The Humax FVP-5000T, once a popular choice among Freeview recorders, has been officially discontinued.
This news may come as a blow to consumers who have relied on the device for its robust features and reliable performance over the years.
However, the discontinuation was somewhat expected at this stage, given that the device lost support for ITV Hub in 2022 and never supported ITV’s new streaming service, ITVX.
This, however, does not fare well for the Freeview recorders market in the UK – especially when one of Humax’s main competitors, the Manhattan T3-R, has also been discontinued this year, and we’re still waiting for its successor, the Manhattan T4-R.
Meanwhile, Humax’s only remaining Freeview recorder – the Humax Aura – is having stock issues, with customers having trouble finding it – but we do have some good news on that front (see more below).
Humax FVP-5000T: A Brief History
Launched in 2017, the Humax FVP-5000t quickly gained popularity for its user-friendly interface and feature-rich capabilities.
It was one of the top Freeview Play recorders for a long time and was recommended by various review sites, including Cord Busters.
The Humax FVP-5000T was well-regarded for its triple tuners, a feature that set it apart from some competitors by allowing users to record up to four programs while watching a fifth.
This was complemented by its generous storage options, which ranged from 500GB to 2TB, providing ample space for a variety of recording needs.
The device was also an early adopter of Freeview Play, seamlessly integrating live TV with catch-up and on-demand services.
Users could easily scroll back through the TV guide to catch up on missed shows, a feature that was highly user-friendly.
The device’s Electronic Program Guide (EPG) was intuitive, offering a 7-day forward and backward view, and even came with a dedicated mobile app for remote recording.
In terms of connectivity, the FVP-5000T was well-equipped, featuring HDMI, Ethernet, and USB ports, along with built-in Wi-Fi, which was not a given in all Freeview devices at the time.
This combination of features made the FVP-5000T a robust and versatile choice for those looking to enhance their Freeview experience – even though, in my review, I noted how its interface was never as swift as one expects from streaming devices these days.
The ITV Hub And ITVX Saga
In 2022, ITV announced that its streaming app, ITV Hub, would no longer be supported on the Humax FVP-5000T.
This was part of ITV’s move to upgrade its content protection technology ahead of the launch of its new streaming service, ITVX. The new service was incompatible with many older devices, including the FVP-5000T.
This left many users in a lurch, especially those who had recently purchased the device, unaware that they would lose access to a major broadcaster’s streaming app.
In fact, right up until its discontinuation, the FVP-5000t was sold as new without a clear indication that one of the UK’s major broadcasters won’t have an app on it, as ITVX support will never be added.
But now, Humax officially confirmed to us that the FVP-5000T has been discontinued (although you may still find older stock with some retailers).
Is The Freeview Recorder Market In Trouble?
The Manhattan T3-R, another popular Freeview recorder, was also discontinued earlier this year.
However, unlike the FVP-5000t, the T3-R did eventually receive ITVX support.
The discontinuation of both these devices leaves a significant gap in the market for Freeview recorders.
However, Manhattan is planning to launch two new Freeview boxes soon, the T4 and T4-R, although their release has been delayed.
With the discontinuation of both the Humax FVP-5000t and the Manhattan T3-R, the Freeview recorder market is currently sparse.
Consumers looking for reasonably-priced Freeview recorders have limited options (at least until the T4-R is finally released) – with the single new recorder still available, at this point in time, being the Humax Aura.
The Humax Aura
The Humax Aura (see my review), which Humax launched in 2020, is a unique device that merges the capabilities of a Freeview Play recorder with an Android TV streaming platform.
It offers up to 1,000 hours of television recording, supports 4K streaming, and comes equipped with Google Chromecast and Assistant. While it hosts a variety of UK streaming services, it currently lacks popular platforms like Netflix.
It’s worth noting, however, that the Aura is currently hard to find due to low stock levels.
However, Humax has assured us that the device should be more widely available again in approximately two weeks.
Goodbye, FVP-5000T
The discontinuation of the Humax FVP-5000T marks the end of an era for a device that was once a go-to choice for Freeview recording.
While it had its shortcomings, particularly in its later years with the loss of ITV services, it leaves behind a legacy of being one of the most feature-rich and user-friendly Freeview recorders of its time.
By looking back at the history and features of the Humax FVP-5000T, it’s clear that its discontinuation leaves a gap in the market, one that consumers hope will be filled by future devices that can match or exceed its capabilities.
Then again – with streaming fast becoming so dominant, is there still room for Freeview recorders with built-in hard drives? Only time will tell.
