HUMAX Aura Android TV 4K Freeview Play Recorder with Google Assistant and Chromecast - 2TB

Product Information

The Aura can perform its own internal upscaling, the strength of the upscaling can be tweaked in the settings from ‘Smoothest’ to ‘Sharpest’, though to be honest I can’t see much of a difference bobbing up and down between the settings.

Humax has had great success with its What Hi-Fi? Award-winning FVP-5000T set-top box and, four years into its life, a replacement was long overdue when the Aura launched in 2020. For both specs and looks, the Aura was the upgrade we had been waiting for.

Design, Connections and Control

The Kid’s Zone offers live as well as on-demand content, and has its own age-appropriate search function. Humax is one of the popular names in the set-top box market, and after the success of the FVP-5000T, it launched the Aura in 2020, a box that combined the Humax experience with the smarts of Android TV. If you’re spending hundreds of pounds a year on streaming subscriptions, you might be surprised at the amount of content you can get for absolutely zero extra: Freeview Play delivers 95% of the UK’s most-watched television at no additional charge. In terms of firmware, Humax states that it will be upgrading numerous aspects of Aura’s performance, from video and audio enhancements to an improved UI experience. When Brian May plays his solo at the end of the piece, it’s like he’s making his guitar sing. Again, the sense of place is captured brilliantly in a credible rendition of the sound of the old Wembley Stadium full of 72,000 people clapping in time and singing along to Radio Ga Ga.

The Aura isn't up to Humax's normal high standards. I have loved Humax's FreeSat and then the previous via-ariel Freeview versions of this set-top box for the last 14 years and upgraded last year. This has been nothing but buggy and irritating. With integrated Google Assistant and access to thousands of apps via the Google Play Store, AURA syncs with the user’s Google account to deliver a customised home entertainment experience built around the individual or family. For ultimate flexibility, Google Assistant also provides voice control for frequently-used TV commands, and allows users to ask questions, discover information and activate smart home devices. The update will happen automatically in standby mode. Alternatively, you can access the update manually through the settings menu. The picture quality through the Freeview Play tuners in both SD and Full HD is every bit as good as that of the FVP-5000T. Watching Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is on BBC2, we get some inviting shots of a French antiques market on a cloudless summer’s day. The cobbled streets and stalls are bright and colourful, but with a realistic sense of tonality and texture. There is another means of accessing the content on the Aura through the Aura app. You can scroll through the EPG, schedule recordings, and cast any recordings via DLNA over your local network. It’s not always the swiftest to load but it is easy and straightforward to use with recordings possible with just a single tap of a button. FeaturesThe Humax box benefits from all the usual Freeview Play functions, such as a retrospective TV guide with integrated mainstream catch-up players including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My5, plus Freeview Play curated highlights. There’s also UKTV Play, CBS Catchup, Horror Bites, STV Player and BBC Sounds on board, along with a library of on-demand content from the Freeview archives. One feature that will certainly be appreciated by parents with little ones to amuse is the aforementioned Kid’s Zone. This is a content-protected area with a cheerful UI that allows kids and parents to browse together for things to watch. Helpfully, thumbnails have clearly marked running times. As well as the aforementioned live TV channels, there’s a binge-tastic box-set collection and thousands of hours of on-demand content courtesy of BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5, UKTV Play, CBS Catchup Channels UK, Horror Bites, STV Player and BBC Sounds, all in one place and all for free – thanks to Freeview Play. Taking voice control one-step further, Google Assistant also works in controlling a wide range of smart home devices, such as lighting, thermostats and cameras. Use voice control to set the ideal viewing environment, with the lighting and temperature just so.

The ultimate test of any piece of tech kit is would you buy it again or recommend it to someone you care for? Nope. Even the way the remote control is layed out is rushed and not intuitive. The button to find your recordings is hidden away and too small. I'm constantly miskeying and once you press the wrong button you lose what you were trying to do and clear the cached program you were trying to watch. The same HDMI connector on the TV was used for the other boxes along with the same cable, except for the TV’s built in Freeview. The two pictures are from the Humax Aura and the SkyHD(the picture with the (

Menus and User Interface

That said, if you have your heart set on a single-box solution for your TV recording and video streaming, the Aura is a solid choice. There’s more here than just regular television and movies. The Google Play Store and Stadia give you access to thousands of excellent video games (just add a Bluetooth controller), while Google Assistant can also be used to control your smart home gear including lights, heating and smart speakers. Freeview Play: all the telly, all the time ) blue pause logo). All devices showed a correct red level except for the Humax Aura. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 27th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) It’s one others have sought to capture, and like the wake produced by a boat, in Sky’s stead has followed a succession of efforts from BT, Manhattan, Virgin and Humax.

Android is the interface of choice, divided into four tabs in Google Assistant/Search, Home, Discover, Apps, with settings located on the far right. It’s like any other Android TV screen in use.I find playing audio through the Aura’s apps to be similar enough to playing it through the TV. The slight difference I can hear is that there’s a little more weight and excitement to bass when watching the Eternals on Disney+. With Chromecast built-in as standard on Android TV, AURA enables users to stream photos, videos, music and other media to their TV screen from a laptop, tablet or mobile phone via a home Wi-Fi network. CEC Control - can’t be turned off, so I had to deploy an in-line CEC disable connector. While using ‘family style’ HDMI settings for use with just a TV or soundbar may work, with a HiFi/AV System this is often not that simple. It should allow for complex systems that need to choose HDMI/CEC options - e.g. my AV Amp can individually select CEC Control to allow volume, device on/off etc.