Count Korea’s Humax as the latest pay TV set-top maker to stop trying to beat cord-cutters and attempt to join them. 

The tech vendor has introduced the Aura, a new Android TV-powered, DVR-equipped streaming device built specifically for cord-cutters in the United Kingdom.

The Aura packages a three-tuner digital video recorder, 4K HDR image resolution and all the accoutrements of Android TV — notably the Google Play Store and Google Assistant. 

Humax is marketing the Aura as the very first DVR built for the U.K.’s Freeview Play streaming service, which includes 70 live and nine free, over-the-air broadcast VOD channels. The product is not being sold in the U.S.

The set-top comes in a 1-terabyte iteration, retailing for £249 ($323) and a 2TB version ($262). Humax said the Aura will be sold through Amazon, various U.K. consumer-electronics channels and directly via Humax. 

Like CommScope, Technicolor and other set-top makers that have served the global pay TV market, Humax is looking for new revenue channels amid a recessionary pay TV business. Humax will now try to play catchup in retail channels for a cord-cutter consumer base, against entrenched competition that includes Roku and Amazon.  

“Aura is designed to sit at the heart of a family’s home entertainment experience,” Humax sales director Rob Peacock said in a statement. “The very first Freeview Play recorder to be built on the Android TV platform, it provides a fully integrated environment that reflects the preferences and favorite content of the individual or family — with lightning-fast access to everything they need in one place, and outstanding picture quality. With such an extensive array of features, users will never miss their favorite show, movie or sporting event, and thanks to a combination of Google technology and the Humax Aura app, they can enjoy the freedom of entertainment on any screen or device, wherever and whenever they wish.” 

While the vast majority of devices based on Android TV are thin-client, Korean set-top company Humax is introducing what it bills as the first full-feature DVR powered by the Google Video OS targeted specifically for the UK’s Freeview Play service.

The Humax Aura packages a three-tuner digital video recorder, 4K HDR image resolution and all the accoutrements of Android TV—notably the Google Play Store and Google Assistant. 

Humax is marketing the Aura specifically as the very first DVR for Britain’s Freeview Play service, which includes 70 live and nine VOD free, over-the-air broadcast channels. (The product is not being sold in the U.S.)

The set-top comes in a 1 terabyte iteration, retailing for £249 ($323) and a 2TB version ($262). Humax said the Aura will be sold through Amazon, various UK consumer electronics channels and directly via Humax. 

Like CommScope, Technicolor and other set-top makers that have traditionally served the global pay TV market, Humax is looking for new revenue channels amid a recessionary pay TV business. Humax will now try to play catchup in retail channels for a cord-cutter consumer base, against entrenched competition that includes Roku and Amazon.  

“Aura is designed to sit at the heart of a family’s home entertainment experience,” said Rob Peacock, director at Humax, in a statement. “The very first Freeview Play recorder to be built on the Android TV platform, it provides a fully integrated environment that reflects the preferences and favorite content of the individual or family—with lightning-fast access to everything they need in one place, and outstanding picture quality. With such an extensive array of features, users will never miss their favorite show, movie or sporting event, and thanks to a combination of Google technology and the Humax Aura app, they can enjoy the freedom of entertainment on any screen or device, wherever and whenever they wish.”

South Korean technology vendor Humax has debuted what its touting as the “world’s most advanced” Android TV set-top for the pay TV operator market.

Humax also said it’s working on a video solution for an unnamed North American operator.

“Based on years of experience in developing Android TV projects with the latest technology for major pay TV operators, Humax has recently signed a contract to develop a next-generation solution for a major telecommunications operator in North America,” a company announcement said.

Humax’s H7 set-top is based on Broadcom silicon, featuring a 24K DMIPS CPU, and WiFi6, AV1 and HDR10 capabilities.

Also read: Android TV: Everything You Need to Know About the World’s Fastest Growing Video Operating System

The set-top will roll out in Europe and Asia before the end of 2020, the company said.

Humax also said it’s extending its end-to-end Android TV service globally, offering “any operator in any region” a complete platform solution. This includes Humax’s HATS broadcast middleware, its HAVIS voice assistant service, its HAMS backend management and analysis tools and its UI/UX operator tier program.

“With this innovative Android TV product and our Humax E2E solutions, Humax can quickly supply products that offer a variety of content and services to our customers, paving the way to lead the Android TV OS market,” said Jeff Kim, executive VP of worldwide sales at Humax, in a statement.

South Korean technology vendor Humax has debuted what its touting as the “world’s most advanced” Android TV set-top for the pay TV operator market. 

Humax also said it’s working on a video solution for an unnamed North American operator. 

“Based on years of experience in developing Android TV projects with the latest technology for major pay TV operators, Humax has recently signed a contract to develop a next-generation solution for a major telecommunications operator in North America,” a company announcement said. 

Humax’s H7 set-top is based on Broadcom silicon, featuring a 24K DMIPS CPU, and WiFi6, AV1 and HDR10 capabilities. 

Also read: Android TV: Everything You Need to Know About the World’s Fastest Growing Video Operating System

The set-top will roll out in Europe and Asia before the end of 2020, the company said. 

Humax also said it’s extending its end-to-end Android TV service globally, offering “any operator in any region” a complete platform solution. This includes Humax’s HATS broadcast middleware, its HAVIS voice assistant service, its HAMS backend management and analysis tools and its UI/UX operator tier program. 

“With this innovative Android TV product and our Humax E2E solutions, Humax can quickly supply products that offer a variety of content and services to our customers, paving the way to lead the Android TV OS market,” said Jeff Kim, executive VP of worldwide sales at Humax, in a statement.