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As of Jan 2024, my Humax 5000T is still working without ITVX and presumably will continue to do so because ITV wish to stop us recording in aid of skipping past the adverts. I can empathise with that but if I can avoid adverts I will do so.
I say to the commercial content producers, sell sponsorship of programs rather than several five minute adverts which are simply too long and invasive of the programs. I make a point of ignoring the content of long (which I use for coffee anyway) breaks and not responding to them in any way, but take note of the much less invasive short sponsorship notices.
There is simply so much dross on all channels that I can find all I need on the BBC where I don’t have to find ways around the adverts.
I have 2 humax recorders.
I AM 81 years old I will not be able to fathom a new recorder never mind set it up.
Much prefer a hard disk recorder to record the original broadcast. That way you easily know what you have and haven’t watched and can ffwd through the adverts. If you stream, and each have your own account, you can lose track of which episode you are up to if you don’t always use the same account to access it.
Sad to read this, I really liked Humax. I’ve got a FVP-5000t which I bought back around 2017 to replace my previous analogy Humax recorder. I found both these models very reliable and the interface quite logical. After reading some of the comments I’m not sure that I will replace the 5000t with the Aura though.
I can see what’s happening in the market though, media companies would rather customers stream their content because it means they have more control of the advertising, one of my most used features on my Humax is the “skip” function to jump the adverts. If I went down the streaming route I would have to upgrade the router/line and probably the TV as well, which seems a bit extravagant seeing that I don’t like Sky and I don’t subscribe to any of the streaming providers like Netflix (I tried them but I didn’t think they were worth the money.
Sad news indeed. The Aura is full of issues and lack of Netflix app is the least of my worries as I watch Netflix through my Roku stick. The Aura even has problems with conflicting times which was never been an issue on the earlier Humax model. Streaming is fine for movies and serials but it is useless if you are away on vacation abroad. For me at least, I want to be able to watch the BBC News at 10 say from a previous week but unless I have it recorded there is no way of watching it as BBC iPlayer deletes it after 24 hours regardless how historic is a particular edition. So streaming does not solve the lack of access to programs which BBC regularly deletes after 24hrs. Needless to say, no streaming on Sky News of its newscasts. Remaining solution, is to download a particular program from Giniko subscription service. They are deleted at least 7 days after broadcast and they have all the BBC Channels and Sky News. Regrettably, their dvr sometimes does not record a particular hour or day of programming for downloading. So streaming may be sufficient only for some viewers.
I’ll be honest I’m still on the HDR-FOX T2 with Raydon custom firmware installed. Other than lack of catchup apps, thanks to the homebrew community the feature set is light years ahead of most – you can remotely schedule via browser applet on laptop or phone, you can set up SMB and NFS servers easily so recorded content can be streamed anywhere in the house or outside of it, plus it takes the CP encryption off of HD broadcasts which is good for archiving. Years past I also installed a 4TB Western Digital Green AV-GP drive made for use in stuff like TiVo recorders, which is 8 times the space it came out of the box with.
With all that in mind plus the fact you can pick these up for £20 now, I see literally no reason to upgrade.
I don’t stream with mine. I record live broadcasts of series. I don’t have to watch adverts on C4 and ITV.
The FVP-5000T has always had a painfully slow interface which let it down. It also takes an age to boot up.
I bought one of these only a few months ago as a replacement for a defunct BT box. No indication was given that it didn’t support itvx in fact the messages from the box suggested it was my TV that was at fault! To add insult to injury it’s performance bears no comparison to the BT box it replaced. Trying to find a BT box before this finds it rightful place in the bin.
The BT Boxes work fine as I have the new and the old one (Although as no WIFI on old don’t use much online)
Shame that the voice feature never got implicated as promised on the new box when it works on the talk talk Freeview box.
Long story my BT home hub packed up so took apart to discover it was a Humax
That’s a shame as the Aura is the most unreliable piece of kit that Humax have ever produced. It’s no point having a box that does everything but crashes all the time. Lots of the apps keep having problems – currently Eurosport has stopped functioning.
I sent mine back. It was a nightmare. Constantly crashing.
Does that mean the FVP-5000T will not receive any further software updates?
I hope they’ll continue to provide updates.
Hi Tim D. I will be honest with you after contacting the manufacturer I have a sneaky idea that the updates will become fewer and probably less. I asked the question and the reply was vague to say the least. I am preparing for the T4r from Manhattan to be my replacement purchase if it ever gets to the marketplace as they keep deferring the release date. Maybe the best thing is to hang on to your current unit and see hoe everything pans out. Sorry I cannot be more specific about the update situation for you but if the makers can’t answer the question I don’t know what to say .
What do you think it’s discontinued ovs not