Manhattan Plaza HD-S2 Digital Satellite Receiver

We had an issue with the picture on our LG TV as it kept losing it's true colour and ended up as a bluey/green tint, very annoying ! I was on the verge of purchasing a new TV when, following a conversation with someone who also had a Freesat system, I was advised to check the box. As ours was several years old, I decided to try a new box first.I wanted one which also included HD channels but wasn't worried about having the option of recording programmes.On checking out the available options on Amazon, this one stood out as the reviews, in general, were very positive, better in most cases than equivalent products at double the price and the fact that it was a very competitive price at £47 including free delivery.It was delivered within four days of placing the order and the set up was very simple, 10 minutes tops, even for me (the wrong side of 50 who thinks he's more technically minded than he actually is !!).The results were fantastic !Our standard picture is better than it was before, brighter and sharper and I've also noted an improvement in the volume. The HD channels are very sharp and a joy to watch.To give some indication of how much better our picture is, in some cases my wife doesn't realise that she's watching a standard channel and not an HD one !I noted in some of the reviews that people had commented on the quality of the remote and the menu system, however, I'm happy with it all overall and it's a definite improvement on our old Grundig one.Please bear in mind that this was purchased for Freesat and not Freeview so results may vary, but we are absolutely delighted with the improvement in the quality of the picture and I'm pleased that I chose this route first rather than, what would of been, the unnecessary expense of a new TV !Highly recommended product and service.

Absolutely delighted with this little box of delights.It took literally a few minutes to set up and was so simple, anyone could do it.The picture quality on the HD channels are excellent and it has everything I wanted to smooth the transition from a very expensive Sky account.I certainly do not find the interface old fashioned or blocky - simple maybe, but effective.I love the fact that the box has a full guide (just like Sky), has information for all programmes via an "I" button (just like Sky) and you can scroll forward to see what is on later (just like Sky).The best feature is the favourite channels feature. As the channel numbers are different to Sky, you can set up a favourite list (actually, you can set up eight so one for each member of the family) to access your most used channels at the press of a button.We went for this box upstairs to stop paying for the pricey second room set up with Sky and now have all we want upstairs free of charge rather than the £11 we were paying.Cannot fault it.Why on earth did we not do this sooner?

The Manhattan Plaza HD-S2 is a capable Freesat box. If you want a no-frills solution to the Freesat problem then you can't go far wrong with this box.Let's start off by being honest, if you want a fully featured box capable of recording live TV this isn't for you. This is a basic box to allow you to receive the channels offered by Freesat. There's no internal hard drive here so you're going to be limited to Live TV and a limited catch-up service.Installation was easy, I simply plugged the cable from my satellite dish into the Plaza, switched it on and it worked, a quick setup process to scan for channels apart.I instantly had access to over 150 channels including 11 HD channels (if your TV supports HD). The box can output in resolutions up to 1080p/1080i. There's no 4K support which is unsurprising at this price point.The catch up services available are currently limited to BBC iplayer and ITV's on demand service. Be aware, iplayer support is ending in September 2016, so if this is an important feature for you, you may want to look elsewhere.The user interface is quite minimal which I like, its very easy to navigate. One thing I noticed is the channel numbers are different to your standard freeview ones and this might take you a while to get used to.The remote is small and unassuming, for those of you who have a habit of "misplacing" remotes this one may be quite easy to lose. One downside to the remote is the lack of the ability to control the TV and the Plaza box itself. This means you'll need to use two remotes which is annoying but not the end of the world by any means. Features like this are usually reserved for higher priced models anyway so it's just a small gripe on my part.Overall, the Plaza HD-S2 is great value for money with a decent feature set for a set top box even if the catch-up services it supports are limited. If, like me, you have a games console for consumption of on-demand services and you just want a small, cheap user friendly Freesat box for Live TV. I'd definitely recommend the Manhattan Plaza HD-S2.