topic Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared! in Other TVs

BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

antaylor111 — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 17:59:32 GMT

The BBC iPlayer app has disappeared from both my Sony smart TV (KDL-46HX853) and my Sony Blu-Ray player

(BDP-S790).

Have these apps been removed from Sony devices or is there something wrong with my devices? I have checked through all the menus multiple times and the iPlayer app is definitely not there,

any suggestions appreciated

thanks

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

pauphill3 — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 22:39:20 GMT

The BBC have changed the iPlayer feeds without notice to users

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 23:03:43 GMT

Hi there

For 2012 TVs, the BBC iPlayer upgraded to V4 from the 22 Oct. You will need to perform a "Refresh Internet Content" from the network menu. Try doing the same for the bluray player too.

Cheers

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

antaylor111 — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 00:30:09 GMT

Thanks but I have tried multiple times to do refresh internet content but iplayer app never appears afterwards on either the TV or the blu-ray player...

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

MK_Slinky — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 05:19:17 GMT

@antaylor111

I wondered if this had something to do with it but I cannot see any mention of your model numbers in the lists.

BBC İPlayer to stop working on Home Audio and Video products

Fingers crossed it's something easier to fix.

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

cobaird37 — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 11:12:22 GMT

This happened to me with my BDP-S570 Blu-ray Disc player. BBC no longer support this version of i player:

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/content/cnt-hn/prd-tvhc/bbc-iplayer-announcement

Sorry for bad news

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

antaylor111 — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 17:27:15 GMT

Great, the latest software update for my Sony TV has installed the latest version of iPlayer and it is working fine, a much better version than the previous version.

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Mick_D — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 20:31:35 GMT

@antaylor111 That's great news – and thanks for the follow-up!

Always nice to see our Community celebrate the positive

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Pedro126 — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 14:52:05 GMT

I have a Sony home theatre system I bought in 2012 the BDV - E370. THe machine was purchased for two primary purposes playing blu ray discs and the BBC iPlayer. One does not expect that part of the machine will become obsolete after 2 years.

Now Sony may claim that this is due to factors beyond their control, and that may be true, but this does not absolve them from their obligations under UK consumer law.

So they have to either put in place some mechanism to rectify the situation, this might mean a replacemnt chip or whatever, or they have to compensate their customer for the loss of this functionality, which was major part of the original product offering.

In fact this matter has been raised in UK parliament by MPs on behalf of their constituents who bought these units and corresponding smart TVs which after 2 years don't look so smart.

So the situation, is not one of washing of hands of these obligations but rather is a situation which is being investigated. Therefore to other users in the same situation, please contact your MP, and register your complaint.

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 15:28:22 GMT

Hi There

@Pedro126 wrote:

I have a Sony home theatre system I bought in 2012 the BDV - E370. THe machine was purchased for two primary purposes playing blu ray discs and the BBC iPlayer. One does not expect that part of the machine will become obsolete after 2 years.

Your BDV-E370 was released in 2010 - It matters not when you purchased it. In terms of use, the player is not obsolete, simply the fact that BBC has withdrawn its use of the iPlayer on certain models. This is not unique to Sony either as other manufactuerers/brands are effected to.

Pedro126 wrote

Now Sony may claim that this is due to factors beyond their control, and that may be true, but this does not absolve them from their obligations under UK consumer law.

I think you may need to re-read UK Consumer law. Sony is not responsible or liable for third party entities that with to withdraw their services. Sony's responsibility is in terms of the hardware you purchased as well as the software in with it is needed to run the hardware (ie the operating system).

@Pedro126 wrote:

So they have to either put in place some mechanism to rectify the situation, this might mean a replacemnt chip or whatever, or they have to compensate their customer for the loss of this functionality, which was major part of the original product offering.

Sony's legal liability does not extend to the withdrawal of third party services. At point of Sale, the BBC iPlayer was operational, and hence not mis-sold. Also one cannot expect a company to support a service in-definately (ie Microsoft withdrawing support to legacy OS's and Programs like Windows XP). Under EU law, the maximum for a consumer electronic device is 6 years (depending on what device) - however as stated, Sony is not responsible for the withdrawal of 3rd Party applications.

