topic X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels in Android TV

X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

haile_ — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 06:54:04 GMT

Hello,

The problem: We have many channels that appear in the EPG (both the stock Sony one and the YouView app) but whenever we try to tune into them, all we get is a silent black screen, with no error messages. These are channels delivered over the Internet and not the aerial.

What we’ve tried:

The TV is already connected to our WiFi and we have no problems streaming YouTube, iPlayer, Netflix, Pluto or anything else
There are older threads by people with similar problems but they’re all a few years old and none of the suggestions apply to our TV as far as I can tell
We’ve checked for a TV software update and it’s up to date

TV details:

KD-55X85L

Model: Bravia 4K VH22

Android TV OS: 10

Android TV OS security patch level: 1 June 2024

Kernel version: 4.19.75

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

royabrown2 — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:30:26 GMT

@haile_

YouView can’t show those channels. Come out of ‘Live & Catchup TV’, and try again.

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

haile_ — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:33:34 GMT

Hi @royabrown2

Thanks for the reply. As stated in the original post, this happens with the stock default Sony EPG too. Unless there's something we're missing?

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

khouston88 — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 20:01:36 GMT

I’m having the same issue too.

I’ve also tried clearing the data/cache and disabling and then enabling the app but still no joy.

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

khouston88 — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 20:31:54 GMT

the issue seems to be the result of an update- I uninstalled the update and it fixed the issue. If you search through the topics. there are some other posts on this.

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

haile_ — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 20:51:39 GMT

Hi @khouston88

This has been an issue for us since the day we bought the TV. I can’t find the thread you’re referring to, can you share please?

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

khouston88 — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 23:20:02 GMT

sorry I’m not sure how to share the link but the above is the screenshot of the thread where others suggested uninstalling updates to fix a similar issue.

Uninstalling the update, fixed the issue for me. I hope this helps.

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

daveyh64 — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 02:41:57 GMT

Click on the link below to the thread mentioned earlier with the solution,

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/bbc-iplayer-on-xr-48a90k-stopped-working-all-on-line-fixes-tried/td-p/3959506

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

haile_ — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:38:35 GMT

@khouston88 @daveyh64 Thank you, but it sounds like I wasn't clear enough describing my problem; the thread you've shared isn't what's happening to me. (I've already reverted any YouView updates and previously done a factory reset but with no effect, as expected - this has been happening since day 1).

There are dozens of channels showing up in the channel list/EPG that require an internet connection, but for whatever reason tuning into these just results in a black, silent screen. This happens in both YouView and the default Sony EPG, so it's clearly an issue with the TV as a whole rather than an individual app. The TV is definitely connected to our wifi - things like YouTube, Netflix etc all work fine.

These threads show the problem I'm having but are each several years old:

Sadly, the suggested fixes in those threads have no effect, or are outdated for my model (using menus that don't exist etc).

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

royabrown2 — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 21:43:41 GMT

@haile_

There are a range of channels in the 251-299 area that YouView won’t show - is that dozens?

Or do you have channels outside that range that also won’t show, and can you quote what numbers they are?

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

haile_ — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 23:40:02 GMT

@royabrown2

So you’re saying channels 251-299 don’t work in YouView - are you also saying those channels SHOULD work with the default Sony TV app (NOT YouView)? Because they don’t for us, and never have done.

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

royabrown2 — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 10:51:37 GMT

@haile_

I honestly don’t know. Somebody from Sony should step in here and set our expectations.

YouView isn't Freeview, so it doesn’t have to meet Freeview specifications. But I would expect that the ‘Freeview’ side of a Sony TV should meet Freeview specifications.

But what are the Freeview specifications? For Freeview Play, the smart TV Freeview specifications, devices no longer have to support MHEG, but do have to support HbbTV.

The internet channels on Freeview, I am told, were once all MHEG, are now nearly all HbbTV, but can still be delivered by either means, or even by both, with the receiving device able to choose if both are offered.

But YouView, I understand, doesn’t do HbbTV (inexplicably), and those few internet channels it can get are the few still offering MHEG, either solely, or as a choice beside HbbTV.

But as to the Freeview side of Sony TVs; do they do HbbTV? If so, do you maybe have to turn it on? :-

https://helpguide.sony.net/tv/iaepm1/v1/en/3_5_5_hbbtv_settings.html

I think we would all like Sony to tell us precisely what the situation is.

Re: X85L: can’t watch Freeview (UK) internet/data channels

TheRealOG — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 17:17:09 GMT

@haile_ Make sure your software is updated from the Help page, then connect the Ariel cable directly to the TV and tune the channels from the settings, if it still not working, I'd say contact the Sony Support and for further help.