The first 4K TV recorder box with Freely streaming built in is here — is it the ultimate way to watch things any time you want?

The Humax Aura EZ set-top box with its remote next to it
(Image credit: Humax)

  • Humax's new set-top box has Freely streaming
  • 2TB drive can also record broadcasts for up to 1,000 hours of recording
  • Available now for £249

Humax has launched the Aura EZ 4K TV recorder with Freely, the free-to-view UK TV service that combines multiple broadcasters in a single app – it's essentially Freeview or Freesat but transmitted over the internet.

The recording part is separate to Freely – that's for aerial transmissions, which it also picks up. It's capable of recording up to four channels at once while you watch something else.

Between this ability to record from live channels and over 60 live channels and over 75,000 hours of on-demand programming over the internet via the Freely platform, there's basically no reason to ever miss something you wanted to watch.

The Humax Aura EZ set-top box under a TV with the Freely interface on it

(Image credit: Humax)

Humax Aura EZ: key features and pricing

The recorder has a 2TB drive that can store up to 1,000 hours of recorded TV, and it supports 4K HDR and Dolby Digital Plus sound. It'll also be getting an app that'll enable you to navigate, plan and schedule recordings from anywhere. That's currently in testing and promised to launch soon.

Connections are straightforward. There's an RF aerial input and RF output; HDMI for your TV; SPDIF optical digital sound; and Ethernet. Wi-Fi is dual-band 2.4Ghz and 5GHz.

The new Humax recorder isn't the only way to add Freely to your TV, but it's designed to be one of the simplest. It features a seven-day TV guide and a Freely guide too, and it connects to your home network over Wi-Fi.

Freely is operated by Everyone TV, formerly Digital UK, which also operates Freeview and Freesat. It's supported by the BBC, Channel 4 and 5 and features a large selection of channels from those broadcasters, much like Freeview/Freesat does. It also includes channels from elsewhere including PBS America, QVC, the Food Network and more.

The Humax Aura EZ is available now for £249.


Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

TOPICS
Carrie Marshall

Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled Small Town Joy, is on sale now. She is the singer in spectacularly obscure Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.