Manhattan T2-R 500 GB Freeview HD Recorder - Black

Product Information

I've just bought a Manhattan T2-R PVR and I'm really impressed with it. I couldn't see any posts about it on here, so thought I'd pass on my initial thoughts.

I was pleasantly surprised by the T2-R’s performance. While it’s not really a cheap Freeview box, it’s still cheaper than some of the competing boxes, without passing on important functionality. I'm reasonably sure you can watch one recording whilst two others are taking place, but don't hold me to that. Fixed an issue that could cause intermittent video freezing/stuttering with high-bitrate HD recordings. Fixed an issue that could cause the audio to go out of sync in live pause mode after using fast forward or rewind.During initial setup the Confirm Your PIN step has been updated to make it clearer you need to re-enter your PIN. (1.09) One thing to remember about Freeview recordings, is that the recording is as good as your reception. So if the reception goes bad – for example if you move your aerial, or during a bad thunderstorm – you’ll find out later that you have a stuttering, garbled recording. Fixed an issue whereby the volume could not be adjusted on non-HD channels when the ‘Audio Output’ in Picture & Sound Settings was set to ‘Surround’.

The interface is beautiful and most importantly – fast. The “smart” recording features are useful, and navigating your recordings is easy. Picture quality is great, but – as always – depends a lot on your aerial reception. That’s a bit of a shame, since people who have older TVs – ones that don’t have Freeview built-in – are exactly the right audience for this box, so having to buy another adapter is a bit of a hassle.When retune events were signalled by the broadcasters you could be prompted to retune more frequently than necessary. Designed in the UK by Manhattan, the T2-R gives you an exceptional and easy-to-use Freeview HD TV experience. You can pause and rewind live TV, record two channels at the same time, and record an entire series, using its 8-day TV guide and Learning Remote control. Its 500GB of storage holds up to 300 hours of content, smartly organised into categories and series. The ASU algorithm has been improved so that existing services that are available from multiple transmitters are only replaced when their signal falls below a threshold.

to those with sets they really should have replaced by now). Connected and powered up, you'll find Manhattan's onscreen tuning wizard. As with other Freeview kit, your location has to be entered so the correct channels are listed in the EPG and duplicates removed. Manhattan menus can now be used when using interactive services with video, like 211 Ketchup TV and 265 Planet Knowledge. Previously you needed to exit the service or change the channel first. (1.09) And of course – if you have an older TV that doesn’t have any Freeview support, you would need an external Freeview box either way.Fixed an issue when using the T2-R with a Pioneer VSX-920-K AV receiver that caused the audio to be lost. While most Freeview channels are still unfortunately in Standard Definition, there are 15 HD channels – so if you set a recording of an SD show that also has an HD version on the equivalent channel, the TR-2 will automatically record the HD version, which is a nice touch.