South Korean electronics vendor Humax has announced a new line of devices targeted to the cable operator market and built around Reference Design Kit (RDK), the open-source software stack favored by Comcast, Liberty Global and other cable companies.

The devices include a new RDK Video Accelerator, 4K video set-top, that includes pre-integrated apps with RDK app framework and access to the Metrological App Store.

There are two gateways: a DOCSIS 3.1 wireless voice gateway supporting 5 Gbps downstream; and a 2.5G GPON wireless voice gateway supporting 2.5 Gbps downstream.

Also included in Humax’s RDK product line is the 4K Soundbox, which features an integrated microphone for far-field voice recognition.

The RDK products signal an emerging strategy for Humax to compete directly with vendors including CommScope and Technicolor for the cable CPE market.

> “Humax is committed to continuous innovation, and that is especially true when it comes to RDK devices,” said Jeff Kim, executive VP of worldwide sales of Humax, in a statement. “For many of the leading video and broadband providers around the world, RDK is their software platform of choice, and we’re excited to deliver them this portfolio of new products. From our 4K IP set-top box and 4K Soundbox, to our GPON and DOCSIS gateways, we have RDK-powered solutions to meet the growing market demands.”

Added Steve Heeb, president and general manager of RDK: “Humax has been a leading contributor to the RDK community for years, and today’s announcement is another powerful case in point. On the video side, their stylish new RDK Video Accelerator IP set-top box will enable service providers to quickly test and launch new video applications for deployment. On the broadband side, Humax’s state-of-the-art RDK gateways for fiber and cable are designed to serve the needs of our community today, and into the future.” 

Humax has joined a small but growing number of cable vendors to achieve certification for DOCSIS 3.1, the new multi-gigabit platform from CableLabs for HFC networks.

Humax said a D3.1-powered gateway, the HG3310, was certified in Cert Wave 116 at CableLabs. The model also sports dual-band concurrent 802.11ac WiFi, support for IP voice, and an option for MoCA 2.0, a platform for speedy home networking that’s optimized to run on in-home coax networks.

While that ensures that Humax’s product is interoperable with D3.1-based network gear, certification also clears the product for retail sale. MSOs typically require CableLabs certification for modems they lease to high-speed Internet subs.

Per the most updated list of CableLabs-certified products, a D3.1 chipset/reference design from Intel Corp. was also certified in wave 117. Several products with Broadcom silicon have already been certified for DOCSIS 3.1.

Other modem makers that have cleared the D3.1 hurdle include Arris (for a model tagged for retail distribution), along with Askey, CastleNet, Netgear, Sagemcom, Technicolor, and Ubee Interactive.

"With its improved spectral efficiency, DOCSIS 3.1 technology is helping MSOs meet the growing speeds demanded by end users including 1 Gbps and beyond. We're delighted to have obtained DOCSIS 3.1 certification for the HG3310 and are offering it for sale worldwide,” Frank Romeo, SVP of business development at Humax Americas, said in a statement.

Humax and other vendors are getting certified amid the early phases of MSO D3.1 deployments.

Among recent examples, WideOpenWest plans to launch D3.1-based gigabit services in five markets by the end of 2016. Comcast, which is leaning on Technicolor models in the early phases of its D3.1 rollout, has consumer trials underway in Atlanta and Nashville underway, with plans to expand its DOCSIS 3.1 footprint to Chicago, Detroit and Miami later this year.

Humax has been selected as a second source for the “Worldbox,” a next-gen class of hybrid QAM/IP video devices from Charter Communications that will support the MSO’s new downloadable conditional access system (DCAS) and its cloud-based interface and applications.

A Charter spokesperson confirmed the selection of Humax, but wouldn’t talk about the financial terms of the agreement or what percentage of Charter’s Worldbox business would be going to the South Korea-based supplier.

But the selection is a clear indicator that Charter intends to source boxes from a variety of suppliers using an “open” downloadable security architecture that is also in use at Cablevision Systems. Samsung Electronics and Humax are among the known vendors Cablevision has picked to supply “Future Services Portal” boxes that utilize its DCAS.

At the International CES earlier this month, Cisco Systems was revealed as the first supplier of the Worldbox, which will initially feature two models -- an HD-DVR and an non-DVR HD client device (the Cisco-made non-DVR model is pictured above). Cisco has been tapped as a “key” supplier of Worldboxes through 2015, providing a “substantial share” of them to Charter, while also supplying the platform’s downloadable conditional access system and digital rights management platform.

Charter hasn’t announced any other Worldbox suppliers. However, Arris hopes to be in the mix, as it will have “equal opportunity to bid on the Worldbox [business], as any other competitor,” Bob Stanzione, Arris’s chairman and CEO, said last week at an investor conference.

 Humax officials have yet to comment for this story, but the selection by Charter obviously gives its U.S. cable ambitions a boost.

Last April, Time Warner Cable announced that it had picked Humax to build the MSO's first device based on the Reference Design Kit (RDK), a preintegrated software stack for video and broadband devices that is being managed by Comcast, TWC, and Liberty Global.  What is not known is how that deal, which centers on an IP-based HD client that can support TWC’s next-gen UI, will carry forward if and when Comcast and TWC complete their proposed merger.

Humax has also been linked to the Xi3, an IP-only, RDK-based client device that Comcast is developing for its X1 platform (a Humax-made model passed through the FCC in 2012). Comcast, however, has been using Xi3s made by U.K.-based Pace for its initial rollout.