First BT, now Sony; whatever is going on?

Roy · 5 January 2021, 12:01AM

We have seen BT sliding out from under the YouView name, bit by bit.

Now, helping someone on the Sony Community who couldn’t find out how to get YouView on his Sony Android TV, I understood his difficulty when I found Sony doing the same:-
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00254819

‘Live TV & Catch Up’?

kodikid · 5 January 2021, 1:04AM

Its death by a thousand cuts.

Darren · 5 January 2021, 11:16AM

Looks sadly like the name Youview is slow being phased out.
My Youview EPG has not had the name Youview on it for months now and says BT TV.
I have notice some boxes that BT now give you just say BT on the box and not also Youview.
Both my boxes still say BT and Youview on them.

kodikid · 5 January 2021, 3:29PM

It will be interesting to see what format BT use when they finally decide to replace the current boxes.

Visionman · 7 January 2021, 10:10PM

Roy said:

We have seen BT sliding out from under the YouView name, bit by bit.

Now, helping someone on the Sony Community who couldn’t find out how to get YouView on his Sony Android TV, I understood his difficulty when I found Sony doing the same:-
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00254819

‘Live TV & Catch Up’?

I don't understand the problem?

Roy · 7 January 2021, 11:30PM

@Visionman

If you were looking for YouView on your TV, what would you expect the relevant thumbnail to be called, or to bear the logo of?

kodikid · 8 January 2021, 2:21AM

Freeview play?

Visionman · 8 January 2021, 7:52AM

Roy said:

@Visionman

If you were looking for YouView on your TV, what would you expect the relevant thumbnail to be called, or to bear the logo of?

?YouView of course...

kodikid · 8 January 2021, 8:01AM

Think it was rhetorical

DJHB1980 · 8 January 2021, 5:53PM

I can’t get the
“Live TV & Catch Up” App on my Sony Bravia Android TV.

maybe it’s because I have YouView running.

But the only thing that says it’s YouView is on the Sony Select featured Apps, coincidentally that is the only way I can get to the BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 & My5 apps too.

Roy · 9 January 2021, 10:11AM

@DJHB1980

I’m lost as to what’s happening with YouView on these Sony TVs. I knew the rules in 2015, on how to turn YouView on and off, but you are the second person to report that controlling YouView via the instruction in that link I gave does not apply.

So we have, possibly, various permutations of model year, from 2015 to now, and/or Android versions, either of which may affect how YouView is controlled.

And in 2015, the BBC iPlayer and Demand 5/My5 were standalone, but the itv Hub and All4 came only with YouView.

So I used to correct people who asserted that the BBC iPlayer and My5 came only with YouView, as above, but maybe this is now true?

But then What HiFi? reported, probably erroneously, that you could have these apps without YouView on 2020 sets.

So what is the real situation?

@Sarah

Can you please provide a run-down on how many ways there are currently to start/stop YouView, based on model year/Android version etc., or whatever controls this, and what they are?

And which Players come only with YouView, and are or aren’t dependent on terrestrial channels being tuned in?

And why do the Player apps that do come with YouView still retain this increasingly irrelevant dependence on the terrestrial channels having been tuned in? Something that simply doesn’t apply to the various Sticks that we suggest people should buy to make their Sony TV do what they thought it should do as standard?

As I seem to be about the only person trying to support YouView on the Sony Community, and I am getting increasingly unable to 😥

Roy · 9 January 2021, 12:55PM

Visionman said:

Roy said:

@Visionman

If you were looking for YouView on your TV, what would you expect the relevant thumbnail to be called, or to bear the logo of?

?YouView of course...

@Visionman

If we can ignore the flies buzzing round us.....

But the button is actually marked ‘Live TV & Catch Up’.

That’s what the problem is.

Visionman · 10 January 2021, 12:22AM

Really @Roy? My Sony Bravia's fine?

Roy · 10 January 2021, 10:19AM

Visionman said:

Really @Roy? My Sony Bravia's fine?

@Visionman

I hope you followed the link I gave, and don’t dispute that this is a genuine Sony link?

Since there you will find Sony themselves explaining that to get YouView, you have to choose an option not called YouView.

As I described above, there seem to be possibly three ways of turning YouView off and on that have been employed on these Sony Android TVs over the years.

So ‘my Sony Bravia’s fine’, while expressing your satisfaction with it, doesn’t tell us what you means by ‘fine’, in terms of what mechanism it uses to turn YouView on and off.

So - what mechanism does it use? Has this changed at all since you first had it? What model year is it? What release of Android is it on?

Only answers to these specific questions can help move the discourse forward - anything else makes ‘my Sony Bravia’s fine’ a subjective statement about you, not an objective statement about your YouView box.

onceuponatime · 11 January 2021, 10:14AM

So we have, possibly, various permutations of model year, from 2015 to now, and/or Android versions, either of which may affect how YouView is controlled.

