Manhattan T3-R Freeview Play PVR Review & Comments

Having bought one a couple of months back can only agree with the review. I also have tried the Humax and again concur that the Manhattan is so much slicker in its operation. One big bonus is that Manhattan auto updates actually work and Manhattan customer services seem to know what they are talking about.
 
An excellent review. I've owned both the T3-R and the Humax. On paper the Humax is the better box, but in reality it is sluggish and unreliable. Only being able to record 2 channels at once seems a big disadvantage for the T3-R, but in reality I rarely found it a problem, either using +1 channels or catch-up apps instead. IMHO the T3-R is a great piece of kit.
 
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Nice to see there is something out there as an alternative to the Humax range of PVR's as good as they are.

I have had half a dozen Humax PVR's over the years and have 2 in use now (2000t 1tb) they generally work faultlessly but would be happy to try one of these if I have an issue with one of the 2000t's.

I Like the 4k ability and the fact they will ad features via updates which is something Humax never seem to do these days.Maybe with this machine coming out Humax will up their game as they have been living on past successes for too long IMV.
 
I believe the T3-R has actually been out about a year, and there was a T2-R before that.
They promised the CEC update shortly after launch, so it's taking quite a time to materialise, but at least they are doing it later this year.
 
An excellent review. I've owned both the T3-R and the Humax. On paper the Humax is the better box, but in reality it is sluggish and unreliable. Only being able to record 2 channels at once seems a big disadvantage for the T3-R, but in reality I rarely found it a problem, either using +1 channels or catch-up apps instead. IMHO the T3-R is a great piece of kit.
' Only being able to record 2 channels at once seems a big disadvantage ' I think that all changes sometime in September with an upgrade.
 
Thanks for this review.
A long-time Humax user here, And I must admit I’m reluctant to leave the Humax world, as I am so used to the UI, and remote, I can do any action/process without looking, and in a couple of seconds.
But v interesting to see alternatives, and what I should look at in more detail if my current box plays up.
 
' Only being able to record 2 channels at once seems a big disadvantage ' I think that all changes sometime in September with an upgrade.

Currently you can record two channels, and can play back a recording.

After the update, instead of playing back a recording, you can watch a third channel (provided it is on the same mux as one of the two you are recording). You still can only record 2 channels.

I'm not sure why the update doesn't allow recording 3 or even 4 channels (on the same 2 muxes), but i guess the box can't cope with the load. Anyway, as I said previously, its not a big deal with catch-up apps available.
 
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Another good thing about the T3-R is the power usage is low. Officially it's up to 19w in use and 0.5w in standby. I tested mine and found about 5w in use and about 0.5w in standby, which is really low. Of course it can wake itself from standby to record scheduled programs or update itself.

Compare this with the latest Sky Q box that I've tested at 15w in use and a unbelievable 10w in standby. Sky should be ashamed of themselves!
 
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I’ve been after a PVR for a long while now but been really torn between Humax and Manhattan. The other options were something a bit more “boutique” from the guys at WoS but I still don’t know what the best options are. There doesn’t seem to be a box that just does it all at the moment.
 
Had one of these for a while now, very pleased with it, would be nice to have other apps such as nowtv, Netflix etc but not a big deal
 
Currently you can record two channels, and can play back a recording.

After the update, instead of playing back a recording, you can watch a third channel (provided it is on the same mux as one of the two you are recording). You still can only record 2 channels.

I'm not sure why the update doesn't allow recording 3 or even 4 channels (on the same 2 muxes), but i guess the box can't cope with the load. Anyway, as I said previously, its not a big deal with catch-up apps available.
I am sure the last blurb I received from Manhattan stated recording of 3 programmes would be possible after the September update.
 
There are still Panasonics around and available on Currys website. I recently gave my 4 year old HD 500Gb HWT130EB to a local charity shop and was surprised to see that Currys are still selling it at £179. There is a similar model 150EB also available at John Lewis. I think this market will open up again for people who can no longer afford cable and Sky subscriptions. The Panasonic gave me good service and never failed.
 
Excellent review, we have owned the T3-R now for little over 7 weeks now and wholeheartedly agree this is better than the Humax it replaced.

