@malcolm1962 wrote:
It might well be capable of supporting IPTV EPG channels, but BT will not be making its channels available via Sony Youview, valid subsription or not.
I'm struggling to understand why you quote the Sky / Now TV link as an "advantage" when its clearly a very limited offering on YouView and it looks very unlikely to be included on our Sony TVs.w. We have to be realistic here, all we are going to get on our is YouView-lite, basically the Epg and the ability to scroll back 7 days. I'll be sticking with my BT YouView box, as this provides a far superior offering than what is being promised by Sony.
Well I am skeptical too (hence why I am returning my TV), but I expressly asked customer support months ago whether it will support recording in the way the YouView PVRs do along with these BT subscription channels. They told me it won't support recording (a fact they now state on their support website) but they said it would support the IPTV channels... they have of course been wrong before 
With regards to YouView-lite, I think maybe you are misunderstanding what YouView is? It is a platform established by a consortium to standardise access to online content, so the whole point is that devices are all capable of the same features, provided the customer has the required access. This is why these extra channels do work on retail non-BT YouView boxes and boxes from other ISPs, if you have a valid subscription and Infinity. You pay your money to the same people you pay your money too now, just just don't need the box any more. Basically the ISPs deliver their standardised software to the device to enable their various services, so BT can enable BT content to customers with BT Infinity, TalkTalk to their customers, and everyone can get iPlayer etc.. independent of where they bought their equipment. I don't see why BT would actively prevent their channels working on Sony TVs. If they have to do extra work to make it happen, sure, it either won't happen or it will take a while to happen, but otherwise why would they want to stop it working if their customers are paying for their subscriptions?
Of course YouView in TVs is a bit of a departure for YouView so who knows in what ways the rules can be broken (especially if they carry enough weight), but in principle there are only two YouView spec variants as far as I'm aware: one for PVRs and one for "players" that do not record (think of the two boxes BT offer). Presumably Sony is following the latter, but they did state in the What Hi-Fi review that they want to add PVR functions at some future date (yeah right!!). Of course like I say, I am still very skeptical it will actually work properly on Sony's TVs, but in principle it can work.
I don't get why you are fixated on Now TV, it is just one of the VOD services on YouView - Now TV only provide movies on YouView, the other stuff is not available for licensing reasons. This has nothing to do with Sony it is like this on all YouView devices. The only reason I mention Now TV is simply as a comparison to the other routes that manufacturers can go when it comes to supporting catchup and VOD services:
1. They do it themselves - write apps/try to get the content providers to write apps for their proprietary platform (think Sony 2014).
2. Pick a third party OS and hope the apps appear on there (Android, Firefox OS).
3. Integrate with a platform provider: YouView, Freeview Play, or Freetime. Of those, YouView is the furthest along with its content and support for multicast IPTV, Now TV being simply an example of that along with BT's on-demand content, Netflix, milkshake, BT Sport apps etc. The whole point for a manufacturer of integrating YouView is that you don't have to continue to support the platform and all the apps yourself as the TV gets older. Content providers write & maintain the apps, and they work on all the YouView devices.
A tenner says it won't happen though.
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