Where are iPlayer and ITV hub apps on new A90J 2021 OLEDs?

[Toadio]

All the common UK catchup tv apps appear to be missing for the tv and they cannot be installed from google play store.. spec clearly states YouView support and specifically iPlayer.. surely i cant be the only one that has noticed these are not there?!

[royabrown2]

@Hummmmmmy 

Those who know when (or even if) this might happen can’t say.

Those who say can’t know.

[fatboyz62]

I'm starting to believe that Sonys take on this is ' we've had your money, no pi$$ off ! '.

They keep saying the update will be here soon but its nearly 2022 and still no solution.

[royabrown2]

@fatboyz62 

Yes. Remember the promised recording on YouView ‘by end 2015’ that never happened, and be very afraid.

I hope all the big stores will be open for returns on New Year’s Day, if Sony don’t come good on this.

[nepunch]

I don't fancy going onto TV, but you can send the case in to one of the BBC consumer programmes? Either:  "https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/Y9Vpnl94w0pwKly0VLBTVm/consumer-advice"  or at "https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2HtP9w1rQQH9CxlbPKGsjqL/consumer-advice"

Don't forget to leave feedback at the Sony site and, if possible, where you bought it from too.

[HannahEd01]

Hi guys, I've contacted Sony about this enquiry and they said no info about the catchup services yet.

[nepunch]

Dear HannahEd01,

Many thanks for trying to help. Tried that and I got Channelbox back for a while, then it went again, came back and went. So I reset TV through the on/off option and got it back again. When it does not work I get a very quick flash of a screen , followed by the whirling wheel and the I am left with a square dot in the middle at the bottom of the screen. I can always access On Demand 365 though? Seems to be some sort of software fault?

[nepunch]

So I posted my review of my BRAVIA XR65A84JU  on teh Sony wesbite. I was very suprised to get a response bcak from Sony. as follows:

"Hi DocN,
Thank you for your review. We're glad to hear that you're enjoying your new Sony TV, and hope you continue to enjoy it for years to come. We're happy to welcome you into the Sony family!
We’re sorry you're disappointed due to the missing apps, this is temporary situation which we are working on to get resolved as soon as possible. Rest assured we're working closely with all third party content partners to get these added to the TV and we expect all the apps to be available on the TV within 2021 through a software update.
To enjoy the content across all the services on your TV just follow these easy steps:
- Connect your TV and mobile device to the same network
- Open up your favourite streaming service
- Just tap or click on the Chromecast icon (it looks like a TV with radio waves in the corner)
- select your TV from the list
It will then start playing on your TV and you can put your mobile device to sleep. You can also still receive calls and send messages without disrupting playback on the TV.
To read about how to Chromecast to our TVs in more detail please check the following link: https://bit.ly/3yKoSQV

Hanan @Sony UK
Show less"

 Can be seen at "https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/televisions/a80j-series/reviews-ratings?dtlinfo=pdp-awards-review...product_details:a80j-series"

[HannahEd01]

Hey nepunch, Sony has a known issue with the 2021 models where the catchup services aren't available, they're still working on it.

[jcameron22]

That’s not actually true Hannah. I have asked Sony that exact question (I.e. is it an issue of software incompatibility or licensing or both). They refused to comment on what the issue is. In fact, one agent dealing with my complaint said mysteriously ‘I assure you, this is totally in the hands of the third 3rd party’ [apps] but when I pressed them further on this, they just kept refusing to comment. I suspect this was just a case of the agent trying to fob me off and get rid of me rather that a slip of any real information’. So no, we cannot say that ‘this is a known issue with the 2021 models as Sony have not made any statement to this effect, or any statement at all for that matter beyond ‘these apps are ‘expected’ in 2021’. And yet, to my knowledge they still continue to sell these TVs in the UK as having these vital UK apps which is outrageous

[CyberWoogy]

@jcameron22  Google hasn't come to an agreement with the app vendors, there's no technical incompatibility involved. And seeing as the TV's are Android based, you're screwed until they resolve their differences but, the buck stops with Sony as it's a Sony product you're purchasing.

Why Sony use Google TV is beyond me. It's riddled with bloatware and sluggish as a result.