Smart TVs: Apps/Function Issues

on 31st January SBS on demand is no longer available on my 5 year old TV. Between SBS and Sony they no longer support “old” TV’s. Great for sustainability when a product is obsolete at 5! I know I can get round this by buying another device of course.

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Are you sure it isn’t to do with their recent demand that you have to sign in now? My similar aged Samsung TV wont run it anymore either, but it stopped working late last year sometime. I just run SBS OnDemand on my laptop with a HDMI cable to the TV, so we can watch on the big screen. The computer processor handles our crappy internet connection a bit better than the TV anyway, and it is a bit easier to get back to where you were when it drops out than on the TV.

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thanks Gordon…SBS confirmed via email that they won’t support Sony TV’s 2012 and older. I like the idea re laptop though…thanks.

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Could anyone please explain: What has the age of the TV got to do with it? If the TV was at one stage able to receive the signal & display it, what is the problem?

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Software :expressionless:

Some of it is related to network security, some to managing us (eg forcing us to watch commercials and how that is controlled), some to evolving standards for audio/video delivery where content providers will abandon a relatively older standard for a newer one, and probably some others.

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this link has some explanation
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/faqs

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I’ve just tried it again and it appears that after a couple of months of not working, SBS OnDemand is once again a goer on my ~5yo Samsung TV. However, due to the crappy interface and crap NBN satellite internet, I’ll still generally use the HDMI cable and run it from my laptop.

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I recall reading somewhere that the apps in smart TVs are produced by the TV station and not by the TV manufacturer.

It must be SBS deciding not to support older TVs through only programming their app…thus they have made a decision to only support newer smart TV software/operating systems.

This is what SBS says 'SBS On Demand is continuously evolving its service and using new technology to create a seamless and enjoyable user experience across all platforms. Due to changing technological capabilities, SBS On Demand will no longer be available on the BRAVIA Internet Video platform which was one of the very earliest platforms to launch back in 2010. More recent Sony TVs and Blu-ray players use a different platform which is not affected by these changes."

Disappointing as apps are reasonably cheap to develop and TVs should last far more than 5-7 years.

If you have a smart TV with screen mirroring function, and a tablet/smart phone with the same functions, one can broadcast from the tablet/smart phone directly to the TV without the hassle of connecting and disconnecting cables.

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Thanks for the explanation Phil. :slight_smile:

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Re cabling your laptop to the TV, why not get a Chromecast and cast from the laptop via your WIFI network… I have a Samsung which withdrew its support for Netflix, so it appears that it is not just Sony that withdraws support when it wants you to purchase a new TV. It will cost a little more, but a Telstra TV box will do away with the need to use the laptop.

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It might be worth me mentioning here that there are two approaches to delivering SBS OnDemand (or any other network’s catch up service) directly on a TV.

The early method was via a dedicated SBS OnDemand app, that was either pre-installed on the TV, or which could be downloaded from the TV manufacturer’s app repository. Some changes implemented by SBS to the OnDemand service would necessitate changes to the TV app, and you would be required to update the app to continue, unless the TV manufacturer made the decision to cease support for the app.

The alternative method is to provide access to catch up TV services, including SBS OnDemand, via Freeview Plus on a HBBTV-enabled (Hybrid BroadBand TV-enabled) TV. The Freeview Plus service is run off the Freeview servers rather than relying on a dedicated app on your TV for each individual network’s catch up services.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that the Australian Consumer Law may be of some help. If you purchased a TV based on its ability to allow you to watch catch up TV, and the functionality no longer works, you may be entitled to a (partial) refund. If this is the case, you should approach the retailer in the first instance.

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Using the laptop is fine, and not costing me any money, to view it on the TV all I do is select HDMI with the TV remote, and unplug my 2nd screen on the laptop and it’s ready to go, as I leave the cable plugged in. Navigation around the SBS OnDemand is much easier on the laptop than the TV.

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Our Humax 4Tune has Freeview and it is unreliable as often as not, regardless of service. It will lock up or just crash out of the freeview app if you try to position the broadcast toward the end, to view just the ending you missed. Hit or miss. But watching the same catch up via a PC works a charm.

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thank you to all of you for helpful workarounds.

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This seems to have happened to me over the weekend. I have an older Sony Smart TV, which is obviously not quite as smart any more. SBS on demand was working Friday and no go from Saturday. ABC Iview works fine. Frustrating, as I mostly watch catch up TV, particularly SBS…so many good, free shows available.
I’ve been in contact with SBS, but will probably have to try a work around. It was just so much easier when it was easy to select on the TV. My Samsung notepad refuses to do the mirror thing, my phone does, but usually has a dummy spit half way through…

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Try using the browser on the TV to watch iView if the the app won’t work

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@grahroll…I did try that, but that didn’t work either. That triggered a “not enough memory” page. I fear my smart TV is not as smart as it once was…technology may be demanding too much of it :weary:

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My “old” Sony television checks in with headquarters regularly for software updates - daily, but maybe that is configurable. I think the last software update is now well over 5 years ago. At the time I bought it, I went in for the camera/etc to do Skype - none of which works anymore. It’s been said many times now, either upgrade every couple of years or go for a big monitor and cheap/smart box. I did ask Sony at one point, but got the standard pitch - which amounted to planned obsolescence …

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Yes, modern technology was often spruked with false claims of future ready, or best you can buy! Reality is it is a liability. Our dumb flat screen from a decade past handles 720p and has lived off a set top box (Fetch) for many years. Much simply than broadcasting, and more reliable too!

The most infuriating concern is not the built in obsolescence or financial penalty. It is the waste of resources created by the churn of the technology. Recycling of tech does not excuse the outcome. It is only a partial offset.

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It is business. If not for planned obsolescence and emotive advertising the market would get saturated by products that make sense (purpose, quantity quality, sustainability, and so on), and replacement product sales required only for non-repairable failures would reduce to a relative trickle. It is just one aspect of the Story of Stuff and the modern world economies. The argument is ‘What would the ‘factories’ do and where would the jobs be if not for obsolescence?’

Sometimes there is a disconnect such as when analogue went to digital and CRTs to flat panels, and sometimes the obsolescence often has economic and technological roots, such as in this case about the cost of memory and the performance of the current processors. At some point they are over taxed and without replacing the entire electronics package the parts cannot be upgraded, not counting the sell-sell-sell of 3D (!), UHD, OLED / QLED and so on that clever marketeers turn into ‘must haves’ to perpetuate the churn.

All the manufacturers can do sometimes is cut the umbilical cord to older products, but too many other times they cut the cord as a marketing decision to coerce customers to buy new.

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