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I have a Sony Android TV with Youview and Chromecast, coupled to a 1Tb Humax HDR Fox T2. The system works well apart from the occasional Humax green screen when switching on.
The folders system in the HDR Fox T2 is something we love and would not want to do without. We find it excellent for storing and classifying our recordings.
Does the Aura have folders or a similar system? In view of our fairly comprehensive system above, would there be any real benefit to us changing to the Aura. If so what?
Perhaps not appropriate to this forum, but would the Manhattan T3-R be a better alternative proposition?
There is no self editing folder system on the Aura unfortunately. There hasn’t been for three generations of Humax PVRs.
How do you get your HDR Fox T2 to work with modern TV? I found mine wouldn’t produce a picture I thought because of the anti copying software in my LG 4K tv. I could be wrong.
The Aura is a much faster box than previous 4000T and 5000T and more capable in terms of file sharing. And more internet capable and Freeview integrated than Fox. It doesn’t have Netflix but has Amazon, YouTube and can output 4K. Some Auras seem to have had issues with signal on the SD channels. I had a bad one but replacement one is great. For me no Humax has been as good as the HDR Fox T2. I had two of them. I did consider a Manhattan box but only has 2 tuners. Which put the Manhattan at 71% but Aura on 69%. But not sure I agree with that. Ultimately you have to decide.
Hi Paul
Thanks for your reply. You confirm what I thought.
As I said I have a newish 65″ Sony Android TV. There was no issue with the Humax. Simply plug in and go.
As Humax produced new models I compared the HDR Fox T2 and found that they did not match up. I just noticed the Aura, and wondered if this was the model that would eclipse the HDR Fox T2. We are so impressed with the folders facility that we would be reluctant to buy any Humax that did not have this.
It seems that our current setup satisfies all our requirements.
We have had really good service from the HDR Fox T2 and have a new and boxed HDR T2000 as a standby should the HDR Fox T2 become irreparable.
alba – 2 mins ago »
We have had really good service from the HDR Fox T2 and have a new and boxed HDR T2000 as a standby should the HDR Fox T2 become irreparable.
There is a DTR-T2000 and there is an HDR-2000T. Which one are you referring to?
The 2000T has the same folder system as the HDR-FOx T2 but the T2000 is different to what you are after.
Yes, I got the T the wrong way round! We bought the 2000T as a standby because it had the folders. The HDR Fox T2 hard drive failed and my wife who is so sold on the folders asked me to find another HDR Fox T2. Instead, I replaced the hard drive on our HDR Fox T2 and also bought the 2000T.
We hope that we will continue to have the use of folders well into the future.
I had hoped the Aura would have them but could not find any mention in the spec, hence my questions. I also hoped that the Aura would streamline our system so that everything was ‘under one roof’ so to speak! It is such a pity that Humax abandoned the folder system. It is a USP for us.
alba – 2 days ago »
Hi Paul
Thanks for your reply. You confirm what I thought.
As I said I have a newish 65″ Sony Android TV. There was no issue with the Humax. Simply plug in and go.
As Humax produced new models I compared the HDR Fox T2 and found that they did not match up. I just noticed the Aura, and wondered if this was the model that would eclipse the HDR Fox T2. We are so impressed with the folders facility that we would be reluctant to buy any Humax that did not have this.
It seems that our current setup satisfies all our requirements.
We have had really good service from the HDR Fox T2 and have a new and boxed HDR T2000 as a standby should the HDR Fox T2 become irreparable.
Maybe there will be in future some sort of editable folder system as the base operating system is android. Don’t get me wrong the Humax Aura is a great ultra modern Humax recorder.
Hello again Paul
Ironically my wife initially saw the folders as another complication added to our already multi-button-pushing system. She is the one that now uses it the most and doesn’t want to lose it. I am not that bothered about keeping recordings.
She still wants a more simplified system of button-pushing and I would prefer that too, hence my interest in the Aura. From online comments, I get the impression that the Aura was released with far too many glitches, and this would defeat our aim of having a more refined and simplified control and switching system.
I haven’t dug into the Aura that deeply but it doesn’t seem to offer us any more than we have already. With the Sony Android Brava TV we can access useful apps, Netflix, Prime Video, Youtube, Youview etc. The Fox T2 HDR is easy to order and use and fast enough for recordings. The video quality is good, and so on.
The drag is the amount of button pushing necessary to switch between systems. I would prefer everything in one unit and with a minimum of button-pushing. Ideally, this would just be incorporated within the TV itself. The Sony Android TV has gone some way towards that. I think a manufacturer who would beef up the TV sd drive and incorporate a pvr recording facility without an add-on would capture the market. A good sound system would be the icing on the cake. The technology is already here. They just need to bolt it all together, so to speak! A true multi-media system!
We can but dream!
Hi Alba,
I’m considering an Aura, but the problems mention on the forum are putting me off.
I might go for one of the older Humax Freeview recorders, but I’m worried that the Apps and stuff will be allowed to go out of date/ unsupported.
Regards,
Paul
paulrichardson – 2 hours ago »
Hi Alba,
I’m considering an Aura, but the problems mention on the forum are putting me off.
