Manhattan TV Reviews 

this review is only about the Manhattan t4 other products maybe fine !
it is advertised as 4k it is not really ! it has 4k output but only at 25 hz which is unviewable , even in normal mode the picture is poor due to the upscaling to my 4k LG TV , the digital sound was also not great .
only suitable for cheap standard TV sets . the aps was not very reliable either bah .

I purchased a Manhattan T4-R 500GB recorder to replace an obsolete YouView box..
Everything works perfectly apart from when you watch live TV through the set top box. The picture keeps freezing momentarily. It is extremely frustrating.
This obviously also affects the recording.
Maybe I was just unlucky..........?

I bought a Manhattan T3-R Freeview recorder From Amamzon in December 23 and after 18/19 months the hard drive failed meaning I could no longer record, paue or rewind live tv. I complained to Manahattan who said I should have taken out an extended warranty and I pointed out that an item that fails in so short a period does not meet the criteria of the Consumers Rights Act 2015. They referred me to their T&Cs which left me baffled. With hindsight I should have done more research before buying by looking at Trust Pilot, Which? and if I knew then what I know now I would never have bought it. Best avoided.

Manhattan T4.R 500gb I bought this to replace our virgin box as getting very expensive. So for the price it is a good quality bit of kit easy to set up and information book easy to follow only had it a week and find it very easy to use.

How do we give zero stars ? The buggiest freeview box i've ever had the misfortune to own. Remote control randomly stops working, and only a power off and back on with the box itself will restore the remote control. There's a host of other silly bugs in this T3R but too many to bother listing. Just bear in mind that i also have a Humax Foxsat and Humax Fox T2 freeview box, both bought 2nd hand years ago, so they were already old, but they both still work pretty near faultlessly. How the manufacturers can manage to build this much more modern box with such poor performance, and sell this rediculous pile of manure to the public, is unfathomable.

Apart from a few minor niggles (really don’t like the layout of keys on the remote), the convenience of a Freeview recording box means that I can put off the evil day when streaming is the only option - looking at you Freely. I bought the T4-R last year and love the choices it provides. Regular firmware updates iron out any existing issues and introduce new features including the very-welcome YouTube app. After some recent glitches, I got in touch with the support team and they have proved to be very responsive and helpful. A UK based company that offers excellent products and service, not something one encounters every day.

I just purchased this today to replace Virgin Media and the set up was absolutely fine. It connected to my internet via ethernet straight away and am happy with the connectivity options. I'm watching my first recording right now. The guide and user interface are easy to navigate. I turned off menu transparency as I found it distracting I absolutely love that the remote has 5 learnable functions (2 are vol up down), which I easily programmed from 2 other different remotes - so I don't need to use the other remotes as much and have less sofa clutter, fabulous! The remote could be less 'clicky', but it's a small gripe. Pleased with the apps and easy to access, not bothered about Netflix, though YouTube would be a nice addition. The box size isn't huge so easy to find a home for it - it's about the same size as my Vigin box. Live fast foward and rewind are quick and responsive, good choice of levels and quicker than virgin. No complaints so far, I hope the T4-R continues to function as it is currently.

Edit: 4 days later and just found a useful tip. On my Virgin box, when you stop after fast forward it goes back a few seconds to account for reaction time (which I believe is a function trademarked by Tivo). As the T4-R doesn't have this there's a hand skip back 10 seconds function you can use if you've gone a tab too far forward, much aporeciated.

Edit 05/02/25 - Manhaattan have released an update to upgrade the box to include YouTube, which I have completed successfully and is very welcome.

Just under one month out of 2 year warranty (1 year + 1 extra year). Out of the blue it decided to stop recording, unable to access recordings and candy move backward ongoing program. Support contacted but advise to do standard factory reset, software version updates etc, or send back for repair after a payment depending on findings ( without guarantees it will be more reliable). Will try to replace it with another HDD what seems to be easy try (5 screws, 30-40 quid online). Two stars because it is a good idea but at the end disappoinment.

According to all of the reviews, both at the time of purchase, and even today, the Manhattan T3R is supposed to be the best freeview box / recorder on the market.

From day one, it has been nothing but trouble.

Freezes regularly, and needs the power pulling.

Fails to record things for no apparent reason.

Hard drive says it's full when it isn't, requiring it to be formatted and losing all recordings.

Stops responding to the remote, or goes slow.

And now the icing on the cake, the screen flashing on and off.

Have asked Manhattan if they will replace the box as it's never been fit for purpose, and they just say to do a factory reset, as if I haven't done that at least half a dozen times over the last 4 years.

Total garbage, going in the bin tomorrow. Avoid. Will never buy another Manhattan again.

I bought my T3-R just over two years ago. On the whole, I liked it in use - the remote and UI are a bit quirky in places, but after getting used to that it was easy to use.

BUT just out of warranty it failed completely. I read a couple of reviews here which were similar. I contacted Manhattan (who admittedly are under no obligation to do anything) who basically said tough, bad luck. The repair option they provided looked to be too costly to be viable. When I said that I was disappointed with their product they said it was the best out there, and that I should look at all the good reviews. So here I am, reading some reviews and adding mine.

So, in summary it’s ok whilst it’s working but it might not last too long.