@Pedro126 wrote:

In fact this matter has been raised in UK parliament by MPs on behalf of their constituents who bought these units and corresponding smart TVs which after 2 years don't look so smart.

Can you please provide a link to this - as I am interested to know. However on reflection (a guess), I would imagine that this would be in conjuction with BBC and expectations that license payers have. Hence probably not directly related to manufacturers like Sony.

@Pedro126 wrote:

So the situation, is not one of washing of hands of these obligations but rather is a situation which is being investigated. Therefore to other users in the same situation, please contact your MP, and register your complaint.

At the end of the day, if you are not happy with the withdrawal of the BBC iPlayer - complaining to the BBC is your first port of call - as you are the license payer.

Cheers

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

MK_Slinky — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 16:21:26 GMT

@Anonymous@Pedro126

Hi guys,

I think the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as ammended) can be quite a complicated read at the best of times and I'm not an expert either way but to help understand these issues Which Magazine have published this article which may help. It may be this document which @Pedro126 is referring too perhaps.

Which Magazine - Manufacturers abandon support for tech products too quickly

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 16:43:07 GMT

Thanks MK_Slinky. The Sales of Goods Act referrs to the retailer you purchased from (under UK Contract Law, your contract is with the retailer/seller). Hence the manufactuerer (ie Sony) is not in the equation of which Pedro126 was referring to

You can envoke the SoGA (same as with the vTuner saga) under the Goods must be (as described, satisfactory quality or fit for purpose), but you must take that up with the seller or retailer you purchased the goods from. However I understand that there are time limits to for "Fit for purpose" (ie 6 months since you purchased the product). In Pedros126's case, the product was fit for purpose much longer than that.

After 6 months, its up to the individual to prove this "fit for purpose" claim. I am not aware of any test cases (as of yet) in regards to withdrawal of a 3rd party service (ie iPlayer)

Link to a summary write up (by which):

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/sale-of-goods-act

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

MK_Slinky — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 16:51:27 GMT

@Anonymous

Hi there, yes you're absolutely right, I don't disagree one bit but I think the purpose of this 'Which' report is to highlight how the laws need to be changed. Quite possible Sony hide behind the existing law safe in the knowledge that it is the retailer who cops the flack when services go down but responsibility should be shared equally. I believe this is what 'Which' want to change.

One might argue that a Seller might choose to stop offerring a certain brand simply becuase it is more troublesome than another manufacturers devices and I could see the logic in that way of thinking. Some manufacturers as we know give better aftersales support than others. A shared responsibility when issues develop would prevent this from happening.

Anyone else reading might want to have their own say on the matter using the link below. Which are gathering this information presumably to present to parliment. I've just added my own piece for what it's worth. Manufacturers abandon support for tech products too quickly

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 16:59:26 GMT

@MK_Slinky

Specifically to the iPlayer on 'older' devices (im going to use the term older, lightly though ) - The BBC changed the fundamental code in the running of the iPlayer, which makes it simply impossible (in terms of the operating system AS well as the actual hardware) to run the new version of iPlayer.

How is it Sony's fault that the BBC has coded a program knowing full well that many devices will not work? You can argue the fact of Fit for purpose (under SoGA) against the retailer, but again, this is not against the manufacturer (ie Sony).

I certainly agree though, that there needs to be more longevity in terms of these applications on devices.

Sony is not hiding in terms of existing laws. The BBC can withdraw its service at any time - and there is not 1 iota Sony could do about it (unless there is a contract between Sony and the BBC that states otherwise)

Anyway, all's good for healthy debate

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 17:13:47 GMT

Just to add to the debate (of consumer and retailers rights and disputes). As of yesterday, the UK now has a Retail Ombudsman:

http://www.theretailombudsman.org.uk/

The Retail Ombudsman provides a free, fair and independent service for dealing with unresolved disputes between retailers and consumers in the UK. The Ombudsman follows the rules laid down by the Ombudsman Association. The Ombudsman is totally independent of retailers and reports directly to the The Retail Ombudsman independent standards board, which has a majority of non-industry members.

