Manhattan T3-R Freeview Box Gets Surprising New Update

The Manhattan T3-R Freeview box has long been one of the more popular and capable Freeview recorders. Despite its discontinuation and the release of its successors, the T3-R lives on with a new software update released this week.

This free update addresses several issues and improves user experience, focusing on resolving app-related problems, enhancing visibility of programme information and menus, and fixing issues with ITVX, BBC iPlayer and other services (see the full list below).

This update comes just two months after the launch of the T3-R’s successors, the T4 and T4-R, indicating Manhattan’s ongoing support for its legacy devices.

Some T3-R owners were probably hoping for added features, such as the global search which is now available on the T4 / T4-R series. However, I’m told that since the T3-R’s hardware is so different (and rather old by now), adding brand-new features is unlikely, as the company’s focus is now on the T4/T4-R.

Nevertheless, fixes and improvements are continuing, as this week’s update demonstrates.

Manhattan T3-R: The Road So Far

Launched in 2018, the Manhattan T3-R quickly became a favourite among Freeview enthusiasts. This 4K Freeview Play recorder (which was, for a long time, our top Freeview recorder choice) combined advanced features with excellent picture quality and a responsive interface (for its time).

The T3-R offered 500GB and 1TB storage options, providing up to 600 hours of recording capacity. It allowed users to record two programmes simultaneously while watching a third.

The device supported 4K Ultra HD (for BBC iPlayer and YouTube) and came equipped with Freeview Play, providing access to popular catch-up services.

Throughout its lifespan, Manhattan occasionally improved the T3-R with software updates, adding new features like ITVX support in 2023.

Despite its popularity, the T3-R was discontinued in March 2023, marking the end of its retail life (although it was still available in various stores for quite a while).

The Next Generation: T4 and T4-R

In June 2024, Manhattan launched the successors to the T3-R: the T4 Freeview Play box and the T4-R Freeview Play recorder.

These new models were designed to fill the void left by the T3-R’s discontinuation and to address the evolving needs of Freeview users.

Both devices boast major upgrades over their predecessors, such as improved processing power (with a new quad-core processor), twice the RAM (2GB), a new interface with an advanced EPG that finally supports global search, as well as advanced filtering options, and more.

While these new models represent the future of Manhattan’s Freeview offerings (a T4/T4-R software update was already released recently), the company still seems to be looking out for its T3-R users.

Manhattan T3-R 2024 Software Update

Despite its discontinuation, many households around the country still own and use the T3-R – therefore, the new software update, which was released this week, will come as a blessing.

These are all the fixes, changes and improvements to the Manhattan T3-R, included in the August 2024, v2.06 software update.

T3-R Resolved Issues:

App Loading: Fixed an issue where a black screen could appear for 20-25 seconds before apps or on-demand content would open from Manhattan menus.

Memory Management: Resolved a memory leak issue caused by repeatedly switching and closing/opening BBC iPlayer, “U” (previously known as UKTV) or BBC HbbTV services, which led to system instability.

ITVX App Issues:

• Fixed playback failures that displayed a “something went wrong” message.
• Corrected truncated parental controls options for “Off” and “On” which were not fully visible
• Resolved an issue where the “News” category appeared empty, preventing content browsing.

S4C Fixes:

• Corrected a problem where signing in on the web did not provide the pairing code.
• Fixed pause and resume functions that were not working correctly.

BritBox Removal: The discontinued BritBox app has been removed from the Home Screen. Users wishing to access BritBox content should do so through ITVX (it’s now included in the ITVX Premium subscription).

Playback Navigation: Fixed an issue where using the Left button on the remote’s D-Pad, to skip back during recorded content playback, could unexpectedly jump to the initial starting point.

T3-R Improvements:

Enhanced Visibility: Programme icons (e.g., Subtitles and HD icons) and attributes (e.g., programme start and end times) have been changed from blue to off-white for better visibility.

Menu Contrast: The background of Manhattan menus has been enhanced to provide better contrast with other on-screen elements, such as buttons and programme cells.

Home Screen Update: The “Connect” banner shown when the T3-R is not connected to the internet has been updated for improved clarity.

How to Update Your Manhattan T3-R

If your T3-R is connected to the internet, it should have been updated overnight to the latest version.

To check your current software version, Press HOME and then select: Settings > Information. If the version shown is lower than 2.06, you should update.

If you need to update manually, you can do so in two ways:

Over the Internet:

• Ensure your T3-R is connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
• The box will update automatically overnight while in standby, unless automatic updates are disabled.
• To update immediately, press HOME and select: Settings > System > Software Updates > Check for update now.

Using a USB Stick:

• Download the full instructions and update files from Manhattan’s website.
• Follow the provided instructions carefully to complete the update.

When you turn your T3-R on for the first time after it has updated, a message will be displayed confirming the update has taken place successfully

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