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Anonymous User
Not applicable

My tv no longer supports now tv after 27th august?

So we have had a message pop up on our tv today that now tv will no longer work on our tv from 27th august? I’ve paid for a year and still have until December? So will I be getting a refund for the remaining time I can’t use? And because you say it, I don’t use now tv in any other way and won’t be. I think it’s awful that this sort of thing happens which would force people to buy new TVs every 5 years! Talk about ridiculous!

  • LG
23 REPLIES 23
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Other platforms (netflix, prime, iplayer) seem to have no problem continuing support for many makes and models of smart tvs, new and old.  The 'out of date tech' they feed us is a dreadful excuse.  This will just put me off buying LG tvs and I'll very likely end my NowTv subscription.  Real smart move LG & NowTv.

RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User 

 

Contrary to your assertion the last release of the BBC iPlayer that would run on the 2012 32in Samsung TV in our spare bedroom was made in late 2015, and that fell out of support (and also out of working correctly) some time in 2018.

While I do think that keeping apps going for, say, a minimum of five years after the cessation of manufacturing of a given TV should be mandatory, this does put a brake on the further development of the service, with the BBC having to stop and think, with each advance, how will that play on the hardware from five years ago? 

Like the white NowTV box, the hardware would simply run out of puff trying to provide the latest features and so has to operate in a limited mode. And the service as it is today has to allow for this, something that gets more and more limiting as time goes on.

 

So the price of keeping a dwindling handful of older devices working is a cap on what can be provided to the latest devices, or at least extra complexity, and so slower development, of the service going forward.

 

With the PS3, NowTV largely knew who was using NowTV on these, and so could contact them about it; In advance; but the same doesn’t apply to these LG TVs.

 

However, if the owners of these would like to contact Live Chat and explain how they will be inconvenienced by this cessation, I daresay they will get a sympathetic hearing.

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
nst
Elite

@Anonymous User what @RoyB is saying is absolutely true.

 

With technology, you simply cannot realistically expect some hardware more than say 4-5 years old to still be supported.

This is an unfortunate and unavoidable fact in the world of technology.

 

Although personally I would advocate companies such as NowTV to be able to continue the service to the outdated apps albeit in a limited functional capacity... its not often realistic for them to do so. There has to be an 'end of life' for everything.

 

Take Apple's iPhone as an example - their attitude is unmatched - each new release of iOS pretty much covers iPhone models going back 4-5 years - keeping that old hardware relevant... can the same be said for Android?  No.  Can the same be said for any other tech company?  Not really - they all just want you to buy the new hardware.  Even Sonos have recently obsoleted (more or less) a number of their devices some of which were still on sale until recently.

 

In the case of NowTV, I do believe that you shouldn't rely the inbuilt app on the TV.. or if you do you must expect it to have a finite life - probably shorter than the TV itself.  I would recommend an external box solution - there are many out there such as AppleTV, Chromecast, Roku, NowTV Stick.  The beauty of this is that the TV becomes a monitor and should the box become outdated or unsupported you can easily replace it without the expense of a new TV.

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I can accept they cant go on supporting these TVs indefinitely, but the fact they remove the app overnight suggests its more about licencing/permissions between LG+NOWtv than app functionality.  I own an old Sony smart box/blu-ray player (2007ish), no longer supported, but they didn't remove or disable the apps from the device, admittedly it is slow/sluggish (fine for the kids) but it still works.  I bought my LG approx 5 years ago, I don't think expecting 10 years support is asking too much; from a company who's logo is advertised on the box.  I'll keep this thread updated and comment when Prime, Netflix, iplayer, PLex, follow suit... I'm betting that could be a while.

 

I also like the ease of use/convenience of 1 tv controller + plugging in more devices adds to clutter and is more drain on electricity; not as eco friendly 🙂

Anonymous User
Not applicable

My husbands a software engineer & I can tell you without a doubt. This has nothing to do with technical problems with providing content to the best of its ability. You can still download the now tv app for android phones & devices that are 10+ years old & it works perfectly fine, all be it the functionality is a little dated, but they work non the less. 

