If you’ve been trying to track down a Freesat recording box lately, you’ll have noticed that they’ve become almost impossible to find.
That’s because the Freesat 4K recording boxes – which have been the go-to option for satellite TV fans since 2020 – have been discontinued, and stock has all but dried up across major retailers.
The non-recording box is still available in some places, and you might find refurbished units or the odd bit of old stock in local stores, but for anyone wanting a brand new Freesat recorder, the cupboard is pretty much bare.
The good news is that help is on the way. Manhattan TV is preparing to launch a brand new Freesat recorder – the S4-R – with a full announcement expected shortly after Easter and availability from the end of April.
And if a retail listing that went live ahead of schedule is anything to go by, it looks like a well-specced box at a competitive price.
Freesat’s Uncertain Future
Freesat has been around since 2008, launched as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV to give viewers in areas with poor aerial reception a reliable way to watch free TV.
Rather than relying on terrestrial transmitters like Freeview, it delivers channels via satellite dish – which generally means better, more consistent reception. It currently serves around 1 million UK homes.
In 2021, Freesat was brought under the same roof as Freeview when Digital UK (now known as Everyone TV) acquired it. So the same organisation now runs Freeview, Freesat, and the newer Freely platform – which is worth keeping in mind.
Because Freely is where the industry’s attention is increasingly focused. Freely is Everyone TV’s internet-based free TV platform – no aerial, no dish, just your broadband connection.
It launched in 2024 and is widely seen as the long-term successor to both Freeview and Freesat. Standalone Freely boxes are now available – including the Netgem Pleio, the Humax Aura EZ, and the Manhattan Aero – and the platform is gaining momentum.
The challenge for Freesat specifically is that its future is closely tied to decisions being made by Sky. Both Sky and Freesat use satellites operated by SES, and as Sky migrates its customers away from satellite towards its streaming products – Sky Glass and Sky Stream – the cost of maintaining that satellite infrastructure could eventually become unsustainable for Freesat to bear alone.
Sky extended its satellite deal until 2029, which provides some breathing room, but the long-term picture remains unclear (with Sky Q no longer being sold online).
An Ofcom report suggested that a decision on Freesat’s future should ideally be made by 2025/26 – which is, of course, right now.
Options on the table range from running Freesat as a stripped-back “nightlight” service carrying only core public service broadcaster channels during a transition period, through to phasing it out entirely in favour of streaming alternatives like Freely.
None of this means Freesat is going away tomorrow. The satellite infrastructure is secure until at least 2029, and millions of homes have satellite dishes already installed.
But it does mean the platform is in a period of uncertainty.
The Boxes That Have Been Discontinued
The boxes now discontinued are the Freesat 4K range – a non-recording box and three recording variants (500GB, 1TB and 2TB) – manufactured by Commscope (formerly Arris) and launched in March 2020.
They replaced the previous generation of Humax-made Freesat boxes, which had been the backbone of the platform for years before Humax exited the Freesat market.
The Commscope boxes were a genuine step forward when they arrived – faster than the old Humax hardware, with 4K support, a better app selection, and the ability to record up to four programmes simultaneously with a compatible wideband LNB dish.
They weren’t perfect – early (and later) bugs frustrated some users – but they were the only modern Freesat option on the market, and they remained so for the entire six years of their existence.
Over that time, they also saw their share of feature removals. Remote recording via the Freesat app disappeared in June 2024, blamed on the scrapping of Freesat ID accounts.
A new EPG interface arrived in October 2024 to mixed reviews. And while October 2025 brought some welcome improvements – including Channel 4 backwards scrolling and better search – the boxes were, by that point, already six years old.
The Humax boxes that preceded them fared even worse in their retirement, losing search, backwards EPG scrolling, and recommendations in August 2025, on top of earlier losses including ITVX support and remote control functionality.
A New Freesat Recorder Is Coming
Despite the uncertainty hanging over the platform, Manhattan TV has confirmed to us it is bringing a new Freesat recorder to market – the S4-R – and the company has moved to reassure worried Freesat users.
