Manhattan T4-R Review: The Peak Of Freeview Recording

It’s been a long wait, but the new successor to the popular Manhattan T3-R Freeview recorder – the T4-R – is finally here. After several delays and much anticipation, the T4-R promises to upgrade your Freeview experience with a faster interface, improved recording capabilities, and a range of new features.

But in a world increasingly dominated by streaming services, is there still a place for Freeview recorders in our TV-watching lives? The T4-R aims to answer that question with a resounding yes, offering a compelling case for why Freeview recording is still relevant and valuable in a world of on-demand content.

As someone who loved the T3-R and has now spent some time with its successor, I can confidently say that the T4-R is an excellent – though not a major – upgrade in most areas. The new interface is slick and responsive, the recording and search options are more flexible and intuitive, and the overall user experience is a step up from the previous model.

That being said, the T4-R is not an all-in-one solution for your TV needs. Its streaming capabilities are limited to Freeview Play apps (and even those are a bit sluggish at times) it doesn’t support Freely (for now), and there are a few early-day bugs and issues still lurking around.

So, the question remains: Is the T4-R the right choice for you? In this review, I’ll dive deep into the T4-R’s features, performance, and overall value proposition to help you decide whether this Freeview recorder deserves a spot in your TV setup.

Who Is The Manhattan T4-R For?

If you’re a TV viewer in the UK, you’re surely familiar with Freeview – the free-to-air digital television service that comes built-in on nearly every modern television.

While the integrated Freeview functionality on TVs is convenient, it’s pretty basic – particularly when it comes to recording capabilities and user interface speed.

This is where dedicated Freeview recorders like the Manhattan T4-R come into play.

With a faster, more intuitive interface and advanced recording options, the T4-R aims to upgrade your Freeview experience beyond what most built-in TV tuners can offer.

One key advantage of the T4-R is its recording. While some TVs allow you to pause live TV to a certain extent, the T4-R lets you record hundreds of hours of your favourite shows and movies. It offers easy content discoverability and search, and the recordings are organized in an easy-to-find library.

And with the ability to record two channels simultaneously while watching a third, the T4-R offers even more flexibility – though many were hoping to see this upgraded to three tuners instead of two. But that would have come at an increased cost, so it’s a balancing act.

Freeview Recording VS Streaming

These days, streaming services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer and ITVX dominate the conversation, so it’s easy to overlook the benefits of a traditional Freeview recorder like the T4-R.

While streaming certainly represents the future of TV (and, some would say, the present), there are still some key advantages to recording your favourite shows and movies via Freeview.

Firstly, recording content allows you to fast-forward through adverts, a feature that’s often absent or limited on streaming platforms.

While some services offer ad-free experiences for a premium price (such as ITVX Premium), Freeview recording lets you skip the ads at no extra cost.

Secondly, once you’ve recorded a show or movie, it’s yours to keep for as long as you have storage space.

With streaming services, content can disappear from the platform due to licensing agreements or other factors (even content you’ve bought), meaning you might lose access to your favourite titles without warning.

Finally, Freeview often broadcasts more niche or obscure content that might not be available on mainstream streaming services.

By recording these shows and films, you can build a unique library tailored to your specific interests, ensuring you always have something to watch even if it’s not the latest blockbuster or trending series.

What About T3-R Owners?

But what if you already own the previous model, the Manhattan T3-R? Is the T4-R a must-upgrade?

The T4-R does offer several improvements over its predecessor, including a faster quad-core processor, more storage options (up to 2TB), and a redesigned EPG with genre and channel views for easier content discovery.

However, if your T3-R is still serving you well, these upgrades might not be enough to warrant an immediate purchase.

The T3-R remains a capable Freeview recorder, and many of its core features – like the ability to record two channels while watching a third – are still present in the newer model.

That being said, with Manhattan focusing on the T4-R now, software updates for the T3-R have been few and far between, and it’s likely many of the new features will never reach the previous models. Therefore, you’re kind of stuck with what it already knows (and doesn’t know) how to do.

Furthermore, over the years, the T3-R has become somewhat sluggish – especially if you run any of the 3rd party streaming apps – so upgrading to the T4-R will at least speed up your experience a bit.

Ultimately, the Manhattan T4-R is for those who want the best Freeview experience available, with advanced recording capabilities, a slick user interface, and some future-proofing in the form of expanded storage options, and potentially a longer app compatibility term (so the 3rd party apps will likely continue to function for a longer time).

If you’re new to the world of Freeview recorders or are looking to upgrade from an older, slower model, the T4-R is definitely worth considering.