Waste of money. Bought two in 2 years and both not working properly with recording... Not worth the money. Beware !. We will see what alternatives are out there for sure.

I'm sad and surprised to see the recent negative reviews.
I'm an ex Humax user but after two dead boxes was ready for a change.
Box arrived yesterday plugged in connected up switched on in less than 5 minutes ,box upgraded itself too 3 or 4 minutes within 10 minutes of unboxing I was exploring the functions and settings.

Faults stated in previous reviews I player crashing box I've set up the apps on the box but am unlikely to use them as I prefer to stick to my firestick for that .

Lip sync problems ,only just under 58 hours in but not experienced that problem either.

Not waking up missing recordings etc I think might be down to the standby / loop out options but I've already changed those settings to my needs and set recordings overnight to test which have worked perfectly.

I'm particularly impressed with the guide which is much sharper ,clearer faster and easier to use than my old Humax boxes.

With my old Humax boxes the channel guide could be a nightmare while blocks of channels would not be populated on the guide sometimes for days on end.

This new Manhattan switched it on did the upgrade checked the guide and bang all channels fully populated in the guide for a full week ahead and it's stayed that way .

It's entirely possible 🤞🤞 I may encounter some issues ,but hopefully not.

In the meantime I can do nothing but thoroughly recommend this box to anyone in the market.

I havgrame been trying for over half an hour to contunue to watch a programme. It went off when the adverts started ok I can put up with that but will the programme restart NO. Don't waste your money Manhattan is crappie. All I have at present is a rotating pink circle. DON'T waste your money folks

The box is totally unreliable. Put into standby overnight and it then will not turn on in the morning. Can not be relied on to record programmes when your not there, so makes it pointless

Had my Manhattan T2-R HD TV Recorder for 2 years (bought from John Lewis). After an initial set up blip which Manhatten were helpful in sorting out it's been OK - not brilliant but OK. Two years on and I am increasingly frustrated with its inability to just do what it it supposed to do. Recordings freeze, the remote is so sensitive I almost have to sit in front of the set a couple of feet away to get the remote function to work (new batteries fitted), it loses connection far too easily, it powers down in the middle of watching something ... the list of gripes just goes on and on. Two years - is that it? It'll be in the bin within a few weeks. Buy Manhatten again? Nope - not likely. Not after this.

"Simple set-up, easy to navigate" - it seemed - but oh the bugs!! Fails to respond to remote either completely or partially, iPlayer crashes & takes the whole box out, "home" screen menu simply flickers on top of existing program, lip-sync needs correcting for every single channel change. Only answer is reboot, which is an almost daily event. Support offer PR & platitudes, while expecting customers to do the testing & rectification they should already have done.
After 2 wks of what can only be described as experimentation by Manhattan, they have the nerve to accuse me of not cooperating!! Clearly ignoring what they laughingly call a guarantee, by refusing to replace this faulty product! Stay well clear of this shoddy company!

had this T4 box awhile now, overall not a bad little box for the price, better than the useless Freesat box I had before, which kept crashing and did not get to the end of recordings, only downside to this box is when viewing an item in play mode(you have rewound a program etc,) you cannot put the information bar on unless you exit the live play mode or go back to the full guide, also the box is very slow to start up on mornings when putting the TV on, which is very annoying as the word Manhattan keep coming up to or 3 times before the box will load, and then it goes through the motions telling you that it’s connected to your Internet, when I feel there is no need for this, Hopefully they may send an update to sort this out, I’ve also found that it is a bit slow to turn over, it also asks if you wish to view certain programs in HD if you are on a channel that is not in HD, instead of asking this why does it not switch automatically to HD?, which is always a better viewing experience. Would definitely recommend but needs a few tweaks.

T4-R purchased 20/6/24. Like the previous reviewer I also have had trouble. ( Sound cutting out now and again ). I was assured it can' t be the Recorder and Alex has been very good over many weeks trying to pinpoint our signal problem. Many things where tried all to no avail. I found out after purchasing a more modern telly ( my decision,old one 12 years old) that the problem disappeared. The recorder itself I would recommend to any one, I for one am very pleased with it,and it' s price would take some beating.

I bought a T4-R recently and had issues with the aerial signal strength when I first set it up. I contacted Manhattan for advice and got fantastic customer service from Alex who diagnosed the problem and then helped me to reconfigure the aerial connections in my house. The T4-R works perfectly now, I’m very happy with it. Kudos to Alex for going above and beyond for fixing an issue which was nothing to do with the T4-R.

I have had this unit for a few weeks now and am very happy. Purchased from Richer Sounds with service excellent as always. I ordered on line then moved that order to the Edinburgh Store. Easy and seamless. The box its self is excellent. well built and just works exactly as I wished. Yes there are a few minor issues with the software. This is being addressed my Manhattan and they are very easy to communicate with. Some people complain that the unit does not have Netflix and other premium services. It is true but it is not Manhattan's fault. These big corporations are just not willing to licence small producers. The issue is easily resolved with a Fire-stick, Apple TV box, or just about any smart TV. To make life really easy I have purchased a one-for-all Universal Remote. One-For-All actually created a new code for the new box. Again a great company. Overall this has been a great purchase and at a great value price. I left SKY for this and have no regrets. 2 months SKY subscription pays for the T4-R. It even has features that are better than SKY, like the rewind TV schedule