Is the Aura the new HDR-FOX T2?

MartinLiddle

Super Moderator
Staff member
I am beginning to think the Aura may prove to be the new HDR-FOX T2. After the rather disappointing FVP-4000T/5000T models which had very little development, Humax seem to be putting a lot of effort into the Aura with several software updates already and an open beta trial under way for the next release (which includes DLNA server functionality for the first time). Even more interesting is that for the first time in a long, long time Humax are actually monitoring the MyHumax.org forum for problems and looking for suggestions for further enhancements. I suspect this may be because Manhattan have been doing something similar with their T3-R. The range of possibilities for tinkering with the Aura that are afforded by it being based on Android TV seem very wide; for instance some people have managed to get an unofficial 4K version of Netflix working. All looks very promising to me.
 
I'd say not quite...

The Aura may be a much more capable box as it's Android based and offer a lot more features however, for most (as you probably have a Smart TV) you may just use it as a program recorder a-la-Fox. If that's the case then the Aura is missing some important features and options that a 15 year old+ box could do!

These are such as;
a) Timed Power on and Off inc channel selection
b) A/V pass-though. Upscaling sort-of works, but sometimes I just want what I see as I'm not keen on 'smoothed' video and if set to 10, it has bad pixilation. Just add an option to 'Pass Though'
c) Skip forward and backwords using the main command buttons. Yes, I know it does it but it skips the pre-set values, I'd like it like the old Fox did it so I can step back and forth a bit and instead, use the << and >> buttons to do the skip forward and back like the Fox did. UPDATE: you can skip forward and backwords in small steps like the Fox did, you have to use the up button first, then you can skip like a Fox using left and right.
d) No step-frame option (that I can see).
e) A Recycle bin you can access! Yes the Aura has one but it needs to be nearly full to access it - that's crazy!
f) No Folder options - what? You can't create your own folders to save recordings - now that is backwards!

I am new to the Aura but a very long Humax user, over 20 years plus and this new box is nice but has some important features missing.

p.s. If you don't have the Aura app yet because your phone/device is on Android v13, contact them as they have a beta version you can use.
p.p.s. In case you haven't tried, go to: XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX:8080 on your Windows PC where the XXX are your Aura's IP ;) UPDATE: works on Chrome but not Edge, which is odd considering Edge is Chromium based!
p.p.p.s (can there be a p.p.p.s?) Remember, it's Android so go to About and hit that version button 5 times - you now have Developer Options ;)

Cheers
Starb
 
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Manufacturers seem to have decided Freeview PVRs need to be dumbed down. Hence issues like no folders for recordings is very common, possibly copied from Youview.
 
Manufacturers seem to have decided Freeview PVRs need to be dumbed down. Hence issues like no folders for recordings is very common, possibly copied from Youview.
I suspect Youview, Freesat, et al, under pressure from the content providers/advertisers, have deliberately removed functions that would make long term archiving easier. These PVRs are really only intended for time-shifting, regardless of possibilities.
 
I suspect Youview, Freesat, et al, under pressure from the content providers/advertisers, have deliberately removed functions that would make long term archiving easier. These PVRs are really only intended for time-shifting, regardless of possibilities.
This is in the Aura section of the Forum and I would say the Aura has more options for archiving than any previous Humax box.
 
If that's the case then the Aura is missing some important features and options that a 15 year old+ box could do!
Which 15 year old+ box are you referring to? If you are referring to the HDR-Fox T2, that is only 12 year old+, having been released in August 2010.
 
I would say the Aura has more options for archiving than any previous Humax box.
Explain please: what can it do? Your assertion contains a conditional – conditional on what? As it stands, this statement is worthless.
 
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Explain please: what can it do?
SD content isn't encrypted, HD content can be converted on the box to a lower resolution, content can be downloaded by FTP or via a web interface or via DLNA or accessed on mobile devices via an app. Which other Humax model can do that out of the box?
 
What has any of that to do with archiving? If it's off-the-box archiving, reducing the resolution of the source material is of no interest. For on-the-box archiving, does it or does it not provide a folder structure for recordings?

I would say
Under what circumstances? Presumably only limited ones, and to exclude the customised HDR-FOX from the equation is artificial.
 
SD content isn't encrypted, HD content can be converted on the box to a lower resolution, content can be downloaded by FTP or via a web interface or via DLNA or accessed on mobile devices via an app. Which other Humax model can do that out of the box?
But that doesn't help finding what you need among 100s of files in a largely linear list. You can change the order to an extent, but (eg) by channel isn't very helpful really.

There's little point in buying the 1 or 2TB versions if you use that much as the list will be ridiculously long and paging down it to try and find something would be tedious (and infuriating when a wrong press exits the list and you have to start over). (I bought the smallest disc version of our new freesat box because of this.)
 
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Which 15 year old+ box are you referring to? If you are referring to the HDR-Fox T2, that is only 12 year old+, having been released in August 2010.
Correct, the HDR-Fox-T2 I had when they first came out and is about 13 years old now but I had another Humax box before that, but I can't recall what model it was other than it had a silver middle section in the front panel, I think it was PVR 9150 or something like that.
 
What has any of that to do with archiving? If it's off-the-box archiving, reducing the resolution of the source material is of no interest.
Sorry to be late replying but it is a very busy time of day. MikeSh was talking about long term archiving and the only way to have some certainty for the long term is to copy it off the PVR. As regards off the box archiving of HD material some people will accept reduced resolution and some won't but I don't think that makes it "of no interest". There was a case on another forum recently of a user who had an HD recording on a FOXSAT that she was desperate to preserve; I think she would happily have settled for a reduced resolution copy.
For on-the-box archiving, does it or does it not provide a folder structure for recordings?
There is a pseudo file structure for series recordings but no actual folders. The lack of folders doesn't greatly bother me because mainly I watch and delete; I can understand it will be more important to others.
Under what circumstances? Presumably only limited ones, and to exclude the customised HDR-FOX from the equation is artificial.
My view is that discussing boxes that can be purchased is a useful criterion for most people. The custom firmware for the HDR-FOX T2 is a wonderful thing but what percentage of the total UK PVR users do you think are using custom firmware?
 
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But that doesn't help finding what you need among 100s of files in a largely linear list. You can change the order to an extent, but (eg) by channel isn't very helpful really.
One solution to that problem would be to use the money you saved by buying the smallest capacity PVR and buy a cheap NAS. Then copy the recordings off the box to the NAS where you can control the file structure. Admittedly not a great solution if you mainly record in HD although it is possible to restore deleted recordings to the Aura they were made on.
 
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