It’s not a full Freeview and streaming solution, mind you – as it doesn’t have any streaming apps other than those that are part of Freeview Play – but we’ll get to that later.

Setting Up The Manhattan T4-R

While the new T4 Freeview Play box (which is not a recorder) is surprisingly light and small – the T4-R is… not. At 272mm wide, 46mm high, and 197mm deep, it’s not a small box, and the size is pretty similar to that of the T3-R.

The weight depends on the size of the hard drive – it starts at just 0.77 kg for the 500GB box, but goes up to 1.05 kg for the 2TB box.

So the box is rather big and heavy – but since it’s just going to sit on a shelf next to your TV, that’s not much of an issue. It is prettier than the T3-R, though, which had an ultra-shiny, ultra-reflective fingerprint-magnet surface.

This time around, while the box does feel a bit plasticky – it sports a slicker, matt-black look.

Connecting and setting up the T4-R was pretty straightforward, and I was done in about five minutes.

In the box, you’ll find a 1.2m HDMI cable (which supports resolutions up to 4K/60Hz), the remote control (and batteries!), a power adapter and a ‘Quick Start’ guide. It doesn’t come with an aerial cable – but those usually come when you buy an aerial.

On the back of the device, you have the power socket, Ethernet port, USB port (which is only used for offline software updates), an HDMI port, an optical audio port (to connect directly to speakers/a soundbar), the aerial socket where you plug a coaxial TV aerial cable (from your indoor or outdoor antenna), and a loop-out port (so you can connect a second Freeview receiver if you want).

Connecting the T4-R to the internet is necessary if you want to use any of the streaming features, and that can be done either with an Ethernet cable or via WiFi (802.11ac).

Technically, you can use the T4-R without connecting it to the internet. You will be able to watch and record Freeview (as long as your aerial reception is good, of course), but you will lose many of the integrated EPG options (such as choosing catch-up shows to stream directly from the EPG), and you won’t have access to third-party streaming apps such as BBC iPlayer.

My T4-R already came with the latest software version (which was updated just days after launch with a few tweaks and bug fixes), so the last installation stage was the Freeview channel scanning, which took a couple of minutes.

At that point, the T4-R also asks whether you want to add Freeview’s “Connected” channels (such as Channel Box, Talk TV and others), which require BOTH an aerial and a broadband connection.

Ultimately, the number of channels you can get depends, as always, on reception in your area.

Using The Manhattan T4-R

With a redesigned interface, improved accessibility options, and a range of new features, Manhattan has clearly put considerable effort into improving the T4-R compared to its predecessor.

One of the most notable improvements is the revamped Electronic Program Guide (EPG). It uses calmer colours now and is very easy on the eyes.

Of course, with so many channels on Freeview, and printed TV Guides slowly going the way of the Dodo, finding what to watch becomes a bit of a chore – and the T4-R tries to help with that in several ways.

In addition to the traditional grid-style guide, the T4-R introduces a new Genre view, which organizes programs by categories such as Movies, Sports, and News.

So, if you know you’re in the mood for a Sci-Fi show, or you’re planning a movie night – you can filter the EPG to only show those types of titles.

Granted, you’re at the mercy of the EPG (and channel) editors, so if some shows aren’t categorised correctly, you won’t see them in the correct genre view – but generally, this worked well during my testing.

Additionally, the new Channel view provides a streamlined look at upcoming programs on a specific channel for the next seven days.

As before, you can go forward in the EPG to see what’s coming up (and set recordings or reminders), and also backwards, to see what was on up to 7 days earlier.

Thanks to the catch-up apps’ integration, you can then directly load up and stream a show on that broadcaster’s streaming app (iPlayer, ITVX, etc.) – assuming it’s available.

The T4-R also offers enhanced accessibility features. The zoom function allows you to enlarge the interface for better readability, and the subtitle/audio description/sign language filter enables you to quickly find programs with those options available.

Regarding subtitles, it’s important to note that when recording Freeview programs, the recordings will include the original subtitles. But when you record live programmes, you’re stuck with the “live” subtitles, which are not always accurate. On streaming apps like ITVX, the subtitles are replaced with the “full”, more accurate ones a day or two after the live airing – but that doesn’t happen when you record.

The T4-R’s remote is more compact than its predecessor and generally user-friendly once you familiarize yourself with the button layout. A handy feature is the ability to “learn” from your TV’s remote, enabling you to control your TV’s volume and power directly from the T4-R’s remote.

One thing to keep in mind is that while the T4-R offers a greatly improved user experience, it’s not without some early-day bugs and issues.

During my week-plus testing period, I encountered a few instances where the device froze, and I had to get up and press the box’s button for a manual restart.

