iView App "No Longer Available" on Panasonic VT60

Jackson on 25/05/2021 - 23:14
Last edited 04/06/2021 - 17:56

The other day the iView App started timing out. Now it says its no longer available. I know Panasonic has pulled out of the Australian TV market, but does the app development usually sit with the TV company or the station?

Before people get in:

I know a set top box is cheap and I can set one up
I know the TV was released in 2013, but it was the top of the line when it came out
I get that Panasonic TV's had rather crap implementstions of apps but it did the job until now

Update 4/6/21: Now it also looks like the SBSOnDemand app is set for decommissioning, but not until August and at least they sent a courtesy email:
(Note: no sign of it being a TLS issue either, this time they say that the newer version of the app won't fit on the TVs and they aren't going to support the older version)

SBS On Demand

This is a notification to inform you that SBS On Demand will no longer be available on your device from the end of August.
What is happening to the Panasonic app?
The SBS On Demand app Version 3 (V3) was launched in 2018 and includes a number of enhancements that make it easier to search and browse our global catalogue, and improve the stability of your streaming experience. Some pre-2018 TVs and devices don’t have sufficient memory or processing power to update to the improved SBS On Demand V3 app, so have been using the earlier version of the app (SBS On Demand app V2). However, from late August 2021, SBS will no longer be supporting the older version of the app, and this means that the SBS On Demand app will not be available on 2011-2013 Panasonic TVs, or on any Panasonic Blu-ray players or Digital Video Recorders from that time.
How to keep watching SBS On Demand
The app will be removed but you can continue to access SBS On Demand using your existing TV or device in any of the following ways:

You can plug your laptop or mobile device into your TV using an HDMI cable.
You can 'mirror' or AirPlay from your macOS, iOS, or iPadOS device’s browser.
You can plug in an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, or use a set-top box with the SBS On Demand app available across Apple TV, Android TV, Fetch, Foxtel iQ and Telstra TV.

Given the range of devices available to consumers, unfortunately SBS On Demand can not be made available across all and maintained to the standard users expect. However, our team continues to work hard to ensure as many Australians as possible have access to this free service.
For help and more information
For more information and full streaming options please visit our website Help Portal or contact our customer support team anytime.
Kind regards,
SBS On Demand Team

Electrical & Electronics Panasonic

Related Stores

ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Comments

  • Guybrush57 on 25/05/2021 - 23:54
    +4

    I know someone with a top-of-the-line SONY that Disney+ dropped support for.

    I think when it happens, Chromecast will be best and cheapest resort.

    • lunchbox99 on 26/05/2021 - 08:31
      +1

      Chromecast with Google TV is a better choice than a straight chromecast.
      https://store.google.com/au/product/chromecast_google_tv?hl=…

      Only $99 (less on sale) and will do everything like a smart TV except FTA broadcast (although will have live streaming where available). I think it also acts as a CC as well.

      It's basically an identical interface to my new android based smart tv.

      Just enable the TV hdmi control, so the TV turns on/off when the CC turns on/off.

      • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 10:43

        I do have a Vodafone TV in the other room, but apart from the remote juggling act that becomes necessary, I actually find that I am better off casting from my phone than programming into the device because I can then use the one license wherever I go and share with a friend. I get this isn't an advantage on the TV, but on the TV I only needed iView, SBS and YouTube. Until now all worked fine

        • lunchbox99 on 26/05/2021 - 11:59

          You sign into the same accounts on phone and tv so any purchases or subscriptions are the same on both. So you can either watch on your phone or tv and your friend does whatever they do. As long as you don't exceed the maximum number of simultaneous streams it's ok (and fully expected and supported).

          Any app purchases are shared if they are logged into the same google account.

  • spackbace on 26/05/2021 - 00:23
    +1

    I know the TV was released in 2013, but it was the top of the line when it came out

    And? Samsung give you 3yrs updates of Android, you really think any TV brand cares about that model 8yrs later?

    • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 10:34

      Consider the expected life of a TV is around 10 years, yes I think they should. Compare that to using a 10 year old phone and it's a different story.

      • Gnostikos on 26/05/2021 - 12:27
        -1

        Consider the expected life of a TV is around 10 years

        Your TV is working fine. One app no longer being supported does not constitute the end of a product's useful lifespan (as per ACCC statutory warranties) in something as multifaceted as a smart TV.

