Established in 2002, Freeview is the United Kingdom’s digital terrestrial television platform. It provides access to free-to-air TV channels and radio stations, including more than 85 standard channels and HD channels – from the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, to CBS, Sony Movies, QVC and many others. The inclusion of YouTube means there’s plenty of subscription-free content alongside the service’s paid-for shows, including its rather excellent Karate Kid spin-off, Cobra Kai. Setting up the Netbox 4K is a completely seamless experience, far easier than setting up its predecessor – simply connect to the internet via WiFi or the included ethernet cables. From there, the Netbox 4K takes you through the setup process, where you can add parental controls and scan for Freeview channels.

The box offers several smart features, including “universal search” across content providers, and interactive capabilities allowing viewers to If recording is the main reason you’re looking for a standalone Freeview box, then you should look elsewhere, for boxes with built-in storage and more advanced capabilities (see our recommended Freevew boxes list here). After a couple of days I got used to the Netbox 4K’s idiosyncrasies, and using the smartphone app can help because, while it still goes heavy on recommendations, it’s easier to get to the regular TV guide. You can set reminders and cast programmes to your TV straight from the app, which also means you can spend less time using the remote. Netgem Netbox 4K review: Performance

For people who are coming from a pay-TV service like Sky, this might be a helpful halfway-step towards complete streaming freedom. You don’t have to constantly jump between different apps and services to find what to watch – instead, you see recommendations on one screen, and once you choose what to watch – THEN you will be taken to the appropriate app. TV is a really important part of the offering in the UK marketing place where the end customer is now expecting to buy TV alongside their broadband, so being able to offer TV is extremely important. netgem.tv have a great value proposition, that brings next generation TV to our customers, that complements our Full Fibre rollout.”

Netgem, a company based in France, has two operation models in the UK – first, customers can buy its Netgem Netbox 4K as a standalone Freeview box.

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At this point, it’s also a good idea to install the Netgem TV app on your mobile phone (it’s available for both iOS and Android). For starters, the app lets you mark some favourite TV programmes and movies – which would help with your content recommendations later on. As you’d expect, the 4K content is highlighted in the box’s on-demand menu to ensure it’s easy to find. I remain impressed with the Netgem TV service which, I said before, offers an “easy to set-up way of watching catch-up and on-demand content on your big screen TV,” although it would be nice if Netgem could bring Netflix and Now TV to their service which would boost its appeal to those looking for a complete ‘one box’ solution.