The Ombudsman's role is to reach a resolution of unresolved disputes in full and final settlement and, where appropriate, he will make an appropriate award of financial compensation or other action, for example make an apology. Therefore, if you feel that you have been disadvantaged by the actions or inactions of a retailer, you have access to an independent dispute resolution service and can be certain of receiving a fair and reasonable judgment of your complaint.

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

MK_Slinky — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:11:04 GMT

@Quinnicus wrote:

@MK_Slinky

Specifically to the iPlayer on 'older' devices (im going to use the term older, lightly though ) - The BBC changed the fundamental code in the running of the iPlayer, which makes it simply impossible (in terms of the operating system AS well as the actual hardware) to run the new version of iPlayer.

How is it Sony's fault that the BBC has coded a program knowing full well that many devices will not work? You can argue the fact of Fit for purpose (under SoGA) against the retailer, but again, this is not against the manufacturer (ie Sony). No I don't disagree with you on this point, I don't think I was suggesting that however I do agree that there does need to be more longevity in terms of these applications on devices as you have rightly said in your following paragraph.

I certainly agree though, that there needs to be more longevity in terms of these applications on devices.

Sony is not hiding in terms of existing laws. The BBC can withdraw its service at any time - and there is not 1 iota Sony could do about it (unless there is a contract between Sony and the BBC that states otherwise)

I confess to be at cross purposes on this one as explained in my PM yesterday. Rather foolishly I was going off topic in my own mind when writing my comments and was referring to the vTuner fiasco, these issues are very similar. As I said in that PM, Sony are fully aware of UK trading laws and so the issue of an updated Statement is not legally their responsibility, hence my suggestion they might be hiding. As you say here, the BBC or even vTuner for that matter can withdraw a service and there's nothing Sony can do about it. I think we would all agree that service providers need to show more responsibility towards the companies which support their services otherwise manufacturers will just drop them completely. In essence Service Providers and Manufacturers need to collaborate more effectively with one another to prevent such scenarios.

Anyway, all's good for healthy debate

Sorry for the inline comments, I was being lazy!

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Pedro126 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:27:01 GMT

Well BBC did not withdraw its service I have another Sony black box which does still get BBC's iPlayer and that in comparison to the home theatre system was very cheap.

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Anonymous — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:20:29 GMT

@Pedro1265

Please read the following Statements

BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet/posts/New-BBC-iPlayer-for-Connected-TVs-update

Sony:

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/content/cnt-hn/prd-tvhc/bbc-iplayer-announcement

After that, if you feel like reading the following thread (as this has already been discussed):

http://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/bbc-iplayer-on-sony-bravia-discontinued-in-september/m-p/1724261

If after all that, you still feel that you need more information. Please contact the BBC : HERE

Cheers

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Pedro126 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 21:18:39 GMT

Thanks for the links, but I was already quite familiar with the back story re the reasons for the loss of BBC iPlayer on certain smart TVs and home theatre systems, i.e. that it was the BBC that changed their output and requirements.

You can get a Now TV box for £10 that will give you BBC iPlayer etc,.it just makes Sony look silly in a technical sense, even if the problem is down to changes made by the BBC.

Also their inability/unwillingness to come up with a technical response to keep these particular customers happy is woeful (although they did manage to find a solution in conjunction with the BBC for the Bravia TVs that were affected. I don't know the full technical dteails behind that but I would guess that an adverse custmoer reaction figured heaviliy in the decision for making that special effort).

Re: BBC iPlayer app has disappeared!

Pedro126 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 22:35:18 GMT

"Manufacturers abandon support for tech products too quickly" "Make your voice heard

You have every right to a reasonable lifespan for the products you buy, and this should extend to support for the services these products are marketed with in the first place. A newConsumer Rights Bill, currently being debated in Parliament, will strengthen the consumers’ hand bringing law into the 21st century and making your rights clearer on digital content.

In the meantime, we want to hear your stories and experiences so that we can build a groundswell of support to challenge the manufacturers to do the right thing by all their customers."

Please send your stories to Andrew Laughlin at Which magazine, with the forthcoming election now is a good time to change the attitude of manufacturers through lobbying your MPs. on this issue.

http://conversation.which.co.uk/contact-us/