Two: 2015-2019 and 2020+?

And in 2015, the BBC iPlayer and Demand 5/My5 were standalone, but the itv Hub and All4 came only with YouView.

In 2014 Sony TVs only had iPlayer and My5 so yes ITV and All4 came with YouView.

So I used to correct people who asserted that the BBC iPlayer and My5 came only with YouView, as above, but maybe this is now true?
But then What HiFi? reported, probably erroneously, that you could have these apps without YouView on 2020 sets.

There's no "YouView mode" so there's not the same distinction.

Can you please provide a run-down on how many ways there are currently to start/stop YouView, based on model year/Android version etc., or whatever controls this, and what they are?

There's the old 2015 method you know well and the more Android style for 2020 it's just another app, ignore it see also.

And which Players come only with YouView, and are or aren’t dependent on terrestrial channels being tuned in?

ITV and All4 seem to be present and correct without tuning.

And why do the Player apps that do come with YouView still retain this increasingly irrelevant dependence on the terrestrial channels having been tuned in? Something that simply doesn’t apply to the various Stick that we suggest people should buy to make their Sony TV do what they thought it should do as standard?

Redundant.

Roy · 12 January 2021, 9:33AM

@onceuponatime

Thanks, that makes things a lot clearer.

Still a bit of a mystery with people reporting that they can’t switch YouView on and off the 2015 way any more, and yet not seeming to recognise the situation shown in the link I gave above:-

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00254819

which does say that it only applies from PKG6.4960, released 26/12/2020.

So was there an earlier, interim, 2020 release, or what?

And 2015 sets - are they still using the same switching mechanism as back then, or did they all get the new mechanism in early 2020, presumably through a software update? Or was it only 2020 model year sets that got it?

Or is it somewhere in between, where some earlier sets are stuck with the old mechanism, because of their hardware, or because they can’t take the latest updates?

And just to be crystal clear, you are saying that people can run the itv and All4 Players now, and the BBC and My5 Players still, without either having to select YouView, or to tune in the corresponding terrestrial channels? And this is on both 2020 TVs and on earlier year models that have had a software update?

I presume, by the way, that it remains true that you cannot record when using the YouView app, and nor watch satellite, and that choosing the YouView app deletes any satellite tunings you may have stored?

Or has this changed also, with or without the slightly patchy Sony upgrade to Freesat?

There are still people on the Sony Community tipping up with the ‘old’ YouView problems, even on 2020 sets, and I am giving them the ‘old’ solutions. Which largely still work, as well they might, but there should be simpler fixes available, based on the above.

onceuponatime · 12 January 2021, 2:31PM

And 2015 sets - are they still using the same switching mechanism as back then, or did they all get the new mechanism in early 2020, presumably through a software update? Or was it only 2020 model year sets that got it?

I'm pretty sure the 2015 sets are well past getting any software updates given the usual 2-3 year lifespan for Android. There might be some more recent sets which can get the update which is presumably why they list a particular version.

And just to be crystal clear, you are saying that people can run the itv and All4 Players now, and the BBC and My5 Players still, without either having to select YouView, or to tune in the corresponding terrestrial channels? And this is on both 2020 TVs and on earlier year models that have had a software update?

As far as I could tell from the TV I had. I can't speak for earlier upgraded models and have no idea about anything weird that might happen in the upgrade.

I presume, by the way, that it remains true that you cannot record when using the YouView app, and nor watch satellite, and that choosing the YouView app deletes any satellite tunings you may have stored?

True for recordings and viewing sat. Like I said on the other thread you can just use the Sony TV app to do recordings or see the sat channels. There's no switch process or options so nothing gets deleted that I'm aware of, but I didn't plug it into a dish so can't be 100% or comment on anything FreeSat.

mc2 · 13 January 2021, 4:58PM

Plusnet have announced that from 19/1/2021 they will no longer be selling their Youview TV service. Existing TV customers will see no change, for now at least anyway.

I guess it's another nail in Youview's Coffin

jonesh · 13 January 2021, 6:34PM

mc2 said:

Plusnet have announced that from 19/1/2021 they will no longer be selling their Youview TV service. Existing TV customers will see no change, for now at least anyway.

I guess it's another nail in Youview's Coffin

I didn't come to that conclusion @mc2.

Plusnet is BT's budget brand, and I think that BT want more brand differentiation.

Removing BT TV and BT Sport from Plusnet is a move in that direction.

Roy · 13 January 2021, 7:16PM

jonesh said:

mc2 said:

Plusnet have announced that from 19/1/2021 they will no longer be selling their Youview TV service. Existing TV customers will see no change, for now at least anyway.

I guess it's another nail in Youview's Coffin

I didn't come to that conclusion @mc2.
Plusnet is BT's budget brand, and I think that BT want more brand differentiation.
Removing BT TV and BT Sport from Plusnet is a move in that direction.

