topic Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box in TV

Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Oldvalues — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:18:44 GMT

Have just joined EE . Prior to joining was told that TV Freeview Channels were available via Broadband . After installation found this was not the case. Many channels were missing and none of Freeview TV Channels via Internet were available at all. Thought this was due lack Terestial TV arial so had one fitted and sure enough all the missing channels appeared in the EE TV box programme including internet based, BUT the vast majority of the Internet channel's will not display. Only one that will is Talk TV. Can anyone advisd

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Chris_B — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:21:34 GMT

@Oldvalues They work for me via IP mode as that was what I was using. The only channels they don’t work via IP mode are the plus 1 channels. are you using the EE router?

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Profile closed — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:42:29 GMT

@Oldvalues

The box does not deliver the same range of channels in IP mode as it does with an aerial plugged in. They should make this clearer during the sales process and talk about “a selection of free to air channels” being available rather than Freeview.

You can only set up IP or aerial mode during initial installation and IP mode will only work if an aerial is not plugged in. To change modes you have to hard reset the box from settings.

If you have correctly set up IP mode and do not have any channels, restart your hub and start again. If you still have an issue, you need to ensure your service is active before contacting EE on 150.

You can see the full list of IP channels here: https://www.bt.com/help/tv/guide/ip-freeview-guide

The number and range of Freeview channels you get through an aerial will depend on various factors, but you can check what you should get via the Freeview website.

As you have gathered, the IP range is missing a number of channels some people like, such as the UKTV suite, Talking Pictures and others.

You have 14 days from service activation to change your mind on EE TVs suitability.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:04:50 GMT

@Oldvalues

How soon is ‘just’? We have several reports of people jumping the gun when their equipment arrives before the EETV activation date, some even trying to use it on the last knockings of their outgoing ISP, which is certainly doomed to failure.

A new Box Pro will work in aerial mode on your old ISP, to a limited extent, and allow you to watch and record the broadcast FreeView channels, but not the additional internet channels provided by EETV; and the apps should also work.

Talk is a Freeview broadcast channel, despite being up at 280, and that’s how you were able to get it.

I’m not sure why, having been promised channels over broadband, you would think you might need a TV aerial to get them; the whole point of IP channels, as they are called, is that you don’t need an aerial. Though you do have to wait for activation of both your EE broadband and your EETV subscription before they will become available.

But having said which, I really think that IP Mode, certainly at the moment, is for people who can’t have a TV aerial for whatever reason, and if you can have one, then you are much better off with it than without it.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Oldvalues — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:58:56 GMT

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:05:36 GMT

@Profile closed

I didn’t actually try choosing it, but having reset my new Box Pro with an aerial plugged in, I was offered, during the dialogue, the choice of Aerial or IP Mode. I continued with Aerial Mode, but the implication was that even with an aerial plugged in, I could have chosen IP Mode and taken that route.

If so, this is an improved UE over the ‘check for an aerial’ originally described.

In other researches, I learned that aerial passthrough is still supported on a Box Pro in IP Mode, even down to the option to keep it working in Standby 😛

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Oldvalues — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:34:52 GMT

Yes Chris have EE Wi-Fi \ Ethernet new Router . My whole system less than 1 month old

Also have same Terestial Arial connected To a Manhattan Freeview Box and the Freeview Internet Channels works fine on that ! using the same EE Broadband router . Note have all my Ethernet able devices using the same router to access the internet with no problems.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

DarrenDev — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 14:15:55 GMT

@Midnight_Voice odd - sounds like you had an older version of the software on your box during setup. The option to choose the mode was removed a while ago as it was considered confusing.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 14:20:45 GMT

@Oldvalues

Are you subscribed to EETV, or do you just have EE broadband?

Some of the things you have mentioned above apply only to EETV.

Good thing you got a new TV aerial if you wanted your Manhattan box to work then.

But what Internet channels are you getting on the Manhattan? There’s a very small range above 280 and below 300 that it can get, where a YouView box can only get one of them; but the channels above 300 are only available via EETV,

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

DarrenDev — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 14:19:59 GMT

@Oldvalues the EE TV Box does not support the "Freeview Internet Channels" that you can receive on your Manhattan Freeview Box - also known as MHEG channels, or HbbTV.

It does support Freeview over the internet, which is a different thing - e.g. you can watch BBC 1 without an aerial.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 15:02:14 GMT

@DarrenDev

Well, I’d already set it up in IP Mode, and it spent long enough updating to have fetched the latest version then.

Ive got:- 4.1.162, 0.11,12, 5588, 7214.

I’ll try it again now, aerial plugged in, and report back.

Indeed, no option to choose now 😢

(I liked it better the way I have described)

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Oldvalues — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 16:59:13 GMT

Afraid don't understand Chris . IP means to me "" Internet Protocol "" and is part IP TCP internet communication structure .

