Manhattan debuts Freeview Play Smart 4k recorder

Manhattan has launched a 4k enabled Freeview Play Smart PVR. The Manhattan T3-R Freeview Play 4K Smart Recorder offers much the same functionality as a high-end pay TV box, but without any ongoing contract.

Ideal for media rooms and home cinemas, the T3-R allows viewers to record and live pause 85 channels of Freeview TV, as well as browse catch-up TV players, including iPlayer, ITV Hub, All Four and Demand 5. Viewers can add programmes from these players to a single Watchlist. The PVR also ships with YouTube onboard.

While terrestrial TV isn’t broadcast in 4k, the T3-R will play UHD content from the BBC iPlayer.

Inside CI had an early preview of the PVR at an industry showcase this week, and was impressed with both its comprehensive feature set, and the speed of navigation it offers.

"It's no secret that 95 per cent of the UK's most watched TV shows are available subscription-free on Freeview," said Alex Arbab-Zadeh, Director of Product Development at the UK-owned set-top box manufacturer. "The T3-R really takes that subscription-free model to the next level.

The T3-R comes in two models: a 500GB model which store up to 300 hours of recordings, and a 1TB version that can record up to 600 hours of programmes. It’s priced at £170 and £200 respectively.