I have 2 Sony RDR-HXD870 HDD/DVD recorders, but recently, late August 2022 it seems that Freeview have done another upgrade, on 24 August 2022 - "EarthxTV and Celebration TV launches on Freeview and other channel changes", and about that date my Sony RDR-HXD870 HDD/DVD recorders were initially stuck in the (software) UPDATE, but now I have done a factory reset to free the hardware, but the hardware has become unable to load the digital program guide, as I have now had to revert to the option of installing the channels as though I live in France or anywhere else that isn't the UK, as that is blocking the hardware it seems, as it did in mid 2013, and in 2019. This is due to the susceptible hardware built-into the  recorders, and is only a problem due to it. Sony need to get their experts together and resolve this issue ... once again!

If I choose the UK for digital reception then the channels are found, but once the easy setup is complete, and the installation menus have been closed, then the screen remains black, apart from a few brief seconds of a TV being shown that then freezes and goes back to a black screen. The channels do not load consecutively, as the channels seem to skip, so you might first get BBC2, the CH4, or nothing else, then ITV3, then QUEST, then sometimes the TV screen loads a few non-consecutive channels but no picture.

It must be YET ANOTHER FREEVIEW UPGRADE ISSUE that is blocking/banjaxing the TV channel transmission and the hardware's ability to display it.

This needs to be fixed ASAP by SONY - if the data is leaking or being misinterpreted into the hardware then it is due to faulty hardware being fitted in the first place, and it is a manufacturers problem to fix.