Alex Arbab-Zadeh, COO of Manhattan TV, told Cord Busters: “We’re aware that potential Freesat customers may have been alarmed at the lack of available Freesat recorders on the market right now.
“We’d like to reassure everyone that Manhattan TV has been working on a brand-new 4th generation recorder that is very close to launch. Keep an eye out for our full announcement shortly after Easter, with availability at the end of April.”
The S4-R will mean Manhattan has a new device in every major free TV category – something no other manufacturer can currently claim.
They already make the T4-R Freeview recorder and the T4 Freeview Play box, and more recently launched the Aero – their £69.99 Freely streaming box, which sold out with new stocks expected soon.
Their existing Freesat presence is the SX, a basic non-recording satellite box that has long represented good value for money but lacks recording capabilities and streaming apps.
The S4-R changes that, bringing Manhattan fully into the Freesat recording space for the first time.
Manhattan S4-R: What Can We Expect?
An online retail listing for the Manhattan S4-R 2TB Freesat 4K TV Recorder has appeared online prematurely, giving us our first look at the hardware ahead of the official launch (though keep in mind that some details can still change).
Recording-wise, the box can capture four programmes simultaneously with a compatible Sky Q-style wideband LNB setup, or two programmes with older dish configurations (which is similar to the previous generation of boxes).
The listing describes a 2TB model, so it’s still unknown which other hard drive sizes will be available. On the streaming side, the box connects to the usual suspects – BBC iPlayer, ITVX, “and more” – via your broadband connection.
The box upscales to 4K (since there are still no 4K satellite broadcasts in the UK), which means real Ultra HD will primarily be available on BBC iPlayer, with their limited selection of 4K content.
Manhattan’s full announcement is expected early next month, with the S4-R available to buy from the end of April. We’ll bring you the full details as soon as they’re confirmed.
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If you’re in the market for a PVR, then this was my reply to Humax about an hour after opening and trying the AuraEZ 4K , which was promptly re-boxed …
“The item does not, in my opinion, meet the functionality and performance as stated in your advertising material. The mix of Live TV and online content is poorly implemented and the recording setup with separate EPG has nowhere near the seamless integration that you claim. The lack of instant one-touch record on your current channel is a huge functionality oversight. The inconsistent numbering system between EPG’s and the not immediately obvious which are Live / Online programmes on the EPG. The loose mention of a Bluetooth remote is slightly misleading and it should be made obviously clear that the recorder cannot be placed out of sight and still operated with the IR remote. The software is slow and convoluted. A hopeful attempt to bridge the current and future technologies that is not yet ready, and still requires work by your engineers and designers.It should not be advertised as ‘plug in and go’ I feel. Also the ‘no ariel required’ claim me be technically correct but then you would loose the exact functionality that most people will be buying this box for. I think the above covers my major concerns. Shame, as on paper this device has promise and it seemed to be exactly what we required.”
I would avoid the Humax box at all costs. It has actually made me re-consider if SkyQ is worth keeping at reasonable monthly cost as it is a pretty decent interface (they actually offered me a pretty decent discount, although it take me to cancel in a very direct , yet polite, manner for them to do that !!!), but I am sticking with my current cancellation at the minute. I could live without recording, but the Mrs still records and watches loads, so looking like Manhattan to see us through the next few years until the likely inevitable switch off and streaming only happens . Hopefully some sort of reprieve will come along … tbc
The one advantage of online purchase and distance selling , if you receive it and it’s gash then back it goes, usually at their expense !
I think the decisions made apply to all Freely boxes. Freely apps, watchlists, and TV Guide are in a separate walled garden on all Freely devices. This duplicates the customer’s navigation work on a Freely device and makes the products’ usability very confusing.
The Netgem Google TV device suffers badly with this. Apps can be duplicated between Freely and Google TV. So much so that casting confuses the box, resulting in errors or refusal to use one Google TV watch list for the box.