However, I’m optimistic that Manhattan will address these issues promptly, as they have already begun rolling out updates and fixes.

T4-R Speed

Navigating the T4-R’s native interface is a breeze, thanks to its responsiveness and speed. I applauded the T3-R for this exact same thing – but that was five years ago, and our expectations have changed since then.

So, I’m happy to report that navigating the T4-R’s native screens, the guide, the recordings, and even the Freeview Play hub was a joy because everything felt responsive and swift.

However… the performance of third-party apps can vary. While BBC iPlayer generally works well, albeit with slightly longer load times compared to other devices, ITVX felt quite sluggish at times – just flipping between categories and rows felt slow and lagged.

Maybe it’s because I’m accustomed to the performance of modern streaming devices like the super-fast Amazon Fire TV Max, so compared to those – even the new quad-core processor on the T4-R seems to struggle.

Then again, ITVX’s interface is notoriously slow on some other streaming devices as well, especially on Smart TVs, so maybe that will improve over time.

This was evident in other apps as well. I tried to stream The Twilight Zone from the “Legend” channel via their Watch Free UK streaming app (formerly known as CBS Catchup), and for some reason, the app took almost two minutes to load. Trying it again at a different time, the app loaded up fine – but was quite slow to navigate.

Third-party apps are often to blame in such instances, but the underlying hardware and OS can sometimes overcome slow apps, which doesn’t seem to be the case here, at least for now.

All in all, since I was mainly using the T4-R’s native interface, the experience was good – but if you’re planning to use third-party apps a lot, then this is something to keep in mind.

Recording On The T4-R

As someone who used to have two VCRs recording simultaneously back in the day, I’ve been mostly impressed with the Manhattan T4-R’s advanced recording features.

The ability to record two channels simultaneously while watching a third is a blessing – though, as mentioned, many have wished for a third tuner.

Also, the third channel you watch needs to be on the same Freeview multiplex.

Since this multiplex issue is confusing for anyone but hardcore Freeview enthusiasts, the T4-R has a setting that lets you mark “Unavailable” channels that are on a separate multiplex while you’re recording two channels.

I did run into a situation where I tried to record more than two shows at the same time on different channels (OK, yes, I did it on purpose).

The T4-R immediately displayed a scheduling conflict message, and the device suggested alternative recording options, such as recording one of the shows at a different time (though possibly in SD instead of HD).

As before, when you set a recording for a show, you can choose whether to record this single episode – or the whole series.

As long as future episodes are tagged correctly by the EPG – every episode will be recorded automatically (including, by the way, older episodes – there’s no option to only record new episodes from this point on, which exists on Virgin Media TV’s boxes).

One aspect of the T4-R that I particularly appreciate is the smooth-as-butter fast-forward and rewind functions. As an avid user of streaming services, I’ve grown accustomed to the sometimes clunky and imprecise navigation when skipping through content.

With the T4-R, you can easily see what you’re fast-forwarding or rewinding through, allowing you to find the exact scene you’re looking for.

The customizable skip-forward button is also handy, although I do wish there was a longer option for quickly bypassing advert breaks (you can choose between 15, 30 or 60 seconds).

Additionally, a “Go To Time” function lets you jump to an exact point in the recorded content – very useful if you’re looking for something specific.

The new global search function has been a welcome addition to my recording workflow. Being able to search for content across live TV, recordings, and catch-up apps has made it much easier to find the shows I want to record (the T3-R was missing this global search, and – to this day – can only search within Freeview Play’s on-demand content).

However, I’ve noticed that the search results can sometimes be inconsistent or include unavailable programs, which can be attributed to the accuracy of the Freeview and channel EPG data.

I’ve also been making good use of the ‘Continue Watching’ function, which has made it easy to pick up where I left off in a series or movie.

If all this sounds a lot like a modern streaming device or streaming service – you’re correct.

One of the T4-R’s major wins is that it tries (and often succeeds) to bring Freeview into the streaming era, at least in terms of the interface and the functions we’re all now used to from services like Netflix or Disney+.

However, one aspect of the T4-R that aims to do this – but ends up being a bit confusing – is the separate ‘Watchlist’ feature in the Freeview Play hub.

This watchlist is specifically for streaming shows available through the Freeview Play apps (ITVX, My5, etc), and is totally separate from the ‘Recordings’ and ‘Scheduled / Reminders’ lists found in the main Freeview interface.

So you end up having two lists to go over – one that includes streaming shows you marked for future watching/streaming, and the other for your recordings.

On the recording side, I’ve been impressed with the T4-R’s smart recording options, which have moved over from the T3-R.

