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TalkTalk TV will go multiscreen next year with new streaming app
Sky, Virgin Media and BT all offer their customers ways to watch TV beyond the living room. TalkTalk has an app for its rental and purchase store -- formerly Blinkbox, you might recall -- but otherwise it's fallen behind the pack somewhat. The company is changing that sometime in the first few months of next year, though, when it'll launch new apps that take TalkTalk TV truly multiscreen for the first time.
Amazon opens Alexa voice control to all video streaming services
Alexa is about to be even more useful when it comes to your entertainment needs. Simple voice commands already let you navigate apps like Netflix, but tools to incorporate those types of commands are now available to any TV company, streaming service and other content providers.
YouView's big UI update starts hitting retail set-top boxes
YouView announced a fairly comprehensive update to its set-top box UI last November, but it was actually TalkTalk customers that got almost immediate access to the new look. Today, it's the turn of contract-free retail YouView boxes, starting with the Humax T2000 -- the T1000 and T1010 models will receive it in due course. Several headline improvements have taken place behind the scenes. For one, YouView has completely rebuilt the platform in HTML5 for better responsiveness and faster navigation.
YouView's major update centres on a faster, more visual UI
BT said earlier this month it would be rolling out a major update to its TV service next year, but it can only do that by following YouView's lead. Today, YouView announced the finer details of the impending platform upgrade, which is coming to all set-top boxes, including TalkTalk's and, of course, BT's. Moving in the same direction as all TV UIs, YouView's has been redesigned to be more visually compelling. Less words and menus, more cards and thumbnails. The EPG remains relatively unchanged, though it's now translucent by default, with whatever's currently playing shown behind it.
BT to roll out next-gen YouView TV update and app next year
With Sky Q growing in popularity and Virgin Media soon to unveil its new 4K set-top box, BT knows it needs to keep innovating its own TV offering or be left behind. That's why it's today announced a fresh round of updates for its YouView-powered platform and confirmed plans for a new mobile app, all of which will be available next year.
BT's Ultra HD box can now stream Netflix in 4K
BT beat its UK TV rivals to the punch earlier this year, launching an Ultra HD channel and a 4K set-top box to watch it on. After turkey, all the trimmings and one too many sherbets, though, it's unlikely whatever sports-related programming BT's showing will entertain every member of the extended family, even if it is in jaw-dropping definition. Well not to worry, because just in time for Christmas, you can now watch Netflix's 4K catalogue on BT's Ultra HD box.
YouView lands on Sony's Bravia TVs next month, no set-top box needed
After announcing a tie-up earlier this year, we now know that November 4th will mark the launch of YouView on Sony's 2015 range of Bravia TVs. Arriving a little later than originally planned, the update for Sony's Android-based TVs will add YouView's time-travelling EPG and various other content discovery features. It will be the first time YouView has ever been available without a dedicated set-top box, which is actually a pretty big deal in the advent of Freeview Play. One of the unique features of YouView is being able to scroll back through the past seven days of programming and jump seamlessly into catch-up services when you come across a broadcast you'd rather not have missed. Well, it was unique until Freeview launched Play, a new service that affords exactly the same functionality.
The first Freeview Play set-top box is now on sale
Freeview Play, the new service that marries live and catch-up TV in the same programming guide, launched earlier this month. Not that many people have been able to give it a whirl, since it's only been accessible on Panasonic's 2015 range of Viera TVs via a software update. You'll see plenty of new goggleboxes supporting Freeview Play as standard in the near future, but today Humax has released the first set-top box that adds Play functionality to whatever currently takes pride of place in your living room. The WiFi-enabled Humax FVP-4000T boasts a compact design and "leather-look top," available in "mocha" or "cappuccino" colour schemes and two storage configurations. The 500GB version, which should afford enough space for around 300 hours of recorded TV, is priced at £200, while the 1TB model is only a little more expensive at £230. You'll find them on sale now through Humax's online store, as well as at retailers including Argos, Tesco, Maplin, Currys/PC World and John Lewis.
