You can read our full review of Pleio here , which was written after this news story was published.
While Freeview is slowly being replaced by its streaming service Freely, the only way to previously get hold of it was to buy a TV with the OS built in. But that’s all changed.
Everyone TV is partnering with entertainment/technology company Netgem to launch the first-ever ‘plug-in and stream’ Freely puck that connects to your telly via a HDMI slot – no dish or aerial needed. It’s called Pleio.
Pleio is a palm-sized, circular streaming puck. It runs over Wi-Fi (with Bluetooth support available), and supports both live and on-demand telly via Freely. It boasts 4K resolution and HDR where available, and comes with a voice remote and a gamepad – more on that later.
The Pleio runs on Android TV 14, with support for passthrough Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound.
Netgem
As it’s Freely , it doesn’t require users to pay any subscriptions to watch its range of channels – though you will need a TV licence to watch live content from the likes of BBC , ITV , Channel 4 and Channel 5. Live TV can be paused and restarted.
You can switch between channels and live/on-demand content via the mini-guide, save your favourite shows and movies in the My List section, and browse what’s coming up with the seven-day TV guide.
Those who buy a Pleio puck will get three months of the add-on subscription thrown in at no extra charge. After the trial period, this will set you back an extra £9.99 per month. This subscription adds over 250 cloud games, an extra 150 channels and curates content into genre sections such as Series, Movies, Sports and Kids.
If you’ve got a slightly older TV, this may be ideal for you, as Managing Director of Netgem UK Sylvain Thevenot explains: “The integration of Freely with Netgem’s entertainment service positions this streaming puck as the optimal choice for all households and breathes a second life to all TV sets at an affordable price.”
Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor’s Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She’s also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she’s written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.
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