Manhattan T3-R Freeview Play 4K Smart Recorder 500GB

Product Information

Therefore, the flagship T3-R was the only model still being manufactured. That has recently ended as well – but its replacement is on its way. Manhattan T4 and T4-R: First Look Your T3 will update automatically overnight whilst in standby, as long as you haven't disabled automatic updates in the System Settings menu. And because the Manhattan T3-R has two tuners, you can record two programmes on two different channels at the same time, and also watch a third channel or a pre-recorded programme.

When first turning on the T3-R from standby and going to the Recordings menu the recordings sections could appear empty until exiting and re-entering the menu. The service promises to provide millions of homes with easy access to live TV channels and on-demand content, all streamed directly to their Smart TVs (it’s still unknown whether Freely will support other streaming devices as an app). To make turning your TV on and off as easy as possible, when you turn on your T3 it can now turn on your TV and change it to the right input. Your T3 will also go to standby when you put your TV in standby. This all works with AVRs and soundbars too. If your reception is good, the T3 will find all the channels available in your area, and will jump straight into the action – BBC 1, that is. Picture and sound quality are mostly excellent – though, as always with Freeview, these will also depend on your aerial reception. Press the GUIDE button on your remote control. This displays the TV Guide, making it easy to tell when you find the right input.

The T4, in particular, will be considerably smaller than the T3, making it easier to place in any room or even take with you when travelling. Recording LED Indicator

Do note that recording a series depends on its correct tagging by the people behind the Freeview EPG. Occasionally, they mis-tag shows, and episodes from a series you’re recording might get skipped. Thankfully, the T3-R is smart enough to know that an episode is missing, and IF there’s another airing of that episode at a different date (AND it’s tagged correctly), the device will try to record it again. The T3 can also be manually set to a resolution in the Picture & Sound section of the Settings menu. This could cause an issue if you set a resolution (e.g. 2160p), then move the T3 to another TV that doesn't support that resolution. In contrast, recording allows viewers to keep content for as long as they like, offering a sense of ownership that streaming services can’t match. Usability is good. The home-screen provides access to catch-up players, shortcuts to the TV guide, and your recordings library. Even technophobes won’t be befuddled by this box.

The DTR-T4000 provides an intuitive and user-friendly electronic program guide (EPG) that simplifies the process of finding and manageing your favourite shows. With the EPG, you can browse through available channels, view detailed program information, and schedule recordings effortlessly. It ensures that you stay on top of your TV viewing and never miss any must-see content. Freeview Play includes 11 on-demand streaming players, such as BBC iPlayer, All4, CBS Catchup – and, now, ITVX – which is replacing ITV Hub. Connecting the T3-R to the internet is essential for using its FreeviewPlay and streaming features, and that can be done either with an Ethernet cable (connected directly to your router or via a Powerline Adapter) or via WiFi (802b/g/n). If your device is located far away from your router, you might want to look into a WiFi range booster. ITV Hub could fail to open when playing deep-linked on demand ITV programmes, e.g. from the TV Guide Can't wait to follow the latest ITV dramas? ITVX has got you covered. All episodes of ITV dramas will be readily available for a binge-watching spree as soon as they hit terrestrial TV.And that's not all. For a small additional fee, ITVX also grants you full access to an extensive collection of British TV box sets courtesy of Britbox, ITV's sister streaming service.

One feature that’s been sorely missing on the 3 series was global EPG search, something that’s been available on other Freeview boxes. After discussion with Arqiva (who manage the UK’s broadcast infrastructure), we’ve implemented improved behaviour that has replaced the Automatic Service Update:

The Future: Streaming And ‘Freely’

The same goes for the internet-based streaming shows (which we’ll touch upon in a second) – those have nothing to do with the Freeview signal, and they look excellent on the T3-R. This is an important upgrade, especially considering that the older T3 and T3-R models had to wait a long while for ITVX support (and some older Freeview boxes – such as the Humax FVP-5000t, do not – and will likely never will – support ITVX). Streaming App Support

Some of BritBox’s content highlights, from the archives of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, include 600+ episodes of the classic Doctor Whoas well as a long list of classic British series and films. BritBox on ITVXSet to launch in 2024, Freely aims to redefine how British viewers consume television by delivering live TV over broadband.