You view box

[mezzerb]

My elderly Mum has just had a message saying her elderly You View box will not be supported at the end of February. Does this mean she won't be able to record anything? She also has an old non smart TV,  so she probably won't be able to watch Freeview channels either. Not sure why it would suddenly stop working. 

Any recommendations for something to record on and watch freeviw would be gratefully received.

[vitaminj · Accepted solution]

This is the YouView help article for the end of support of T1000 boxes, which answers your questions:

https://support.youview.com/end-of-support-for-humax-t1000/

If she doesn't use the internet features of the box, then she may not notice much of a difference (except a lack of thumbnail images on her list of recordings)

Although if she pays for an EE/BT TV subscription (if she ever did?) then they can likely offer her a newer box, as this one is nearly 12 years old.

[mezzerb]

Thank you, I'll have a read. I didn't realise it was that old!

[gomezz]

Surprised it is still working as they were a bit fragile and prone to failure.

[chrisjp]

"She also has an old non smart TV, so she probably won't be able to watch Freeview channels either."
If she gets her TV from an aerial then she'll get all the Freeview channels if she's served by a main transmitter. Some of the repeater transmitters do transmit only a more limited range of channels.
Either way, as long as her TV is digital it doesn't need to be "smart" to pick up Freeview.
As for the Freeview box I suspect that the withdrawal of support from February is just about withdrawal of periodic software updates and the box will carry on working just as before.

[mezzerb]

Thank you, it might mot be as disastrous as I thought!

[mezzerb]

I know it's amazing! Her TV is an ancient Sony which just won't stop working so she can get a new one!

[Midnight_Voice]

@chrisjp 

Read the link that @vitaminj posted.

The T1000s are going to lose all their internet connectivity, so no apps, no search, no images on the thumbnails, no backwards EPG, no metadata on the forwards EPG, etc., so they will be just like a YouView box with its Ethernet cable disconnected.

In that state, a box can still record broadcast programmes, and play back recordings, still has the forward EPG with the broadcast data, and I guess you can still set series recordings, and see the schedule; but effectively, it turns into a pre-internet recorder, like my beloved old DigiStream.

I’m going to wonder out loud why the apps should stop working though; I guess they all phone home to YouView before they will play, and nobody is going to be answering 😢

Apropos of ‘Freeview Lite’ areas, nothing will change; YouView boxes and TVs in these areas normally only get the restricted range of channels now, and this will continue to be the case.

[mezzerb]

It's the Internet connectivity that is confusing me. Is the connection to the box going to be removed by BT/EE?

[Midnight_Voice]

@mezzerb 

I suppose I should clarify. The box will still have its internet connectivity, in principle. But the boxes, even the BT ones, need to talk to the YouView servers, which are going to stop answering T1000s.

So even if some of the content is served by BT, these boxes will no longer have access to it.

I’m not clear if BT content is served directly by BT to the user, or served via YouView, but the YouView servers are involved in the process, so if they stop serving these boxes, nothing can get through.

As per my comment above about the apps; you’d think it would be up to the BBC if the iPlayer app on T1000s continued to work or not, but it clearly isn’t, it’s up to YouView.

I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable that if YouView went phut, all YouView boxes everywhere would stop working (or at least stop working like they did), and this is indicative of that.

But it’s not unknown elsewhere; Now decreed that their original white boxes would not longer be supported, and sent out a final update that made them commit suicide. At least YouView haven’t done that.

But this change shouldn’t impact EE TV users; in the unlikely event that anyone subscribed to EE TV is still using a T1000, a brand new Pro box should be theirs for the taking. Or at least a T4000.