Now TV App Missing From List Of Installed Apps. Also Cannot Search Via Actor

[Anonymous User]

I cancelled my Now tv subscriptions a few months ago due to little new content in both established Entertainment and new Films probably due to the Coronavirus. I have since joined a rival service via Now Tv interface.

What I am finding mysterious is that Now TV no longer appears in my list of installed Apps but does appear in the app store with a tick in it. In the app store if I choose options for Now Tv I can "go to the app".

My main reason for writing is that I can no longer search by actor, no actors names appear in the search results . Anyone else have this issue ?

I also may return to Now Tv once the schedules return to "normal".

[RoyB]

@Anonymous User 

I can barely understand a word of this 🙁

Do you think it would help us to know what sort of device or devices you are talking about?

[schnapps · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous User 

Sounds like you have the new NowTV Home Page Screen with the new software on your NowTV Box.

If you go to the main home page, then press the back button on your NowTV remote, then use the search tab from there where you will have the option to search for actors or directors together with TV shows & movies.

I don't know why the search for actors or directors doesn't work on the main search section on the NowTV Main Home Page or using the star option button on the remote.

I did flag this up previously to NowTV and didn't get any response 😠.

[Mark_Weinreb]

@Anonymous User If you are using a NowTV stick or box, then as of the latest update the NowTV app is no longer shown as an installed app as it now the UI. And as the UI, you can’t delete it (doing so would “brick” the device). Didn’t you notice that you boot straight into the Now TV app?

As to your search question, I’m not aware that  Now TV ever had a search by actor. Only program title. Other streaming services may be different.

[schnapps]

Hi @Mark_Weinreb 

A NowTV search for actors or directors together with TV shows & movies have been a feature on the NowTV Boxes & Stick for a few years now.

With the new style NowTV Home Page front end, the only way to search for actors or directors is by pressing the back button on the remote to reach the old style tabs on the left hand side of the screen and then click on the search tab button.

Don't know why NowTV don't allow it on the new front end page layout, where i flagged this up on more than one occasion during the trial (plus loads of other things they ignored on my observations & comments).

[Mark_Weinreb]

@schnapps You learn something new every day. l never even knew it was possible, having only ever searched for programs.

[Anonymous User]

Many thanks to "schnapps" for his answer.

" If you go to the main home page, then press the back button on your NowTV remote, then use the search tab from there where you will have the option to search for actors or directors together with TV shows & movies."

It makes you wonder how  a person supposed to know, except by trial and error to press the back button of the remote control to gain access to the proper search facility ?

Also on the old  Now TV homepage there used to be about 11 recommended programmes  for programmes on Now TV that are no longer shown, but other apps like BBC Iplayer, All4, My5 and ITV Hub get shown, even though I have not got ITV Hub in my list of installed apps.

[schnapps]

Hi @Anonymous User 

The NowTV recommendations are now under The Cinema, Entertainment, Kids and Hayu Pass horizontal rows of tiles.

I don't know if it's fixed or based on an algorithm of your NowTV viewing habits.

Edit - Ignore the above it looks like the first line when you expand the screen to the next page.

[RoyB]

Ah - I haven’t used a NowTV Stick for a while, just a Roku Stick or NowTV apps.

It’s obviously high time I plugged one in and looked at the resulting carnage 😛

[RoyB]

@schnapps @Mark_Weinreb 

And now I am thoroughly confused.

The software has updated to 9.2.3 build 4136-56, and will not update further, though a second update did apparently update a couple of apps.

Everything looks the same as it was before.

The back arrow from Home does nothing, but there is still all the usual stuff on the Home screen.

NowTV is still an App.

The main Search found by scrolling down from Home actually prompts you with ‘movie, tv show, actor’.

The only difference I have noted is that Options * is greyed out everywhere I have looked so far.

And it was somehow magically able to tell me I had six devices on the go, which implied it knew who I was, and yet it made me sign in when I deleted a device, from my iPad, before I could watch on the Stick.

And then it wanted me to sign in again, afterwards. Which looks like a bug, because it just asked me again when I’d done that.

But instead, I backed away, and it had all my details just fine under My Account. Which says, incidentally, v5.9.19 bottom right, for whatever that is worth.

But what is happening here? What release/build is the new one that is so different from what I have, and why can’t I get it?