Plusnet's jumping on the YouView bandwagon with its own TV service
In recent times, many of the UK's biggest broadband and TV providers have sought to head off competition by expanding into new markets. Virgin Media, TalkTalk and Sky are betting on mobile, while others are rushing to augment their offerings by diving into TV. Plusnet, which has made a name for itself as a reliable low-cost ISP, is one of these companies. After first trialling a YouView-powered set-top box with employees, then opening a small customer trial, the provider says it will begin offering a new TV bundle to all of its Unlimited Fibre customers.
Sky's digital movie and DVD combo store is now open to everyone
If you want to buy the latest movies digitally, where do you go? There are countless storefronts to consider, including iTunes, Google Play and Blinkbox Movies. But Sky has a simple reason to choose its 'Buy & Keep' service over the others: purchase a movie from us, and we'll throw in the DVD too. Before the offer was only available to Sky TV customers, but now anyone can use Buy & Keep through Sky Store. You can order movies through skystore.com or the Sky Store apps, before watching them on a mobile device, or Roku, YouView, Now TV or Sky+ HD box. Four devices can be registered to a single account and two devices can stream the same movie simultaneously -- useful if you watch a lot of movies on the go. A new "follow me" feature means you can also pause a film on your smartphone or tablet and pick up where you left off on your big-screen TV.
Freeview's new on-demand service will be called Freeview Play
It's been eight months since we first become aware that Freeview is looking to take on YouView with a new on-demand service, but since then we haven't heard much about it. Thankfully, the company has decided now is the right time to share a little more information, which includes what the connected service will be called. Freeview Play will offer consumers the choice of live television and on-demand TV when it launches later this year. Like Freeview, Play will be subscription free and will be integrated in connected TVs and set-top boxes, although we don't yet know what it will look like. We do know, however, that with support from Freeview shareholders Arqiva, BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Sky, you can expect iPlayer, ITV Player and the new All 4 brand to be available on the service when it launches, finally letting you catch up on all the stuff you missed.
Sony's latest Bravia TVs will come with YouView built in
When Sony announced its new Bravia TVs at CES, it wasn't just the razor-thin form factor that had attendees leaping for joy. At last, Sony had thrown out its own software efforts in favour of Android TV, Google's burgeoning TV platform. Now, we've found out that Brits are going to get something just a little bit different. Starting this summer, Sony's 2015 Bravia TVs will run two different platforms in the UK: Android TV and YouView. Exactly how these offerings will co-exist isn't clear, but the advantages are obvious; with YouView, Sony now has a proven platform that lets Brits watch both live TV and catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer and 4oD. Everything is accessible from a single guide, so for newcomers it's easy to scroll back and watch shows without launching separate apps. However, we're keen to see Sony's implementation. If you're forced to bounce between YouView and Android TV to access different apps, it could be an awfully confusing and irritating experience.
Netflix begins rolling out on TalkTalk YouView boxes
You can access Netflix on pretty much anything these days, but until now TalkTalk's YouView boxes have been a notable exception. Thankfully, that particular omission has now been rectified, after the quad-play provider confirmed it'll be making the service available to its TV customers throughout the month. Netflix is already live on BT and retail YouView boxes and, last November, we were told the heavyweight streaming platform would make its way to TalkTalk's hardware "early in the new year." True to its word, the company is promising that all 1.2 million TalkTalk TV households will have access before January 30th -- just in time to binge-watch House of Cards before season three drops in February.
BT scores more football with Sky Sports 1 and 2 on YouView
While BT is focused on extending its own sports coverage, the company is well aware that Sky Sports plays a major role in coaxing consumers to choose its competitor's TV packages. After striking a blow against its rival in the courts last month, BT is hoping to level the playing field by introducing Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 channels on its YouView boxes. Combined with BT Sport, the new package means that BT TV subscribers (with YouView hardware) can now watch all of the 154 Premier League matches broadcast live in the UK each season. The change also means that BT can finally retire its Vision+ boxes, which already support Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, and switch completely to YouView hardware. The two channels will be offered to BT customers for £22 per month, or individually for £16.50 per month, and BT says Vision+ users can upgrade to a YouView+ box for £35 at the end of their contract. Of course, this isn't everything Sky has to offer sports fans, but these two new channels could be enough to persuade football addicts contemplating a switch.