Bear in mind that the problems discussed on here are from a minority of users, the serious issues have been fixed, and firmware and operating software is under development in response to users’ experience.
paulrichardson – 3 hours ago »
Hi Alba,
I’m considering an Aura, but the problems mention on the forum are putting me off.
I might go for one of the older Humax Freeview recorders, but I’m worried that the Apps and stuff will be allowed to go out of date/ unsupported.
Regards,
Paul
Going from a Humax 5000t to the Aura, which was what I did, is like going from Stevenson’s Rocket to the Bullet Train. Although I did have a faulty unit (now replaced) there were issues in my opinion at launch which marred the experience slightly. But now with all the enhancements and fixes in place I think it’s a really good machine.
I went from the Humax 4000T and it was also a major upgrade it has everything I want and need in a box, admittedly there were a few teething issues but these are all sorted now, don’t listen to the nah sayers.
alba – 1 week ago »
Hello again Paul
Ironically my wife initially saw the folders as another complication added to our already multi-button-pushing system. She is the one that now uses it the most and doesn’t want to lose it. I am not that bothered about keeping recordings.
She still wants a more simplified system of button-pushing and I would prefer that too, hence my interest in the Aura. From online comments, I get the impression that the Aura was released with far too many glitches, and this would defeat our aim of having a more refined and simplified control and switching system.
I haven’t dug into the Aura that deeply but it doesn’t seem to offer us any more than we have already. With the Sony Android Brava TV we can access useful apps, Netflix, Prime Video, Youtube, Youview etc. The Fox T2 HDR is easy to order and use and fast enough for recordings. The video quality is good, and so on.
The drag is the amount of button pushing necessary to switch between systems. I would prefer everything in one unit and with a minimum of button-pushing. Ideally, this would just be incorporated within the TV itself. The Sony Android TV has gone some way towards that. I think a manufacturer who would beef up the TV sd drive and incorporate a pvr recording facility without an add-on would capture the market. A good sound system would be the icing on the cake. The technology is already here. They just need to bolt it all together, so to speak! A true multi-media system!
We can but dream!
Many Smart TVs do have the ability to attach a hard drive and record from the TV itself. Not as sophisticated as a dedicated PVR. Have a look at at Aura filing system. It does put all episodes of a series in a sort of ‘folder’. But you can’t as yet put all films in a folder but you can view recordings by date or channel and it’s all searchable so if you want folders in order to find recordings the Aura presents another way of organising and finding stuff. You can also easily access catch-up services via the guide or apps. Iplayer on the Aura will show you selected UHD football at present (but also available on TV Iplayer app) and 4K YouTube. And of course the Aura is now Android based too. And it’s a much faster in terms of response to commands than previous Humax boxes.
I’ve recently unearthed my HDR Fox T2 for comparison and find the remote slightly less easy than the Aura remote in terms of button pushing. I had a problem with no sound but once I had turned off ‘deep colour’ on the LG’s HDMI port it was fine.
I am now happy with my replacement Aura and the 2TB drive feels vast.
I bought the Aura as a replacement for the Virgin V+ as we canceled our Virgin subscription, it is predominately used for recording Freeview TV as our LG TV handles all our streaming requirements without any issues.
There are a number of day-to-day issues with the Aura which makes it frustrating to use.
1) It kept rebooting during recordings, this appears to be related to too strong signal reception and Humax sent an inline attenuator (ugly little thing with a red knob to adjust, not hi-tech!). This has reduced the reboots, but either the attenuator loses potency or my signal is getting stronger as I keep having to turn it up. Surely there is something they could do in software to mitigate this issue which brings me to my next gripe.
2) Software updates: For a permanently online device the lack of updates is concerning, bug fixes and feature improvements whilst not critical would be welcome, but the absence of Security updates shows a lack of support from the manufacturer and new buyers should be aware.
3) Functionality:
Series recordings are less flexible than the Virgin V+ and if something in the guide “description” changes, it misses the new recordings until a new series recording is created. Things like the World Cup spring to mind, going between qualifying matches and the knockout stages, this never happened with the V+.
Fast forwarding when watching recorded content, when trying to fast forward, it often resets back to the earlier or to the beginning of the recording, this can happen multiple times within one viewing and is the most frustrating thing! Especially since I bought the Aura and my partner is the one getting wound up by it
Just recently I’ve also become aware of (as I mentioned mostly used by my partner) a black screen with a spinning arrow for a few moments whilst watching live TV, when I asked my partner said this happens quite frequently. I’ve reset the Aura (not the 1st time) to see if this relieves this issue.
Conclusion:
Whilst I’m sure a lot of the issues could be resolved with software updates the lack of these from Humax (last updated 2021) means I consider the box hardly fit for purpose and if I had to use it more or if I didn’t have Prime/Netflix etc and so not for just the occasional recording, I would have returned this within the 1st year.
I also wouldn’t buy it again given the chance and have advised anyone who has asked the same, I feel a company needs to stand behind its products and not abandon it’s customers.
Couldn’t agree more – lack of support on the Aura. Dont buy one. Too many glitches. Could be resolved for sure, but as has been said, no updates for years now.
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