Sony TVS, and YouTube app being terminated on the 20th April

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Sony TVS, and YouTube app being terminated on the 20th April

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#1261171 17-Mar-2015 16:44

Glassboy:
mattwnz: Yeap, it has all the updates, and it was probably the update that pushed the termination message to it. There is a newer youtube app, but sony aren't providing it to older models. Their tv is on the wall, so they don't have space for boxes, and have it connected via the LAN. But 2 years is a pitiful small amount of time. Youtube still works on on old ipod touch, and that is 5 years old, so I would think 5 years would be the minimum support time for something like youtube.

Any properly wall mounted TV has space for a Roku in a bracket. Likewise if it has USB and HDMI ports you have room for many types of streaming devices.

There probably are now devices that will work, but anything would need to be wired to the LAN, as it isn't in a wirelss area. Also the device needs to see the IR remote. So I am sure that there is something now that will fit the purpose. But it is an added cost and complexity (eg having to select HDMI inputs each time), that was previously an advertised feature of the TV.

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#1261175 17-Mar-2015 16:47

heylinb4nz: I gave up on Smart TV apps, for $130 extra on price of your TV the Roku 3 is so much better in terms of speed, reliability and all the other features you get. I run 2 of them !!!.

As i've said before a major TV manufacturer needs to team up with Roku and start shipping them either built in or in the box with TV.

Either that, or run it on andorid, and open source, so you can install anyones app on it. Of the sony tv was an open system, there maybe third party apps that can be installed on it. But TV manufacturers want that point of difference so they can sell their TV. Someone will buy a smart TV over a dumb one, if there is only a few dollar difference between them, as switching between youtube and normal tv is far easier, and all done on the same remote. Apple though will probably be coming out with something that will change this market.

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#1261176 17-Mar-2015 16:47

I have a new Sony Bravia Smart TV - to be honest, my kids are really the only ones that use the smart functionality...I use my Apple TV.

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#1261187 17-Mar-2015 17:01

mattwnz:

There probably are now devices that will work, but anything would need to be wired to the LAN, as it isn't in a wirelss area. Also the device needs to see the IR remote. So I am sure that there is something now that will fit the purpose. But it is an added cost and complexity (eg having to select HDMI inputs each time), that was previously an advertised feature of the TV.

Yes because all software last for ever and nothing is ever deprecated or rendered unworkable by environmental changes.

You can just complain about it or can you help out your parents. Anything like a Roku can replace the smart functions of the TV and you can use the existing wired connection. If your parents can't swap hdmi inputs I'm surprised that they can change functions of the TV.

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#1261205 17-Mar-2015 17:24

Glassboy:
mattwnz:

There probably are now devices that will work, but anything would need to be wired to the LAN, as it isn't in a wirelss area. Also the device needs to see the IR remote. So I am sure that there is something now that will fit the purpose. But it is an added cost and complexity (eg having to select HDMI inputs each time), that was previously an advertised feature of the TV.

Yes because all software last for ever and nothing is ever deprecated or rendered unworkable by environmental changes.

You can just complain about it or can you help out your parents. Anything like a Roku can replace the smart functions of the TV and you can use the existing wired connection. If your parents can't swap hdmi inputs I'm surprised that they can change functions of the TV.

We are talking here about a very short period of time though, not much more than 2 years, for a pretty big smart tv feature. If it was 5 years, then I could understand it. They do have a bit of time still to look at options as it isn't removed until the 20th April.

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#1261208 17-Mar-2015 17:43

mattwnz:

We are talking here about a very short period of time though, not much more than 2 years, for a pretty big smart tv feature. If it was 5 years, then I could understand it. They do have a bit of time still to look at options as it isn't removed until the 20th April.

Two years is a very long time for APIs and Identity protocols.

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#1261211 17-Mar-2015 17:47

Glassboy:
mattwnz:

We are talking here about a very short period of time though, not much more than 2 years, for a pretty big smart tv feature. If it was 5 years, then I could understand it. They do have a bit of time still to look at options as it isn't removed until the 20th April.

Two years is a very long time for APIs and Identity protocols.

Yes, but then you would expect them to provide a new app to replace it with, becuase version 2 was EOL'd nearly a year ago. I mean how old is the apple TV, still pays youtube after all these years, and I don't think it is affected by the API chagem probably becuase it has had software updates. My old ipod touch also still runs youtube and it is close to 5 years old. So the problem isn't the age of the API, but more that sony hasn't updated the software to run the new API.

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#1261213 17-Mar-2015 17:57

mattwnz:
Glassboy:
mattwnz:

We are talking here about a very short period of time though, not much more than 2 years, for a pretty big smart tv feature. If it was 5 years, then I could understand it. They do have a bit of time still to look at options as it isn't removed until the 20th April.

Two years is a very long time for APIs and Identity protocols.