        I would just buy a decent media player box like a Roku Ultra, KDLINKS 800 or a Xiaomi TV Box; it'll give your old Plasma a new lease on life and expand the "smart" functionality far beyond what was originally included.

        It's actually f**king amazing that Panasonic actually supported the apps on your ancient Plasma for that long (and I'm not disparaging you for hanging onto it, I still have a Panasonic Plasma from 2010 that's perfectly good).

        I bought a Pioneer Blu-Ray player a few years back that had built-in YouTube streaming and support for that was discontinued 2 years after I bought it (with no further updates), basically rendering that thing worthless to me, as I was using it primarily as a stand-in for a HTPC.

        Top-of-the-line Bravias aren't receiving further Android OS updates after about 3 years these days.

        Planned obsolesce is the name of the game. You got very lucky with your VT-60.

        • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 16:07

          To be honest, the VT60's app capabilities were very poorly supported from the start, I believe it used some form of Firefox OS, which one would hope would have got decent traction being from an established group and open source, but it came out around the time that Firefox was sliding and Chrome was taking over. The TV came with a web cam built in, but skype support had been cancelled by the time I purchased it (which I think it total bullshit really) and the only other useful apps that have ever been supported were SBS OnDemand, iView and Youtube (oh, and Netflix, which is still fine albeit slow). Even on those apps there's always been crappy implementations I've had to live with from the start:

          1. YouTube clipping the sound in the last 10-45 seconds of videos, or just clipping the last 10 seconds of video altogether sometimes
          2. Half the times an update to Youtube was rolled out, the back button on the remote would close the entire app, so you had to reload the app for every view until they then patched that update 2 weeks later
          3. SBS On Demand making you watch ever ad that runs in a movie, even if you come back the next day to just watch the last 10 minutes, and searches not always working properly
          4. iView (probably the best implementation of the 3) having a cap on the search of 25 episodes, meaning if you wanted episode 26 of bluey, you basically had to scroll through until you hit "B" in kids, you'd be amazed how painful that could be

          it might sound like all of this is just more reason to go to a set top box, and I'd generally agree with you, but for the TV that provided the best picture in the world at the time, it sure provided one of the worst smart implementions ever (without complete breakdown like some chinatvs have). Even still, there was a convenience for the non-tech people in the household and even myself to be able to just sit and press power like the old days and do what you needed to. And me, like you, will not be paying 2k every X/maybe 3 years for a new TV just for that convenience. Also had some support dropped from a Sony bluray player that I used similar to you, but that was an $50 investment for me, no where near the 2k or more people typically dropped on this TV

          On to my main question though, it seems that the responsibility comes down the ABC, so I've learned something there.

  • jpl on 26/05/2021 - 07:40
    +6

    iView TLS upgrade
    https://iviewsupport.abc.net.au/hc/en-us/articles/3600040507…

    • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 10:44

      I don't know why it matters to upgrade a free streaming app, it's not like iView is taking payments

      • jpl on 26/05/2021 - 10:48

        TLS is security update. The protocol that iView used was old, leaving the old protocol running risk your device and their system. A quick read about this https://blog.sysfore.com/why-tls-upgrade/

        • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 16:13

          I'm familiar with TLS, maybe not enough though. IMO there's no real reason for someone to hijack your smart tv, and I'm not sure if it actually provides an attack vector into your network at all, maybe someone with more knowledge could confirm and say how. My guess is that by supporting the old protocol, it might be the provider that is more at risk and not us end users.

        • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 16:31

          I just read the link, states that it will be deprecated in March 2020 for Firefox, not sure if that meant (should I have it correct about the TV using Firefox OS) that it was out of their hands due to the underlying platform not being upgraded, but it doesn't sound like that from the ABC release

          • jpl on 26/05/2021 - 20:33
            +1

            @Jackson: I think you got confused with the 2nd link. The 2nd link is the brief of TLS and indicative date when browsers stop supporting the lower version of TLS.

            There are two scenarios here

            1) Client (browser/TV/set top box) turn off lower version TLS

            2) Server turn off lower version TLS

            In you case, is the 2nd scenario where the iView server turns off the lower TLS.

            Replying to "no real reason for someone hijack your smart TV", some people use the smart tv's browser or app to login to the server(bank, ato, etc), the authentication cookies are being kept at the client side (your tv), CRIME attack the client by obtaining the authentication cookies from the client thus allowing the attacker to use the cookies for malicious purposes.

            • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 23:24

              @jpl: Yes of course if all other apps are working then it's not OS level, so ABC have just decided to stop support. The world is on its axis again :)

  • ESEMCE on 26/05/2021 - 07:57

    It's the responsibility of both, but I doubt Panasonic even maintain the app store for this model anymore even if the ABC had provided an update.

    Frankly I can't believe you have bothered utilising Panasonic's incredibly slow smart TV OS for this many years!

    It's shit that Smart device software support is treated with such disdain, but you're probably doing yourself a favour by disconnecting the TV from the internet as I doubt it's had a security update for many years and is almost definitely a gaping security hole in your home network.

    • John Kimble on 26/05/2021 - 09:48
      +1

      and is almost definitely a gaping security hole in your home network.

      Excuse my ignorance but what damage could someone cause or what information/data could someone access via a TV?

      • ESEMCE on 26/05/2021 - 10:55

        Access into the rest of your internal network and all the devices connected to your local network.
        Once past your firewall, your local network assumes all traffic is "friendly".
        An unpatched device almost definitely allows access through the firewall.
        You're pretty much relying solely on security through obscurity (ie being a "nobody") at that point.

        • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 20:25

          SBS on demand, Netflix and YouTube still work, the common factor there being they all get revenue, whether ads or subscription. I get the feeling it's more to do with that than anything else

  • thatonethere on 26/05/2021 - 08:38
    +1

    This is why I shifted my parents to apple tv as at least there is longevity. Occasionally apps change or get pulled but not like smart TV s which apps go out of support much quicker.

  • Archi on 26/05/2021 - 08:49
    +1

    its a shame.
    such a great TV, i have the 65 inch version and when they removed the Youtube app i was very disappointed

    • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 10:38

      My YouTube app still works and gets updated regularly. The only issue with it is sound usually drops out just before the end of videos

      • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 16:18

        Also, the Netflix app, while slow, is well maintained and updated.

    • lunchbox99 on 26/05/2021 - 18:02

      there are a plethora of options to keep using it as a screen

  • 88mph on 26/05/2021 - 09:00
    +2

    Feel your pain, fellow Panasonic VT55 Plasma user here, still chugging along from 2011. Made in Japan 😏

    Based on comments on this forum I migrated to a Vodafone box a few years ago, never felt better. All Android apps via HDMI, cool interface, stable as can be… Far easier than the old Panasonic OS.

    Give it a go…

    • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 10:40

      I use a VTV in my second room, but it's just nice to be able to use the single remote for everything. I have a Harmony but it's just not as well integrated as the Panasonic remote, and the hdmi controls are implemented well so while I don't use a set top box I really only need a single remote

  • 87percent on 26/05/2021 - 10:08
    +2

    my pana 55" is still kicking along.. fantastic tv

  • Carve2 on 26/05/2021 - 10:49

    It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing, I think. But jpl's onto the right thing with TLS support.

    ABC wants their app to be better, more secure, more features, etc, so they have to update it. They could keep their service exactly the way it has been for years, but a security vulnerability could cause problems.

    Panasonic doesn't want to update older panels if they don't have to (could introduce bugs that require further updates, more time, more money spent) or it could be that the older panels simply don't have enough processing to handle the newer formats, security, and so on.

    I've had similar issues with my parent's Samsung TV from about the same era. They've got an AppleTV, iPads and iPhones, so I'm getting them used to the idea of the TV as a "dumb panel".

  • 87percent on 26/05/2021 - 12:13

    I wish Panasonic would remove that stupid banner that comes up when you turn on the tv, and you can’t press anything for a few seconds!!

    • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 16:19

      Do you just mean the splash screen that says "Viera TV"? I presume the OS is just loading in that time, it doesn't hang around for me

    • 88mph on 26/05/2021 - 22:52

      Hey supatelstra… I had the same feeling when I got my VT55 ten years ago, but got rid of that annoying boot up banner! I feel so bad I can't remember how to help you out for a change… But I'm sure it was thru the 'secret' service menu, tried to Google it now but nothing meaningful comes up, after all it's a ten year old model.

      There's also a Viera connect banner you can disable from the normal remote menu, but I'm sure that's not what you mean, just saying…

  • nephilim on 26/05/2021 - 18:03

    Same thing happened with our work TV 3-4 years ago, its built in youtube stopped working as it didnt support ads.
    Google blocked WebOS TV's from using services.

    Pretty scummy to disable a feature for no reason.

    • Jackson on 26/05/2021 - 20:26

      Was it an LG? The new ones have no issues and they still run on webOS

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