Aura UHD android TV recorder November launch

[Black Hole]

Heck, there are only three reviews total, and you know negatives get put up much quicker than positives (it's much faster to find a fault than find there are no faults).

"hasn't been properly tested before putting it on the market"

 

[Luke]

All are complaining about the iplayer not working - so Humax seem to have hurt themselves by not fixing the certificate on their newest boxes

Perhaps the BBC iPlayer issue is that there is no certificate yet for the launched Humax Aura

Humax devices certified for BBC iPlayer | iPlayer help

Listed below are all Humax devices that are certified for use with BBC iPlayer. The devices listed have been submitted to us by Humax, meet our standards, and have passed our tests. If a device isn't certified, it won't be listed below. Devices not listed have either not reached the benchmark...

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[davey64]

Oh for goodness sake both USBs are at the back of the unit, who's dumb idea was that.
The manual does not say what USB formats are accepted by the USB ports.
surely it cannot just be FAT 32 with its 4GB limitations in the world of UHD.

 

[Black Hole]

surely it cannot just be FAT 32 with its 4GB limitations in the world of UHD.

Well, that's what Humax's own website seems to say (see post 2). 4GiB might be OK for write, with the boxes deliberate limited export, but one can envisage wanting to read much larger files. However, no doubt the modus operandi is intended to be streaming.

That said, previous generation boxes can work with Ext3 (because of the Linux OS), so it seems likely it remains but Humax didn't mention it (how many of the potential purchasers would know what Ext3 is?).

 

[davey64]

Well, that's what Humax's own website seems to say (see post 2). 4GiB might be OK for write, with the boxes deliberate limited export, but one can envisage wanting to read much larger files. However, no doubt the modus operandi is intended to be streaming.

That said, previous generation boxes can work with Ext3 (because of the Linux OS), so it seems likely it remains but Humax didn't mention it (how many of the potential purchasers would know what Ext3 is?).

Hi I know I have read your post, but it does imply that Fat32 is for the USB 3.0 port so was wondering if the USB 2.0 port would be different.
I downloaded the manual and there is no reference to supported USB formats.
The Ext3 I would assume has fewer users than if Humax offered their USB ports to read ExFAT which would suit me as I am on a mac,
NTFS is a hassle for macs as they don't natively write to it without third party software. That is also an oversight by Apple.
FAT32 is really a poor choice even 1080 HD films often are over 4GBs so what earthly use is it for 4K UHD.

And as for the USB ports being on the back of the unit, that is incredibly lazy design seeing as the 5000T has at least one on the side.
You think they could learn.
Waiting for the reviews from early purchasers to see if it really is a quicker/ more responsive GUI than the 5000T.

Not convinced about this new box.

 

[Black Hole]

Waiting for the reviews from early purchasers to see if it really is a quicker/ more responsive GUI than the 5000T.

The video review shows it being pretty slick.

And as for the USB ports being on the back of the unit, that is incredibly lazy design seeing as the 5000T has at least one on the side.
You think they could learn.

You've got the wrong mindset. Design for mass production / mass sales is all about hitting a target retail price which will appeal to the mass consumer (who is largely driven by price). They will make whatever compromises they need, to achieve the core functionality and still retail at the necessary price point.

If the price point is too high, it will only appeal to connoisseurs and then you have to satisfy connoisseurs... and the market is smaller so it's even more difficult to meet even the connoisseur price point because you're losing the number of units to amortise design and one-off production costs over, and increasing the per-unit costs because you're ordering fewer parts from upstream suppliers. Suddenly you're building a unit you can't make a profit on. It is very tricky.

So what I am saying is: if restricting all the connectors to one panel is a significant cost reduction, that's what they will have done if the marketing people forecast it wouldn't have much impact on sales. It's not "lazy design" at all, and the the vast bulk of their audience might not ever use a USB port. Anybody really bothered about it will fit a USB extension lead.

The Ext3 I would assume has fewer users than if Humax offered their USB ports to read ExFAT which would suit me as I am on a mac,
NTFS is a hassle for macs as they don't natively write to it without third party software. That is also an oversight by Apple.

Er, no. Both ExFAT and NTFS are proprietary to Microsoft and would require expensive licences to build in officially (for write). I think it is safe to assume NTFS will be available for read-only, and Ext3 for read/write.

it does imply that Fat32 is for the USB 3.0 port so was wondering if the USB 2.0 port would be different.

No reason it would. By the time the port hardware gets down the software stack to the file system stuff, it won't care whether it's USB2 or USB3. Having a USB3 port is no doubt a freebie (the SoC came with that capability, like it or not), and good for marketing.

 

[MartinLiddle]

Er, no. Both ExFAT and NTFS are proprietary to Microsoft and would require expensive licences to build in officially (for write). I think it is safe to assume NTFS will be available for read-only, and Ext3 for read/write.

According to this Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExFAT Microsoft opened up ExFAT in August 2019 and it is now part of the latest versions of the Linux kernel.

 

[gomezz]

Can you plug a USB hard drive into it to play media off it?

A USB extender lead is all that needs to be added to get a USB port round the front where is more accessible for those who will be doing a lot of swapping.