But it doesn’t matter why they did it, it’s more the fact that they’ve done it.

New motto - ‘PlusNet, we’ll do you over”.

jonesh · 13 January 2021, 7:28PM

I see.

Do you think that BT would like to see the back of Plusnet @Roy?

I wonder why they allowed Plusnet to have BT TV and BT Sport in the first place.

mc2 · 13 January 2021, 7:32PM

jonesh said:

mc2 said:

Plusnet have announced that from 19/1/2021 they will no longer be selling their Youview TV service. Existing TV customers will see no change, for now at least anyway.

I guess it's another nail in Youview's Coffin

I didn't come to that conclusion @mc2.
Plusnet is BT's budget brand, and I think that BT want more brand differentiation.
Removing BT TV and BT Sport from Plusnet is a move in that direction.

You're right, Plusnet does really seem to emphasising it's supposed budget credentials. They also don't seem in any hurry to offer FTTP (which is now available where I live).

Personally I can't see the sense in getting BTTV as it's mostly just Now TV.

kodikid · 13 January 2021, 8:37PM

Youview really only exists on certain Sony tv's.
It has no retail presence and is apparently a embarrassment to a now tv obsessed BT.

Darren · 13 January 2021, 9:09PM

When I first got BT TV back in mid 2014. I seen it as an alternative to having Sky and Virgin was not in my area at the time.
BT TV just seem to be Now TV with a few extras.

Don't get me wrong I do like having the Sky entertainment channels and Sky Cinema. Even if I only watch moves every few weeks when I'm in the mood.
BT seem to be slowly moving away from offering there Classic Entertainment package.
Virgin came to my area in spring of 2018 and BT/Openreach was meant to rollout FTTP to my area mid last year but that has been delayed and although they say FTTP will now be rolled out to my area this year no confirmed date has been given.

Roy · 15 January 2021, 10:55AM

@onceuponatime

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/problem-with-itv-hub-itv-1-channel-and-7-day-tv-scrollback/m-p/3757350#M50966

Comments? Do you think rayw53 has missed a trick somewhere with YouView on his 2020 TV?

onceuponatime · 15 January 2021, 9:14PM

The old YVServicehost thing probably isn't there, but there must be another YouView or 'Live TV & Catchup' app listed in there somewhere to try clearing out. Or see if there's a browser in the list to try clearing out since that's what the ITV web player will be running in, it might have stored something dodgy related to the location in a cookie or local storage. Otherwise a good old factory reset should do it.

Visionman · 16 January 2021, 7:30PM

Roy said:

Visionman said:

Really @Roy? My Sony Bravia's fine?

@Visionman

I hope you followed the link I gave, and don’t dispute that this is a genuine Sony link?

Since there you will find Sony themselves explaining that to get YouView, you have to choose an option not called YouView.

As I described above, there seem to be possibly three ways of turning YouView off and on that have been employed on these Sony Android TVs over the years.

So ‘my Sony Bravia’s fine’, while expressing your satisfaction with it, doesn’t tell us what you means by ‘fine’, in terms of what mechanism it uses to turn YouView on and off.

So - what mechanism does it use? Has this changed at all since you first had it? What model year is it? What release of Android is it on?

Only answers to these specific questions can help move the discourse forward - anything else makes ‘my Sony Bravia’s fine’ a subjective statement about you, not an objective statement about your YouView box.

My, you sound so formal.

Roy · 17 January 2021, 12:15AM

@Visionman

ITYM ‘rigorous’.

But on a less rigorous tack, I see you are playing the man and not the ball again, with all that that implies 😛

Visionman · 17 January 2021, 5:05AM

My, you still sound so formal, where the truth is your just like me, and everyone else.

Roy · 17 January 2021, 9:39AM

Visionman said:

My, you still sound so formal, where the truth is your just like me, and everyone else.

Nah, I’m fast asleep in my bed at 4am, not up worrying that every other poor **** out there might not exhibit the infinite variety that humankind is capable of, but instead fall into the quotidian drabness of my own existence 😛

Steve Powell · 24 January 2021, 10:48AM

Youview was removed from my 2019 Sony Bravia Android TV in the last few days by an automatic firmware update. Not just as an app you can choose to run, but as the default EPG. I have added back the app which is now confusingly not called Youview anymore (as per the link Roy posted it is now called Live TV & CATCH UP), but it’s now an app you have to select and run, rather than being the main TV interface. There is no provision to set it up as the main interface anymore (that I have found anyway). It’s quite annoying because it’s one of the reasons I chose this TV. Every time you go back to TV it now reverts to the Sony EPG. So not only can nobody find Youview anymore, but it’s too much hassle to use, so might as well not be there. It even has a different channel tuned if you switch between TV and LIVE TV & CATCH UP app. It’s all very perplexing.

First BT, now Sony; whatever is going on?

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