If you schedule a recording for a show in SD – and the show exists in HD on a different channel – the T4-R will offer to record the HD version instead. You can also set it up to always record the HD version, regardless of the channel you marked – as long as there’s enough storage space.

Speaking of storage space – if you delete a show/film, it doesn’t disappear automatically – and instead goes into a “recycling bin”, where it’s kept for 30 days (as long as there’s enough storage).

The automatic recording of the current channel you’re on is also handy.

Whether you’ve missed the beginning of a show or just want to rewind a particularly funny moment, the T4-R lets you do that without having to plan in advance.

The Live Pause feature lets you pause the show for up to two hours (that’s a long phone call!), without having to record and keep the programme.

And for binge-watchers, the T4-R introduces an autoplay feature. When watching a series with multiple recorded episodes, the next episode will automatically start playing as soon as the previous one ends.

Lastly, a word about picture quality. When you watch (or record) an HD channel, the quality is truly superb – at times, I thought I was watching a 4K feed, even though those don’t exist on over-the-air Freeview (the T4-R does support Ultra HD / 4K – but, for now, the only place you’re going to get 4K is on the BBC iPlayer app – and even there, the selection is quite limited).

SD channels were a mixed bag – some look quite bad – but that’s not really up to the T4-R. As always, remember that the quality of your recordings and live TV, depends on your Freeview reception, but also on the broadcaster itself.

But that also means that if someone moves your aerial accidentally, or there’s a thunderstorm outside and reception is bad, your recordings will be bad, and you’ll only find out when you sit down to watch.

Streaming Apps On The Manhattan T4-R

The T4-R’s selection of streaming apps is not one of its strong suits. While the device supports all the major Freeview Play apps, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5, and more, it doesn’t measure up to dedicated streaming devices like the Fire TV or Roku.

So, just like on the T3-R, you won’t find a Netflix app, Prime Video, or Disney+.

This time around, the T4-R also lacks a YouTube app, which was available on its predecessor. However, Manhattan has stated that they plan to add YouTube support later this year.

While the Freeview Play apps do offer a decent selection of catch-up content, they can’t quite match the depth of content available on the major streaming platforms.

Despite these limitations, the T4-R does a good job of integrating the Freeview Play apps into the overall user experience.

The ability to search for content across all the supported apps and access it directly from the EPG is a real time-saver. As I said, it manages to turn Freeview’s EPG into a more modern semi-streaming service (similar to what Freely is trying to do these days) – you still need an aerial for most of the channels, but the ones that DO support streaming, are blended nicely inside the EPG.

Ultimately, Manhattan set out to create the ultimate Freeview recorder – without trying to become an all-in-one Freeview/Streaming/Recording device (It’s something the Humax Aura tried to do, and only partly succeeded).

The T4-R’s streaming app selection will likely be sufficient for users whose primary focus is on Freeview content and who are happy with the selection of Freeview Play apps.

However, those looking for a more comprehensive streaming experience may want to consider pairing the T4-R with a separate streaming device – or simply your Smart TV, which likely already includes most of the apps you need.

And since we mentioned Freely – the new broadband-based Freeview replacement from Everyone TV – the T4-R doesn’t support Freely at this point (in fact, Freely ONLY works on a handful of new TV models), but, at least in theory, that support may be added in the future if Freely decides to expand support to set-top boxes.

Bottom Line – Is The Manhattan T4-R For Me?

If you’re a Freeview devotee who prioritizes a smooth, responsive interface and a smart recording experience, the Manhattan T4-R is the device for you.

While it may not be the most feature-packed Freeview recorder on the market (that title still goes to the Humax Aura – but the Aura hasn’t aged very well due to a lack of major updates), the T4-R excels where it matters most for modern Freeview fans.

The T4-R’s speedy, intuitive interface and advanced recording capabilities make it a joy to use, and a step up from the T3-R.

It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel – it takes what people always loved about Freeview recording boxes – and improves on it, without being bogged down by extraneous features (up to a point).

And people who prefer streaming, have probably moved on anyway.

That said, while the T4-R’s interface is generally snappy, there are places – especially when using 3rd party apps – where the CPU still feels a bit underpowered, and there are also a few early-day bugs to be aware of.

So in the end, with the future of Freeview in a state of flux, the T4-R might represent the peak of Freeview recorders – or even Freeview’s swan song.

If you’re still committed to the Freeview ecosystem and want the best possible recording experience, the T4-R is the clear choice.

Note: The T4-R was supplied by the manufacturer for this review. As always, this did not influence my unbiased opinion of the product.