Can't stream side-loaded British TV apps while recording Freeview on USB HDD - KD-49XG9005

[DBworcs]

Hi all

I've disabled YouView on my KD-49XG9005 tv to be able to record from Freeview on a USB HDD. That works fine but I can't stream British TV apps while its recording - does anyone else have that problem? (Netflix, Amazon and YouTube work fine though.)

I've side-loaded all the apps to avoid the YouView issues with the native All4 and ITVhub apps but they all say 'Feature not available during recording" (except Netflix etc).

Anybody got a solution or workaround?

Thanks for your help...

Dom

[Tonycv51]

I don't use the recorder but to test if it's a youview "feature" you could try accessing my5 whilst recording.  It would need to be the proper play store My5 and not the Hoshsadiq one

[DBworcs]

Interesting, I can! So are the Hoshsadiq apps linked to YouView still? I'll try installing BBC iPlayer from the Play store and see if I can watch that while recording too.

[DBworcs]

Ah. Looks like BBC iPlayer, ITVhub and All4 aren't on Android TV Play store. So looks like you have to use the Sony native apps which explains the recording conflict.

[royabrown2]

@DBworcs 

There is something odd going on here.

As I understand it, prior to the 2020 H sets the BBC iPlayer and My 5/Demand 5 were available on the Google TV Play Store, while the ITV Hub and All4 weren’t.

And you could straightforwardly run the BBC iPlayer and My 5 on the Freeview side of these Android sets; which would make me expect that the BBC iPlayer would be available on the Google TV Play Store.

Again as I understand it, the Google TV Play Store is a bit smoke and mirrors, in that it sniffs what model of TV is accessing it and only offers apps it regards as compatible with that model; so what you see on the Store is different from what an H set owner sees.

Unlike, say, the Amazon App Store which offers you everything it has, but tells you if the app you are looking at is compatible with your device or not.

So can you please double-check the BBC iPlayer isn’t available to you from the Google TV Play store, before I build my tottering edifice of speculation and supposition from these observations?

One more stone to toss into the pond is this:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/questions/supported-devices/sony

where your XG-90 is shown under 2019 as certified, without qualification; but all the 2020 sets have (YouView) qualifying the model number. Which might or might not suggest that the dead hand of YouView has been laid on the Sony version of the BBC iPlayer for their 2020 sets, perhaps restricting it is some way.

We do very much need to hear from an H set owner as to what they see in the Store, and to whether some or all of these four Players have the restriction that those on the Freeview side of these sets and using one of them can’t record something else at the same time, though they can perfectly well do this if it is Netflix they are using, rather than one of these four Players.

Or a Sony moderator might be able to answer this. @Anonymous ?

[Tonycv51]

Iplayer is pre installed in Sony select and not available to Sony Android TVs in the play store.  Usage of iplayer is not tied to Youview like itv and all4

The pre installed versions can't be added to app favourites etc.  It also appears that they have a youview restriction on access whilst a recording is in progress (edit even on the sideloaded version). 

There are other pre installed apps not available on the play store to most sets eg rakuten is in sony select but not available on the play store (for my XF) 

[DBworcs]

Thanks Tony - slowly getting my head around all the various bugs on this TV.  None deal-breakers just yet for such a terrific picture. If only Sony could sort the ARC issue on soundbars (often doesn't turn on with the TV) I'd be happy!

[Tonycv51]

I don't use recording but might be worth asking on Hoshsadiq github if anything can be done to remove the restriction.   If I understand it correctly these are all progressive webapps so the app is really just a shortcut to a url.  There must still be a youview check-in of sorts before the url is launched 

[DBworcs]

Thanks royabrown2. Definitely no BBC iPlayer app on Google Play store. Only British terrestrial TV app is my5.

[DBworcs]

Looks like someone's logged the same issue on GitHub: https://github.com/hoshsadiq/bravia-youview-player-launchers/issues/12

Interesting explanation from Hoshsadiq that the side-loaded apps still use the YouView framework to launch, which explains the issue. Shame the issue raiser didn't provide log files for Hoshsadiq to resolve the issue before closing. I'm not sure I'd know how to do that.