Free has 28 television channels available streamed over a Wi-Fi connectioncompared to the 100 or so linear channels available with Freeview via a traditional aerial.
Provides quick access to previously aired episodes of a show for free, without having to find and launch a specific app, such as BBC iPlayer, from the service’s main menu
FREE PRESS OFFICE | GBN
Because the new TV platform has been designed from the ground up, the channel numbers have been changed. If you have memorized the channel numbers for Freeview, you will have to forget everything you know. For example, Sky Mix appears on Freeview channel 11, but has been bumped up to channel 23 on Freely.
And finally, Voluntary will always prefer live streaming of television via a broadband connection as this will be in High Definition (HD) compared to the lower resolution available via a traditional antenna. This should make for a better viewing experience, but it does mean that you will need a decent internet connection to continue watching.
Freely requires a minimum broadband speed of 10Mbps, which should be possible as the average home broadband speed in the UK is 69Mbps. However, if you live in a busy household with multiple people trying to tune in and watch live TV via Freely, you will need at least 10Mbps per stream.
For comparison, Netflix only requires a minimum speed of 5Mbps for 1080p HD picture quality, while Sky Stream viewers need a minimum of 25Mbps to ensure a decent viewing experience.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
As long as you have a valid TV licence, Freely brings live and on-demand content together in one place for free. The launch of the broadband platform comes as research suggests that half of UK households will watch TV exclusively over Wi-Fi by 2030.
In addition to channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, Everyone TV has confirmed that discussions are underway with UKTV to bring its portfolio of free channels to Freely via your broadband connection. UKTV, the award-winning brand that owns and operates channels including Dave, Drama, Yesterday and W, has announced plans to undergo an extensive rebranding this week.