Yes, but then you would expect them to provide a new app to replace it with, becuase version 2 was EOL'd nearly a year ago. I mean how old is the apple TV, still pays youtube after all these years, and I don't think it is affected by the API chagem probably becuase it has had software updates. My old ipod touch also still runs youtube and it is close to 5 years old. So the problem isn't the age of the API, but more that sony hasn't updated the software to run the new API.

Actually I expect the apps on my Sony TV and Bluray to be mostly rubbish and to stop working at some stage when conditions such as Java vulnerabilities force them to be disabled. If you want a robust software platform buy something with a supportable operating system.

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#1261309 17-Mar-2015 21:14

My V20 Panasonic plasma has the same issue with YouTube disappearing.
In my books, it is what it is.
If you purchase a TV for its smart functionality, you're a mug in my books.
But it based on its picture, then sound, then connectivity, then bezel design, then, maybe the smarts...

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#1261314 17-Mar-2015 21:20

Dunnersfella:
If you purchase a TV for its smart functionality, you're a mug in my books.
But it based on its picture, then sound, then connectivity, then bezel design, then, maybe the smarts...

I'd swap sound and connectivity around. easy to add sound if it has HDMI ARC. Hard to add that or more inputs that dont need another remote.

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#1262503 19-Mar-2015 14:56

Yeah I've pretty much given up on proprietary Smart AV operating systems. A compact PC for streaming is in our future.

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#1263477 19-Mar-2015 15:20

I just find the motion so much better on anything built into the tv compared to things fed in thru the HDMI port. Even when matching the refresh rate still get the odd glitch when panning etc. Seems the mpeg decoder and the motion plus work together when its being decoded on the TV. Thats why I use the inbuilt stuff on my TV the most. Particually for movies.

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mattwnz

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#1263486 19-Mar-2015 15:29

richms: I just find the motion so much better on anything built into the tv compared to things fed in thru the HDMI port. Even when matching the refresh rate still get the odd glitch when panning etc. Seems the mpeg decoder and the motion plus work together when its being decoded on the TV. Thats why I use the inbuilt stuff on my TV the most. Particually for movies.

I find that too. Not sure if it is a bandwidth thing with the hdmi interface. But youtube on the sony tv seems to play better than running through a PC going through the HDMI port for some reason.

I do find them not updating the youtube app to the newer version with the newer API, similar to them not updating the digital freeview channels on the tv, if something changes with freeview, and it needed a software update from the manufacturer to allow it to continue to work. You wouldn't expect to have to buy a settop freeviewbox for a tv, if they didn't update the software for it.

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#1263510 19-Mar-2015 16:08

mattwnz:
richms: I just find the motion so much better on anything built into the tv compared to things fed in thru the HDMI port. Even when matching the refresh rate still get the odd glitch when panning etc. Seems the mpeg decoder and the motion plus work together when its being decoded on the TV. Thats why I use the inbuilt stuff on my TV the most. Particually for movies.

I find that too. Not sure if it is a bandwidth thing with the hdmi interface. But youtube on the sony tv seems to play better than running through a PC going through the HDMI port for some reason.
I do find them not updating the youtube app to the newer version with the newer API, similar to them not updating the digital freeview channels on the tv, if something changes with freeview, and it needed a software update from the manufacturer to allow it to continue to work. You wouldn't expect to have to buy a settop freeviewbox for a tv, if they didn't update the software for it.

You're comparing apples with oranges, some what disingenuously. Freeview is the NZ implementation of internationally ratified standards that relate to the core function of the television. The Youtube app is not being updated because Google changed its proprietary data API. My guess is that Sony had built a Java Youtube app over top of a bunch of opensource or custom java libraries. Potentially it's updating the libraries which is the issue not the actual application itself. If you've seen the affected equipment list you'd know that you'd need one hell of a large project and regression test environment to even contemplate attempting doing anything about the problem.

I'm guessing that you oversold the smart tv angle to your parents and now feel responsible for it not working and want to deflect blame onto Sony. You'd be better being straight up with them about the current pace of technology change.

mattwnz

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#1263526 19-Mar-2015 16:23

Glassboy:

I'm guessing that you oversold the smart tv angle to your parents and now feel responsible for it not working and want to deflect blame onto Sony. You'd be better being straight up with them about the current pace of technology change.

I think it is very fair to compare UHF broadcast media , with TV over broadband. They are both digital forms of video.

Not at all, infact isn't it sony who have oversold it, as it was clearly advertised as a feature with no expiry date? Having an inbuilt feature is a far easier option than having to buy another device to achieve the same thing, for a feature that they have already paid for, that should last a reasonable amount of time. 2 years IMO is not a reasonable amount of time for an advertised feature to last, comparing it to other devices that have youtube. If anyone should be educating people, it should be sony, who should be more open with the fact that smart tvs functions maybe removed at anytime. But I suspect if they did any advantage of their smart TVs over non smart TVs would be extinguished.

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