Catch-Up becoming unusable

However

Having just bought a new PVR to replace the old one which broke, I now find I'm having to separately register for each catch-up like iPlayer, itvHub and so on. It's aggravating enough to go through the rigmarole to register : you have to give intrusive information (I just lie and tell them rubbish - why on earth do they want to know my sex - what business is it of theirs?); I have to traipse upstairs and downstairs because the PVR doesn't receive emails (fancy that) and my PC is an immovable desktop. And with My4 at least, it seems you have to sign in every time you want to see something, fumbling with the remote to enter many characters which at my age and state of fingers is an unacceptable pain (literally). This is just too bad and is unacceptable. Having spent half an hour battling with registration to My4 to watch one programme we missed last night, I've given up and deleted the proto-account. Channel 4 can go hang. Anyone else finding these hurdles to viewing too high to be worthwhile?

elsien

Not had a problem with All4, or iPlayer  which are the main ones I’ve used recently, and I don’t have to log in each time I want to use them.

JJ_Egan

Just basic email and log in is all i need for BBC , ITV Ch Four Ch five and UK TV Play .Thats on four devices as well register with email log in once and thats it .

glennevis

Isn't the whole point of buying a PVR that it records live Freeview programs so you don't need catch up TV?

macman

If you are only going to use the PVR to watch catch up, you might as well have just bought a smart TV rather than a replacement PVR to use the catch up apps on that.

Browser123

You shouldn't have to log in each time you use them, unless your pvr is forgetting your details in between. Perhaps you could get a separate device for online catch up? E.g. a Roku box or Amazon fire stick or now TV stick or whatever will plug in to your TV (does it have usb?) Then you could set up accounts on your Pc once and get them saved.

However

In response, there is a huge difference in flexibility between a twin-tuner PVR and a single-tuner TV. Them wot says there isn't, don't know.

macman said:

If you are only going to use the PVR to watch catch up, you might as well have just bought a smart TV rather than a replacement PVR to use the catch up apps on that.

Really? Tell me how to access All4 on a brand-new LG TV. Answer: you can't.

I'm now getting emails from All4 / My4 crowing about their product - but when they say "watch anywhere" FreeView Play is only 11th on their list behind laptop and phone and even Xbox, Samsung TV (not LG TV, not Sony TV, not anybody elses TV, only Samsung). The message is clear - All4 see themselves, not as a Catch-up TV service, but as non-TV-based streaming service, based on a subscription model.

glennevis said:

Isn't the whole point of buying a PVR that it records live Freeview programs so you don't need catch up TV?

Not at all. The whole point of Freeview Play on a PVR is to access catch-up. And, if you miss something you didn't know about, or there is a channel clash, or a friend recommends something you now want to see, then you'll want catch-up. In our case, we missed the first twenty minutes of a film and wished to see it from the beginning.

JJ_Egan said:

Just basic email and log in is all i need for BBC , ITV Ch Four Ch five and UK TV Play .Thats on four devices as well register with email log in once and thats it .

That wasn't even true for me with my previous (Humax) PVR. I just kicked off the on-line service and watched. Except for itv hub which had withdrawn its support, for which I had to use the (Samsung) Smart TV.

With the new (Manhattan) PVR, I had to go through the rigmarole of email etc once-only for iPlayer and itvHub. But All4/My4 - no. Was told to sign in even though already signed in upstairs on the PC.

My new (LG) Smart TV doesn't even support itvHub or All4.

The whole scenario is a mess. I might add I was supposed to have a free TV Licence by now, so don't think I have any good will towards the BBC either. Jumping through hoops whereby I am commanded to give my age, my sexual orientation, and other nonsense, is not going to put me in the mood to acquiesce to their insolent demands or follow their onerous processes.

Rant over. Subject closed!