This is about Now TV's push on other content provided on their Now TV devices. Something they won't really be able to do if you use Now TV apps on TV's. If you open the menu for Now TV on the dedicated streaming device. You'll see a plethora of other content besides from the service you paid for & want to use. They want to be able to spam you with marketing content to entice you to buy more. 

From August 27th. I wonder if Now TV changes in any way on devices it still works on. I'll bet you anything nothing will change. It will be just disabled deliberately to encourage you to buy something you don't want or need. And this isn't really LG's problem. They provide code for their decides for NOW TV to make their apps work & then provide this app for LG to distribute onto their devices. If NOW TV say we no longer will give you any apps. And request existing apps are also removed. LG legally have to carry this request out. Because NOW TV app isn't LG's property, it's NOW TV's. 

So saying I won't buy LG is rather short sighted. LG could still retain this. But my husband has said that NOW TV request a fee from these TV brands to continue being able to use their app to watch something you've already paid for, on a device you already own. LG effectively told NOW TV it will not & see this as a form of extortion. Samsung have, but being one of the biggest electronic's manufacturers in the world, they can afford to pay to give their TV's that edge. 

You will also see this app being dropped from Toshiba, Sony, Hitachi, Bush, ALBA, Panasonic & JVC. However some generic TV's you can buy from say supermarkets may still retain this as the supermarkets may pay for this to give their TVs an edge also. Phillips TVs will also retain the app as they've agreed to pay NOW TV for the privilege. 

This is NOW TV's fault & not TV Manafacturers. 

nst
Elite

... except for the fact that this is only older LG TVs.

 

Current or recent models are fine and unaffected by this.

 

Mine is the 2019 OLED and its NowTV app is fine - and due to its support of boost, is my current go-to platform of choice.

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

My TV's are also now no longer supported.
Unfortunately like everyone here has learnt this is inevitable with older devices with apps designed to run on the TV's operating system.  I brought one of the first Samsung Smart LED TV's at the time, spent close to £1500 for it, just look at the prices of them now and in terms of it's smart functionality it may as well be a paper weight now, everything from BBC iPlayer, to YouTube etc, no longer supported, but still like all you're TV's produces a bloody good picture and it doesn't make sense to replace it.
Now I've got the same issue with the LG TV we have in another room.
I have now decided to connect a laptop via HDMI, got myself a wireless keyboard with integrated touchpad. My TV is smart now in that I flick over to a HDMI input and be it Amazon Prime, Netflix or NowTV it all just works...
The TV is just a monitor but has the advantage of the audio coming out of the 5.1 audio system.

RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User 

 

I do all that with a £30 Roku Stick.

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
nst
Elite

@Anonymous User 

 

As you have rightly noted... an 'older' tv is simply a monitor and nothing more.

 

This is inevitable and completely understandable of course.

 

As a few of us have stated now - its a better bet to think of the TV as a monitor and get some kind of set top box or stick for your streaming needs.

There are many advantages to this approach.  You have a choice of hardware to suit your tastes and budget - from the low end NowTV stick (amazon prime not supported) to the AppleTV (full support for all UK streaming services) - also the TV gan go on for years if you require... and should the set top box need changing or upgrading its simple and far cheaper to do so.

 

I am using the NowTV app on my 2019 LG OLED... because its the best solution at the moment to get boost compatibility as my main streaming box (appleTV) does not yet have a decent app and if and when it does theres no guarantee it will support boost.  I am under no illusions though that the LG app has a finite life - possibly only 2-3 years.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@nst 

 

LG have already abandoned the 2019 TVs they won't be getting the Freesync Update which they easily could or the new version of WebOS it is sadly the way it is. Shame TV companies treat there products like this.