YouView, the service that combines Freeview over-the-air channels with broadband-based streaming, is starting to replace its current main menu with a new and improved home screen and a new set of features – but only for some, for now.
YouView, which launched back in 2012, is a “hybrid” TV service that is backed by the main UK Telecommunication companies and broadcasters.
It offers access to most of the Freeview channels and radio stations (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and many others), which you can access with an aerial (see our recommended aerials).
In addition, it also offers several of the popular UK catch-up apps (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, NOW TV, BritBox and more), which you access via broadband (Freeview has a similar service, Freeview Play).
YouView can be used either with a stand-alone dedicated YouView set-top box or via boxes from BT TV and TalkTalk, which use YouView as their TV interface for paying subscribers.
This week, YouView announced that it has begun “a new and exciting journey” to replace the main menu with an improved home screen. The aim is to create a more personalised experience, helping you find TV shows and films that are more likely to interest you.
This new interface will be rolled out gradually over the next couple of months. For now, it’s only coming to the Humax Retail T2000 devices, with others expected to get it in the future.
We reached out to YouView for a more detailed timetable, and will update this article accordingly.
The New YouView Home Screen
Once your device has been updated, you will reach the new home screen as you did before – by pressing the YouView button on the remote.
The Guide button will be the first thing you see: Pressing OK will launch the guide, and you can also scroll right to browse the live TV carousel.
Scrolling down shows you a list of the “Featured Apps” for all the supported streaming services and catch-up apps – Netflix, NOW TV, BBC iPlayer etc.
The third line holds your recordings and watchlist – from there, you can either access the “MyTV” area, or scroll through a list of your most recent recordings (and jump directly to a recorded programme).
Finally, there’s now a full-screen Search screen, which you can access either with the Search button on the remote, or by selecting it on the top part of the main menu.
The search function lets you search for titles that are either available on-demand in one of the supported apps, or will be available “live” in the next 7 days.
More new features are expected to be released in the coming months.