 

[MikeSh]

You've got the wrong mindset. Design for mass production / mass sales is all about hitting a target retail price which will appeal to the mass consumer

This ^^^
I think the relative lack of PVRs on the market at all indicates a relatively small interest, else there would be far more choice.
Few people are really interested in saving TV off to storage and with HD and above there are restraints by copyright holders that probably play into what is permitted. The rise of streaming and catchup puts even more pressure on that 'market'.
I'm actually a little surprised to see a new PVR at all, so as long as it does the basic time-shifting well I think it will suffice for the masses ... and me.

 

[Black Hole]

Yeah. A mate (15 years my junior) is mystified anyone would want to do this, he consumes all content on demand (and doesn't have my Internet limitations).

 

[prpr]

What happens when 'someone' suddenly decides the content you wanted to watch is no longer to be available?
I've got stuff I recorded 18 months ago which I haven't yet watched (for various reasons not of my making). Could I guarantee this is going to be stream-able when I want to watch it? No I can't. But perhaps other people don't care. I do. I like to be in control of my stuff, not somebody else.

 

[Black Hole]

But perhaps other people don't care. I do. I like to be in control of my stuff, not somebody else.

I agree, but it seems to be a generational thing.

 

[trog]

What happens when 'someone' suddenly decides the content you wanted to watch is no longer to be available?
I've got stuff I recorded 18 months ago which I haven't yet watched (for various reasons not of my making). Could I guarantee this is going to be stream-able when I want to watch it? No I can't. But perhaps other people don't care. I do. I like to be in control of my stuff, not somebody else.

Surely that is the reason for making a 2TB version, if you have filled that much space the chances of you ever getting time to watch everything is slim and more due to hoarding than needing.

 

[MymsMan]

Surely that is the reason for making a 2TB version, if you have filled that much space the chances of you ever getting time to watch everything is slim and more due to hoarding than needing.

No doubt someone will start wondering if they can put a larger disk into the machine (I expect they could)

 

[MikeSh]

But perhaps other people don't care.

Members of this forum are pretty much by definition people who take their telly seriously.

My gut feeling from visiting other people's homes over many years is that for most it's little more than wallpaper. Even when they sit down to ostensibly watch a programme their attention is sporadic as they chat to each other, mess with other devices, eat meals, etc. I've seen them completely miss crucial plotlines because they spent 30 seconds discussing a just gone scene, and then later miss even more by asking each other what the heck is going on having missed the earlier bit.

I agree, but it seems to be a generational thing.

It can certainly look that way but I'm not sure it is. The technology has changed with the generations, so it's hard to separate that effect from the age of the viewers.

 

[EEPhil]

I'm actually a little surprised to see a new PVR at all, so as long as it does the basic time-shifting well I think it will suffice for the masses ... and me.

But probably not me, unless I suddenly win the lottery.
Is it just me? I've tried to make sense of the manual on the Humax site, but it seems lacking in the detail of the basic functions. The 5000T manual is short on detail, the 2000T manual is better, the 9150T manual even better. The more complicated the Humax, the worse the explanation in the manual - or is this also a generational thing?

No doubt someone will start wondering if they can put a larger disk into the machine (I expect they could)

Not my first question. Mine would be can I get recordings off the machine?

 

[Black Hole]

I expect they could

Could they? That presumes GPT support has been built in.

The more complicated the Humax, the worse the explanation in the manual - or is this also a generational thing?

The trend is not to have manuals at all, on the expectation that the interface is intuitive. There is also the problem that the more functionality there is, the more it costs to write a comprehensive manual. Making things user-configurable adds to the complication.

Printed manuals are snapshots in time - they have to be prepared well ahead of product release, and might already be out of date the moment the product hits the shelves. Putting help on-line is a much better option (if less convenient for some users).

However, try teaching somebody to whom these things are not intuitive, used to having buttons to press, to use an iPad.

 

[trog]

Also some poor reviews on the 2TB version

Humax 4K Aura 2TB (Black)

Shop for Humax 4K Aura 2TB (Black) HDR Android TV Freeview Play Recorder with Richer Sounds for expert advice and lowest prices guaranteed

www.richersounds.com

All are complaining about the iplayer not working - so Humax seem to have hurt themselves by not fixing the certificate on their newest boxes

A new review at Richer for the 1TB version says that the iplayer is working fine for them.

 

[RobH1]

Members of this forum are pretty much by definition people who take their telly seriously.

I don't. We're down to weekly recordings of two programmes, the rest seems just tat to us.

The CF forum has developed from being fundamentally useful to being beyond the scope of those of us without coding ability, although it still warrants a read and great for those who want to take it to the nth degree. But do they still have time to watch the telly?

If the Aura thread begins with how to hack it, it will put off prospective new members who just want guidance.

A few years ago there were many comments from new users who thought that the FoxT2 forum was just for nerds.

 

[Black Hole]

A few years ago there were many comments from new users who thought that the FoxT2 forum was just for nerds.

Isn't it? Who, apart from a nerd, would want to discuss the operation of a PVR?