Netflix comes to BT and retail YouView boxes, TalkTalk early next year
BT said last week its TV customers would soon be able to access Netflix on their YouView set-top boxes. The news confirmed an earlier rumour that also named TalkTalk, which uses YouView hardware for its TV offering, as a potential Netflix partner. We suspected it was only a matter of time before TalkTalk made its own announcement, and today, YouView's done it instead. Netflix will indeed be available through TalkTalk's YouView boxes, though they're not due to receive it until early next year (interested customers can put themselves at the front of the queue by preregistering here). BT users will start seeing the new streaming option from today, and YouView owners who have purchased a Humax-made box outside of a TalkTalk or BT package are feeling the love today, too. YouView's also putting on an event later, suggesting this morning's Netflix news gives us just a small taste of what the company has planned. Update: Looks like the event later is just a celebration of the Netflix news.
Netflix is coming to BT TV YouView boxes
BT today announced its second quarter financial results, but it's not the facts and figures we're interested in, as thrilling as they may be. All but hidden among tables and text is the news that BT's hooked up with Netflix, and pretty soon, the video streaming service will be available on the YouView set-top boxes of BT TV customers. When exactly, we're not sure, though BT told us it'll have additional info to share "in the coming weeks." What's more, to minimize fuss, you'll be able to tag a Netflix subscription onto your normal BT bill. Rumor had it that TalkTalk, which also uses YouView boxes, was in discussions with Netflix, too, so we'd be extremely surprised if TalkTalk didn't make an identical announcement soon. Whether YouView boxes purchased from the company itself will get access to the streaming service is another matter entirely, as direct-to-provider billing might have been key to sealing the deal.
YouView boxes finally granted the BBC's new iPlayer and red button features
The BBC's extensively redesigned iPlayer has been gradually lumbering its way onto different compatible devices since it was first launched earlier this year. YouView's hybrid Freeview/IPTV set-top boxes have, until now, been sorely neglected, which is somewhat strange given the BBC is one of YouView's principal investors. Well, better late than never, the new iPlayer has finally started rolling out to YouView set-top boxes, alongside the addition of the BBC's Connected Red Button features. If you're in possession of a YouView- or BT-issued box made by Humax (Huawei's also built a few), then these goodies will show up shortly, if not today. TalkTalk customers, however, are still playing the waiting game, though they can expect to receive the updates "in due course."
Court ruling could force YouView to change its name
YouView could soon be forced into a rebrand after it suffered another loss in the courts. After almost two years of legal battles, telecoms company Total successfully argued that YouView had infringed on its "Your View" trademark. Judges agreed that the brand would was "confusingly similar" to Your View, allowing Total to push ahead not only for damages but also seek an injunction on "any further use of the name." YouView maintains that there's "no confusion" between its consumer TV service and Total's business-to-business mobile top-up platform, but today marks the third (and most likely final) time it has come off second best in the courts. Last year, Livescribe was on the wrong end of a UK trademark dispute and was forced to rebrand its Sky Wi-Fi pen having lost to BSkyB. If YouView suffers the same fate, its backers, which include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, BT and TalkTalk, will have the fun job of figuring out what to call their TV offering moving forward.
Freeview planning to kill YouView with a new connected TV service
All's fair in love and war, especially if you're a major UK broadcaster. Once big investors in YouView, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have agreed plans to wound the service they helped create by doubling-down on Freeview. The three companies (joined by Sky and Arqiva) are attempting to secure the free-to-air service's future by developing a new branded connected TV platform that will bring on-demand (or catch-up) content to Freeview for the first time. The five-year deal will see TV channels and on-demand apps like iPlayer, ITV Player and 4oD come as standard on smart TVs with internet connections. It deliberately goes against BT and TalkTalk, which have been accused of taking YouView's free-to-air principles and turning it into a paid (and quite pricey, if you include the cost of the box) service. Given that Freeview is already widely supported, the Beeb et al. may find it easy to convince TV manufacturers to adopt a new connected variant. If they do, expect on-demand services to come embedded as standard in the near future.
You can now add another YouView box to your BT TV subscription
You used to need special hardware to replicate the set-top box experience in another room. Now, complicated setups and IR repeaters are almost unnecessary when you can just add another box to your TV subscription. This has been available to Sky and Virgin Media customers for some time, and today BT is catching up by launching the imaginatively named "Extra Box" subscription. Assuming you're already signed up with BT TV, a £99 one-off payment and £5 per month will buy you another YouView+ box for a different room.