YouView - July software update and more channels

Does your YouView box not work with the already broadcasting Arqiva Connect TV IPTV channels then?

These are (mostly) free IPTV channels broadcasting already from channel 225 and upwards, some of them have been broadcasting a while.

Channel 225 – Vision TV – has multiple foreign channels from France, Poland and Greece (although most of them are pay)
Channel 226 – CCTV – has CCTV News, CCTV4 and CCTV9
Channel 227 – Sports – single channel, mostly the Sports Tonight programme
Channel 228 – Christian – contains Revelation TV and Sonlife UK
Channel 230 – Vision 2 (my connected TV doesn’t work on this channel)
Channel 231 – Racing UK – same channel as Sky
Channel 232 – The Space – arts service broadcast on BBC HD multiplex
Channel 235 – GOD TV – same as Sky

James, another bit I forgot to say (which you might know anyway), is that Comedy Central on BT Vision belongs to what they call the ‘extra channels’ package, which is 18 basic tier subscription TV channels. These channels have been available to BT Vision subscribers on the non YouView boxes since the start of the year and are available on channels 855 and upwards.

Due to YouView’s slow progress at accommodating IPTV channels, TalkTalk TV have come up with their own work around by including their entire TV subscription suite in the TalkTalk YouView player.

The YouView boxes don’t get those services, no (they display them, but on tuning in, you’re told that the box is not compatible). Nor did my old Philips Freeview+HD box. My Samsung connected TV gets a few of these. (I really ought to write a review of it soon).

I believe the YouView boxes don’t get the “Arqiva Connect TV” services because this was developed by a different group at a different time. (I think there might also be some protectionism built-in to the box by their shareholders as well, to be honest). YouView boxes are not Freeview boxes, and don’t follow all the standards (I’m guessing the EPG used is rather different), and they carry no Freeview branding. I can’t say I’m missing those channels, to be honest.

It looks like those 18 basic channels, of which I’m only really interested in the Comedy Channel and only for the Daily Show, are £7 a month if I wanted them (TV Essential Extra) – which, for £84 a year, I don’t think I do.

I have an iPad adaptor for the telly, and can also plug in a PC into the back of it, and watch very little television anyway.

Just wondering if that channel right now is showing promos for the channel, because on Freeview channel 57, they are showing a BT Sport barker channel.

James – there’s no point subscribing to the BT Extra channels because the Daily Show isn’t shown on Comedy Central. It’s broadcast on Comedy Central Extra, which isn’t available on BT at all.

Interestingly, boxes manufactured after April 2011 must support MHEG-IC to display the Freeview HD logo. As you say, there’s no such logo on any of the YouView range, which is a shame to deny other IPTV services. Why deny content from viewers?