The Humax was powered on 24/7 due to very poor boot times from standby and was clunky and slow in operation, the Manhattan T3-R is far superior and boots in a fraction of the time and the UI is logical and very responsiveness

For our purposes 2-tuners is sufficient, failing that we have the one built into the TV, again unlike the Humax the on demand catch up apps open fast and especially like the 'featured' facility mentioned in the review

I have swapped the HDD for and SSD for silent operation but it was not strictly necessary as, unlike the HDD in the Humax which was always audible, the Manhattan is whisper quiet in operation.

Whilst i was contemplating buying the T3-R i had a couple of queries and emailed their customer services and they were also proved excellent and, on both occasions, they responded to my emails the very same day how rare is that!

All in all an excellent box, not 100% perfect but very close indeed - well done Manhattan
 
As an owner for about a year I have to say Manhattan's customer services is excellent; they respond quickly and really seem to care, offering useful advice if requested - and they really know their product. Best support service I've ever dealt with.

I would recommend the unit if you're in the market for a PVR, as long as you don't want or need more streaming services (Disney, Netflix and Prime would be nice to get an Atmos feed into my system without another box under the telly).

Having said all that, it's the last PVR I will buy. For my main viewing I will switch to catch-up services once superfast broadband becomes available in my area.
 
Have had an Humax Freesat for ten years, it's the one with the front display. Calling it clunky is an under statement, you could write a novel in the time it takes to respond via the remote control button? also one annoying thing is when we pause a program then resume, on a lot of channels subtitles is displayed, with no way as we know to clear the subtitles?. Until it dies which could be a long time yet, will not consider an alternative.
 
This may be a strange question, but could I use this as a freeview box to a projector?

Could I go aerial in to the Manhattan, then HDMI out to the projector to watch terrestrial broadcasts as they are being shown? or does the HDMI only output recorded content from the HDD?

Thanks!
 
This may be a strange question, but could I use this as a freeview box to a projector?

Could I go aerial in to the Manhattan, then HDMI out to the projector to watch terrestrial broadcasts as they are being shown? or does the HDMI only output recorded content from the HDD?

Thanks!
You can use this with a projector, the HDMI outputs everything (broadcast TV, recordings and apps).
 
Great! Thanks for the quick reply!

I've got a Roku premier at the moment that does almost everything, but being able to watch live tv isn't one of them!

Thanks...
 
There are still Panasonics around and available on Currys website. I recently gave my 4 year old HD 500Gb HWT130EB to a local charity shop and was surprised to see that Currys are still selling it at £179. There is a similar model 150EB also available at John Lewis. I think this market will open up again for people who can no longer afford cable and Sky subscriptions. The Panasonic gave me good service and never failed.
I have a Panasonic which i bought about seven years ago which i still use and it works perfectly.
I even added an external seagate hard drive several years ago to improve disc space, i don't think you can do that with a Humax or a Manhattan.
 
Like most, have been a Humax owner for years, but it is starting to feel a bit dated. This is on my list when mine croaks it, sounds excellent
 
I purchased one of these earlier in the year but there were two issues which caused me to reject the product - no DLNA/Network viewing (as client or server) and no copy facility - it's really a standalone box. I transfer films and some series to disk for watching on a 2m cinema screen (Kodi) and also for holiday viewing. My current Humax HDR Fox T2 (with the custom firmware, which is excellent) does all this (SD only copy). I use a Raspberry Pi 3/4 tuner combo for HD recordings. I guess it all depends on your use case, but I like maximum flexibility.
 
Looking quickly through the manual, it seems similar in operation to my old Foxsat HDR. The one very good point about the Hummy is the ease of operation - bistable buttons, EPG and Media List rolling over at the bottom and no need to use Exit as e.g. Media List closes EPG. It's slow and clunky, yes, and runs at 23W (<1W in standby).
I looked at a modern Hummy and it's 43W (IIRC)! Every PC that I build is lower power than the previous one - come on Humax!
Looking at Manhattan - yes! Low power, seemed to be quick to boot, couldn't tell on other points. Being impressed with the FV version, looked at the FS one - simple box, no PVR, what's that about!
I really wanted Freesat but I might buy this FV one as I'm definitely not getting another Hummy.

Thank you for the review.
 

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