But why does Freely want this walled garden? Given this is replicated on other boxes, this is a deliberate decision. Other streaming services offer a single watchlist, TV guides, and a place for all apps.
It would have been helpful if this box were a next-generation FreeSat recorder with freely integration. This seems like Arris pulled the plug on their FreeSat box, and Manhattan are just filling the void with no real RND or thought to the fact that, within two years, only a limited number of channels will remain on satellite. If Sky continues with streaming first and no longer has satellite installations, what is the point of this box?
Hopefully an improvement on the current Manhattan freesat recorder, painfully slow (or at least for me it is).
There’s no such thing as another Manhattan Freesat recorder. This will be their first. Do you mean their current Freeview recorder, the T4-R?
The article states that the S4-R will be able to record two programmes with older dish configurations (which is similar to the previous generation of boxes). Really? I live in a flat with a single satellite non dCSR cable. I had a T4-R and I couldn’t even record channel A whilst I watched channel B! I tried to get the managing agents to install a second cable or upgrade to dSCR but they said this had caused many problems in other developments, so they wouldn’t do it. I had no choice but to return the freesat box and instead I bought a Manhattan Freeview recorder. It’s OK but the reason I like the Freesat service is that the HD picture quality is superb and definitely better than Freeview or iPlayer HD. It’s so good that from a viewing distance of approx 13 feet it’s the same as iPlayer UHD.
I will wait until this new box comes out and make some enquiries with Freesat about the recording functionality of the S4-R. I think it comes down to whether it has more tuners than the T4-R but if anyone has more information please fire away.
Apologies. I meant I had an Arris Freesat Recorder which I then replaced with a Manhattan T4-R. It was the Arris which wouldn’t record channel A while I watched channel B.
I have an elderly T4-R box which I like even tough showing its age but I especially like (laugh if you wish) but it still allows access to Teletext data which, as far as I know, is missing from all new Freesat/Freeview recorders. I consult it easily at the end of an evening’s viewing to grab important, to me and my settee companion, summary of news, football results and (for me) racing results. I still can’t believe that teletext still exists but it does. I would very much like to hear from anybody who knows all about it.
The T4-R was just released two years ago.
I’ll second that Craig. Its the worst box we’ve ever had. Awful thing. Deciding now which way to head next. Manhatten T4 or sitting tight and watching Freely develop while using catch up apps.
There are plenty of 4k satellite broadcast channels on Sky Q, just not free to view (Freesat) ones
Does anyone really care as the vast majority of tvs can have a portable hard drive plugged into them that the tv will record to. Why bother with another box under your tv and another remote control to lose 🤣
Not all TVs will record a programme if it is not turned on and tuned in. Even less TVs enable you to record one channel whilst watching another even if they’re on the same transponder/multiplex.
We also need pause and rewind , which I presume is only possible on recordable boxes . We intend to leave Sky because of cost .
That is unfortunately is another feature being phased out. First they stopped bothering to programme ‘Series link’, now USB recording as a whole is becoming more rare on latest models.
My Sony X90L has freesat, but with a hard drive pause and rewind don’t work well. Also the TV guide doesn’t show your current channel in a window, just the list of programmes.
My Humax Freesat 4k 2TB box handles pause and rewind really well. And there’s a window for current channel while looking at the guide.
Upscaling 1080P to 4K is really good on the Sony TV’s freesat, but not so good on the human freesat 4k box.
Whilst welcome, it does seem strange to me to launch a product that may well become obsolete within 3 years.
There appears to be a 1TB version, I caught a listing at Argos for it although the page has been taken down, but I didn’t catch a price.
The 2TB version was still there at time of posting – £279.
I have both a Freesat 2TB and Freeview box. I mostly watch my TV through my 2 IPTV android boxes.
Good for You.
I’m happy for you
Stay away from the Humax Aura, they are underpowered and try to do too many things at once, leading to and extremely slow user experience, it’s like having an early Pentium PC and trying to run Crysis on it