Share your experience!
I thought I'd create a generic thread to cover off the issues being encountered on the 2015 Bravia Android TVs. I've listed my issues below with fixes / workarounds and responses from support. All comments and solutions welcome!
1) Hot Swap HDMI doesn't work - manifested by no input on HDMI channels 2, 3 and 4 on the KD-49X8305C. Workaround - reset the TV, either by holding down the remote power button for 5 seconds or by switching the TV off at the wall and then back on again. Further details on this thread: https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/kd-49x8305c-hdmi-2-3-4-inputs-not-working/td-p/1944435
2) HDD Recording doesn't work - error message states a system update is required but none is available when checking. Hopefully this will be fixed soon by a firmware update.
3) Netflix App doesn't work - this seems like the app has been deliberately disabled. So far a support case has only recommended that a factory reset be performed (took two days to get to that cracking piece of advice.....), with no improvement as a result. A temporary (albeit for advanced users only) workaround is provided by MikeLothian on this thread - https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/netflix-support-for-kd55x8509c-android-tv/td-p/1945360
4) Sound lag and performance issues after the TV (KD-49X8305C) has been on standby for a while - manifested for me as stuttering and sound / picture sync issues in all apps (youtube, amazon instant video etc) and HDMI sources (PS4, seperate YouView box etc). Hopefully this will be fixed in a firmware update, at the moment workarounds involve either changing channels to get the sync to work or in my case having to turn the TV off and then on again at the socket.
As stated previously, all comments welcome. Personally I'm willing to give Sony a couple of weeks to fix this, but if it's not done soon I'll be sending my new TV back for a refund as it's not really fit for purpose.
I do have a ful list about everyone who has complained about the YouView issues, and I will do my best to make sure that everyone gets a response once the official stance on this has been decided / reported
@scoopy6 wrote:The Freeview/Freesat switching/recording 'problem' applies to our 3 year old Panasonic F8000, although that does does not have YouView. The Panasonic can certainly switch between watching the terrestrial and satellite sets of tuners with their EPGs populated but, if both dish and aerial are physically connected, recording cannot work properly. 3 years from the launch no one else has complained to the JL branch and I cannot find any other posts complaing about it, so it must be nit picking on our part
I guess there is not even an EPG for the Sony Androids' satellite TV so any future recording function would need to use individual timers, which might even be less hard to implement for Sony, but perhaps it was not considered worthwhile to facilitate switching between YouView and the EPG either. I think Sony is first with YouView but does anyone know of other TVs which can switch on the fly between FreeSat and Freeview, or schedule recordings for both?
Yes, my 7 year old Bravia TV switches between the two with a button on the remote.
My 2010 Panasonic which I replaced with this TV, had the full Freesat guide, full Freeview guide athe abilty to set reminders in either guide, to manually set recordings to HDD from either guide, the ability to set recordings automatically from the guide for either. AND you could do all this mixed with no feature blocking any of the others. To put it bluntly it worked justr as it should.
As an aside has anyone noticed the subscription email alert for this thread seem to have stopped, I haven't had an alert since 8th Nov. Are they trying to tell me something?
This official Press Release from Sony is interesting.
In the same article it uses these words...
"This exciting YouView and Sony partnership will create a deep integration of YouView’s functionality within the new Sony TV range, built on the Android platform."
Then later on, in a desription of YouView..
"A range of quality content is available via on demand players from Netflix, UKTV Play, NOW TV, Sky Store, Quest OD from Discovery, milkshake!, S4C and STV for viewers in Scotland. YouView has record, pause and rewind TV functionality as well as a fully integrated search feature."
Obviously Sony's Deep Integration as described by Richard Halton from YouView really must have meant 'partially'
@frogger38 - that content is in the footnotes of the press release, under "About YouView" - not part of the Sony/YouView setup.
@Anonymous I understand that it is a footnote about YouView, but the article states that YouView is deeply integrated into the TVs, it is fair assumption that if a description of YouView is printed on the same release, Sony TVs will adopt it as described. They should have stated that Sony's implementation will only contain some of the features of the YouView system. This really is starting to look like a 'VW' style mess.
Anyway, if you look the article was pened it seems by 'Hope&GloryPR' that should have been a warning.
I have seen a reference on the YouView forum, that HDD recording will be coming to Sony's YouView implementation as some future date after the launch of HDD recording. Do you know anything?
I have also formally asked Sony for a statement as to if we might expect HDD REC and Satellite channels to be enabled at the same time as YouView is enabled, whether of not they integrate with YouView. I need to know what to expect from the TV when it is fully 'developed'. I have only an aknowledgement of the request so far.
Can I ask others if they are getting email alerts when someone posts or replies to this forum.... mine have stopped? The setting are all correct, where do I report the problem?
email alerts all fine for me too.
@andipr & @MonkeyWallace OK thanks, I've checked all I can find, weird. I'll just wait & see.