The rise of streaming services and on-demand content has significantly reduced the demand for recording devices, but there's still a market for them, according to Humax. The company has just announced the launch of the Aura EZ recorder, which has the capacity to record up to 1,000 hours of content that consumers are unable to catch during live broadcasts.
The Humax Aura EZ is the follow up to the original Humax Aura, which debuted in 2020. It was marketed as a Freeview Play programmable video recorder, enabling users to record any live broadcasts they missed over that service. Now, with the Aura EZ, the company is adding support for Freely, the streaming-based version of Freeview Play.
There’s not a whole lot of difference between the original Aura and the Aura EZ. They both look similar, with the newer model being slightly wider at 280 millimetres, compared to 258mm on the older device. The original Aura recorder was available in a choice of 1TB or 2TB, but there appears to only be a single 2TB option for the Aura EZ. With 2TB, you’ll be able to record and save up to 1,000 hours of SD content, or approximately half that amount of 4K HDR content. Like its predecessor, it can record up to four channels at once, and of course you have the option to watch a fifth channel live if you desire, but you’ll need an aerial connection to catch those live broadcasts.
All told, it supports more than 60 live broadcast channels, with their programming lineup viewable via a handy TV guide that enables seven days of forward- and backward-scrolling to set up recordings ahead of time, or go back and catch up on something you missed. Users can also create their own list of favourites. There’s also an Aura EZ app on the way that will make it simple to set the device up to record shows while you’re away from home.
Without an aerial, the Humax Aura EZ acts more like a set-top box, in that it allows you to watch plenty of on-demand content from the Freely service, which is a free video streaming platform supported by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. It features a Quad-Core processor, has 3GB or RAM and 8GB of internal storage for apps, and its 4K HDR support has now been extended to include HDR10+ content. The device comes with its own remote control and has ports for HDMI and Ethernet cables, plus USB and an optical S/PDIF connection. WiFi is also supported, and there’s a standard DVB port for the aerial to go into.
Humax said the Aura EZ is available to pre-order now, priced at £249. It’s expected to ship before the end of the month, when it will also land in various retail stores. The company is also offering a nice deal that allows you to pay for it over three interest-free installments of £83.
It’s a fairly wallet-friendly price, but the real question is, what kind of demand is there for a TV recorder in this day and age, where streaming services dominate? If you’re still into your live broadcasts and haven’t found an easy way to catch up, or if you want to record certain programmes for reasons of posterity, then the Humax Aura EZ might be just the piece of kit you need.
