Sky Q has long been a favourite among UK households, but a new rival from Manhattan promises to shake up the market with a compelling free-to-view option. The Manhattan S4-R Freesat 4K TV Recorder, unveiled this month, offers similar features to Sky Q—including recording, pause and rewind of live TV, and an interactive guide—but with no ongoing subscription fees.
The S4-R connects via a satellite dish and provides access to over 100 free TV and radio channels. While it lacks premium content like Sky Sports or Sky Cinema, it includes on-demand apps such as BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, and My5, offering more than 60,000 hours of content. The device can record up to four programmes simultaneously, double the previous limit for Freesat recorders.
Manhattan's COO, Alex Arbab-Zadeh, said the company is building on the success of its Freeview recorder by bringing the same subscription-free experience to Freesat. He described the S4-R as a strong alternative to subscription TV, offering more flexibility and a way to avoid costly monthly bills.
The 500GB model, priced at £219.99, stores around 300 hours of content. Larger 1TB and 2TB versions will follow in May and June, priced at £249.99 and £279.99 respectively. The S4-R launches this month and will be available from Currys, John Lewis, Argos, and Richer Sounds.
