Humax Aura: the affordable Google-powered television hub of your dreams

Want to vastly reduce your streaming subscription outgoings at a stroke? The Humax Aura 4K Recorder could be the ideal place to start.

A one-stop-shop for all things visual entertainment, this sleek set-top box is a snap to set up and offers a veritable viewing feast at no additional cost thanks to Freeview Play: over 75 live TV channels, over 700 box-sets and over 40,000 hours of on-demand content free-of-charge.

And that’s just for starters. Humax has built the Aura atop Google’s smart tech foundations, making it the world’s first 4K Freeview Play recorder powered by Android TV. That means you get access to Google Assistant voice controls, Chromecast for easy streaming from external devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops, and the Google Play Store for games, apps and even more on-demand films and TV shows.

It’s a marvel on the spec front too, providing a premium AV experience that’ll fully immerse you in whatever you’re watching. With the ability to output video at 4K 2160p at 60fps with HDR10 and Dolby Audio (surround sound, plus Dolby Atmos pass-through), it’s the perfect foil for your 4K TV and home cinema audio setup.

Setup? So simple

Despite everything on offer here, setting up the Humax Aura couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is connect it to your TV, a decent Wi-Fi connection and an aerial antenna, then sign into your Google account to sync across all your settings and preferences from compatible devices.

From opening the box to watching the box, you’ll be up and running in a matter of minutes.

Play

Hey Google, entertain me

The Humax Aura runs on Google’s high-performance Android TV platform. Once you’ve signed in with your Google account, you’ll have access to all your apps, music downloads, preferences and YouTube settings right off the bat. It’ll even serve up highlights and recommendations based on your search history.

You can also download more apps courtesy of the Google Play Store, and use the brilliant Google Assistant to command the Aura with just the power of your voice: speak into the microphone built into the remote control to ask questions (and have the answers displayed on your TV screen), adjust settings or immediately track down a particular show or film.

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

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.

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.

If you can’t give up your subscription services, you’ll find them here too: Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, BT Sport and Paramount+ are all available through the Google Play Store.

And with the Humax Aura’s onboard recorder, you can make sure you never miss an episode of your favourite show. The Aura is available with either 1TB or 2TB of hard drive space, offering room for 500 and 1000 hours of recordings respectively, and comes with three digital tuners built-in – which means you can record up to four channels at once while watching another live channel!

And you don’t have to watch them at home, either: with the dedicated Aura app for iOS and Android, you can download your recordings to take with you wherever you go, or remotely set up recordings from anywhere in the world.

4K, Freeview Play and a recorder you can use your way – get on board with the Humax Aura and start saving money today. You can order it now.