When are ITV Player and 4OD coming to BRAVIA?

[ISMADDER]

Any Date yet For ITV PLAYER and CHANNEL 4 ON DEMAND ?

Message was edited by: Catmambo

Message was edited by: Thalamus.

made thread a sticky

[sony-cat]

Thanks for your post muntahamonty, much appreciated, that really clears this issue up. Would be very grateful if you could post again when 4OD becomes active.

[muntahamonty]

Will do

[bryfly]

Just over 2 years since this thread started, so guess the answer from Sony is NO you are not getting the extra services we all thought we were going to get.........

Thought they might have the honesty to say so wouldn't you?

[muntahamonty]

This is just a little heads up on the current state of catch up TV on Samsung Smart TV's. A 4OD app has now been launched meaning that Samsung is the first Smart TV to have 4OD & a complete set of catchup TV for the main broadcasters (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 & Channel 5)

I take it that Sony are still lagging behind and still don't have an app for ITV Player and 4OD

[muntahamonty]

Hi

This reply may be a little late but as I own a Samsung Smart TV I can confirm that they DO have ITV Player as well as BBC iPlayer, Demand5, YouTube, LoveFilm and Netflix (and loads more). 4OD is also coming to Samsung Smart TVs this year. btw. I mean SAMSUNG NOT SONY so don't get confused. In my opinion Sony need to get these catch up apps otherwise they won't be able to catch up some of the competition that's already overtaken them (like Samsung).

Hope This Helped

Message was edited by: muntahamonty

UPDATE

A 4OD app has now landed on Samsung Smart TV and is available as a free download from Samsung Apps (the app store built in to their TV's.)

Message was edited by: muntahamonty

[mykool]

After all the debate and also looking at other smart TVs I have come to the conclusion there is no such thing as a smart TV, only dumb and expensive ones!

Even when you have the relevant players you cannot see all the programmes. It is clear the programme makers want to control what we can watch, when and where. My conclusion is that a smart TV offers nothing in addition to a standard PC on the internet, and always a lot less. Have you also noticed how slow and laborious it is to get anything via the internet apps on a TV? Consequently I will never buy another smart TV and the money I save will be used to buy (or maybe build) a home theatre PC. With a remote keyboard and mouse, of which there are some clever and compact combination systems available, just for this type of application, it will offer everything that is available on the internet plus proper internet access.  You canalso include a Blu-ray player if you are so inclined to overcome all the stupid zone restrictions on standard players (another saving).

So, in summary, a standard TV with home TPC will probably cost less than, and certainly no more than, a smart TV and Blu-ray player, but will provide an orderof magnitude more functionality.

[Anonymous]

mykool wrote:
After all the debate and also looking at other smart TVs I have come to the conclusion there is no such thing as a smart TV, only dumb and expensive ones!

ROFL! I believe the Marketing departments got their hands on the terminology before the R&D departments. The Smart TV terminology really means an Internet Connected TV.

mykool wrote:
Even when you have the relevant players you cannot see all the programmes. It is clear the programme makers want to control what we can watch, when and where.

And this is where content providers drive people to IP infringements via illegally downloading of material. Content providers want the whole cake and eat it too. This includes manufactureres and their closed eco-systems. (ie. Internet Applications and SEN).

mykool wrote:
So, in summary, a standard TV with home TPC will probably cost less than, and certainly no more than, a smart TV and Blu-ray player, but will provide an orderof magnitude more functionality.

You maybe able to build a home TPC, but many are not able to. As well as the fact that even once built, is not what I would call Mum and Dad friendly.

[mykool]

Quinnicus, not sure what you call mum and dad friendly.  I remember when the first video recorders (VHS and Betamax) came out, most mums and many dads struggled and admitted their six year olds were better at programming them than they were.  But if you are you suggesting a smart TV is mum and dad friendly I would disagree. The interface on my Sony Bravia is terrible; slow, laborious and illogical in its layout.  Anyone who can cope with a Windows PC should not have any trouble with a TPC. After all, it's just a nother PC.  They are available for anything from £400+ up ready built.   The problem I find is that the marketing is not mum and dad friendly as they are usually sold by small techie companies with lots of upgrades that require a PhD in computing to understand.  The big TV manufacturers have better marketing which is why they can sell us something that does not really do what is written on the tin, at least not in a way that they would have us believe.

[minnietheminx21]

I use computers, smartphones and loads of other stuff but my Sony Bravia Smart TV is slow and difficult to negotiate. I am thoroughly sick of it not meeting up to the Hype

[Luc717]

Would like to mention that having come across this, I too am most disappointed to see Sony haven't kept pace with the innovation of their rivals.

My family have been life long Sony fans; considering it to be a brand of excellent quality in terms of design, build quality and features. We've had Sony TVs, cameras, laptops, the lot. Unfortunately the feature set of their products appears to be falling off. Whilst (as with most Sony fans I'm sure) I am willing to prioritise form over function to a certain extent, having the On Demand services of the major broadcasters is an absolute must and now a basic necessity of mid to premium level TVs.

We are looking at buying one 40-46" TV for our living room and one 26-32" TV for a bedroom at some point in the next 6 months. I definitely want Smart TVs, not just for On Demand but also for DLNA streaming from our computers/other devices. The lack of On Demand for all providers is the deal breaker, but I've also found DLNA streaming on my 18 month old 32" Bravia (KDL-32CX523) very poor. It will only play certain AVIs for some reason, even though Sony claim it fully supports these files. As there is no way to tell which ones it will play and which it won't, this is highly frustrating. Perhaps Sony have cleaned up the DLNA streaming on future releases and I accept this is more of a budget TV (bought for University) but it is still a feature that it claimed to support but let me down.

As it stands, Sony are set to miss out on my £1,000 - £2,000 to Samsung, who as a bonus appear to have improved their design somewhat. I still much prefer the form of Sony TVs but not happy investing in something that doesn't perform what is now considered a basic function. Looking around these discussion boards, I am definitely not alone and we represent some of the most loyal customers to Sony, so this is clearly a viewpoint that will be shared amongst less brand loyal customers.

I therefore hope someone at Sony is able to see this and can act to avoid Sony losing further foothold in the market. I have seen Sony completely turn around their mobile/smartphone market over the past year and hope they can apply that same focus to their television market. It is clear that more resources need to be invested both in innovation and in ironing out the kinks with content providers. Samsung have clearly achieved this and have recognised that innovation and content are the key deliverables in the market as televisions become home content hubs. If Sony doesn't keep pace here it will lose out even more than it already is which will only reduce revenues further. I work with technology and media companies every day and whilst I can definitely relate to the squabbles with content providers, I simply cannot accept this supposed impasse. It is always a case of money, either to invest in your own team to adapt your solution to fit the other company, or to sweeten the deal for the other company and smooth out any kinks on their end. In this case, I really can't see that amount of money being less than the amount Sony will lose from not keeping up with the competition, which will damage the brand for years.

Lastly, I would like to say Catmambo, who has been very honest in this discussion considering the limitations imposed on corporate negotiations and has done probably everything a customer service advisor could do to reassure customers without going out and redesigning the products him/herself!