I own two manhattan plazas and from the start they have misbehaved! I emailed the manhattan site and they replied asking me for the software version on each reciever. It turns out that the software versions were 2years old. They had been sitting on the shelf somewhere and the seller never bothered to update them. So lets update, easy ota? Unfortunately the download info in the manual has changed from hotbird to astra 19.2. So i realigned my fixed dish to this and tried again - no luck. I contacted support again and they said i would need to update via my computer. Ok but i don't have an available com port for the rs232 lead. So they tell me to get a serial converter to usb lead. I order and recieve, but i also need another lead to connect this to the reciever. I order a rs232 female to female 9 pin lead. About £20 so far.
Anyway, i go on to the manhattan site to download the update for the plaza reciever, no problem it downloads fine.
It leaves a shortcut on my desktop.
It also has detailed instructions of how to carry out the download, great i thought.
The instructions are missing some vital steps and the details are misleading.
If you use you computer you have to have the tv as well as the reciever, they imply it is possible without the tv.
They do not mention that the default com port, 1, is not applicable to laptops or pc that do not have an available com port. The button on the opening menu 'disconnect' is faded out when this box opens, when you click connect it must change to dark text/become available. You know that this means that the download is taking place.
They tell you to switch on your reciever after you have clicked 'connect'. This is wrong. Your reciever and telly need to be up and running.
Now the funny bit. Nothing was happening on the tv screen to tell me the download was ongoing. Only by luck i decided to push the standby button on the reciever and hey presto the tv then displays the start of the download process.
Anyway i eventually succeed on downloading both files on both my recievers. A result? Well one works ok but the other is even worse than before.
Remember a factory reset is necessary after the download process, i did this.
The one that did not work was locking up the controls on the remote and the reciever itself, you couldn't switch it off!
So, try anything.
After, of course making sure that the software version has actually loaded, it had.
Try another factory reset, remembering i had already re-tuned all the channels on 3 satellites and selected my favorites!
Still no result. I even had the time reset itself to 1925!!!
The quality of the satillite signal up to 95% and the signal strength up to 80%.
So after messing about for along time trying anything, i did another factory reset and the above procedure, no good.
Spoke to manhattan support again and they said the reciever must be kaput and to contact the seller and get a replacement.
Ok, digital world, they were fine about me sending it back and if they found the problems are correct they would replace it.
Anyway, i thought perhaps do the download again? And this went ok apart from the com port now being com 7 instead of 5 when i first did it.
Had a little bit of a problem getting the download to start as the standby button didn't get it going straight away. Persisting it finally got going.
Successfully updated.
Ok now lets see what happens.
Note no factory reset so all the originally settings are still available. It managed about an hour and then the tv screen just froze and all the controls as well. I switched it off and let it reboot and 10mins later the remote became inactive.
So do a factory reset and retuned to one satellite. Done.
Well, 3hrs later everything is working fine.
Next morning everything is still working fine. I may have a reciever that works.
I have no complaints about the picture and sound quality, it is great, but hey how did the manufacturer let this out for sale in this state. I have read a report, i think the reviewer is on the southern satellite site, and he said exactly the same. Also reports in this forum about updating problems are here.
I will never buy another manhattan reciever not only because of this but the all round experience with the support.
When i telephone them to explain some of my problems they said they were unaware there were any problems with downloading!
Sorry about the length of this but this has been going on for 5wks!! I have and existing fortec platinum reciever and it has been totally reliable over the past 2years with great pictures and sound. It hasn't got some features of the manhattan but hey after this experience i know where i'll be spending my money!