I have a Manhattan Freeview TV Box attached to the Arial output of the EE TV Box and the internet channels work fine on that but ! the EE TV Box only switches to the to the Internet channels via its programme guide fine . Then just displays a blank screen with that Internet Channels Logo and program time line showing as though programme running ! even checked the signal strength which showed as good

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 20:42:24 GMT

@Oldvalues

So you have an aerial plugged into an EETV box, which means it’s a Box Pro, and then you have another aerial cable coming from that to the Manhattan. Aand then maybe another aerial cable from the Manhattan to the TV, or maybe not?

What is/was your activation date for EE broadband and EETV? If you haven’t reached that yet, you need to wait for that activation.

And it sounds like you set your Box Pro up with no aerial connected; try Settings/Factory Reset to set it up now you have an aerial going into it, and you should get all the Freeview channels, even before your activation date.

If the above isn’t an accurate description of how everything is connected, please give us one.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

SwannyD2 — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 01:31:24 GMT

Regrettably, the clarification provided by EE regarding ‘Freeview’ and its actual meaning is highly ambiguous.

Firstly, HbbTV is the industry standard. YouView and its partners, including EE, collaborated with the DTG to develop it. They literally authored the ‘D Book’ for its implementation. When Arqiva acquired YouView, there was a concerted effort to include a workaround for some IP channels to be made accessible. This was clearly in the interest of Arqiva, as they had a stake in launching IP access on their multiplexes.

Since their departure from YouView in 2021, HbbTV has experienced significant growth. However, they have refrained from incorporating the open standard they were initially eager to establish.

Consequently, Everyone TV (the name for Freeview and Freesat’s partnership, which still includes Arqiva) has shifted its focus to Freeview Play and Freely.

What does this all imply? Despite the continued proliferation of hybrid channels on Freeview and the widespread adoption of ‘Freeview’ branded boxes, YouView and EE have chosen to ignore the existence of HbbTV. This has led users to be perplexed as to why they encounter blank screens on channels that their five-year-old Freeview box effortlessly displays.

Furthermore, the disparity between broadcast and IP channels on 18-month-old ‘Pro’ boxes and the additional complexities encountered when integrating EE TV with Apple TV further contribute to confusion.

In contrast, Sky Stream/Glass offers a more transparent experience. Users are assured of receiving a separate lineup from the satellite service, excluding channels that are not available (such as IP), and not contingent upon the hardware connection method during installation.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Midnight_Voice — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 09:51:03 GMT

@SwannyD2

YouView has never claimed to be Freeview, and indeed would never have passed Freeview certification; paradoxically perhaps, because it was so advanced at the time.

HbbTV is a standard. Where have you found that it is the standard?

Arqiva never acquired YouView; where did you get that from? Arqiva was part of the consortium. And rather than pushing for IP, I rather thought that Arqiva lost interest when things started to move away from OTA,

I don’t know what growth HbbTV has had since 2021. Certainly, YouView haven’t ignored it:-

https://www.hbbtv.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/YouView-Building-an-HbbTV-OpApp-240215FINAL.pdf

even if YouView boxes haven’t been updated for it, so this is all a bit strange.

But YouView, and now EETV, have always insisted on showing us every channel there is, whether we can get them or not, and only ever allowing us the hide them in the actual EPG.

We shall see if Sky Stream carries the day or not, as it has rather failed to do so far, if people start flocking away from EETV’s hardware and software approach, and migrating to Sky in favour of it.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

DarrenDev — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 10:00:10 GMT

YouView also write the software for Freely, which supports HbbTV.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Oldvalues — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:08:53 GMT

Are just coming up to my first month with EE.

As stated previously initially had TV over WiFi / Ethernet broadband but found many Terestial freeview channels missing on its Programme Guide and NONE of internet based TV channels listed at all. In other words a very very minimum. Frankly very poor

So had TV arial fitted to EE TV Box then carried out factory reset and configured TV as per menu prompts. This resulted in all the Internet TV channel now appearing on the programme guide but none, with exception Talk TV, will work

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Midnight_Voice — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 07:54:57 GMT

@DarrenDev

Do you know, then, why there has been no initiative to add the missing HbbTV channels that Freeview provides to the YouView roster?

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

DarrenDev — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 12:50:15 GMT

Decisions like that go way above my pay grade @Midnight_Voice but I suspect it'll simply be a case of cost vs benefit - they're pretty niche channels, and I suspect it's a lot of work.

Re: Freeview Internet TV channels via EE TV Box

Oldvalues — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 18:13:07 GMT

Have not yet found a bog standard freeview set top box that does not show channels such NHK WorLd , GB NEWS , Talk TV, French News etc.
No magic software required. Just a will to.do it ! ! !