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.
Very much have to agree with the previous comments!!!
This is a shocking move in order to “improve” a facility that worked perfectly well previously. To move to this disaster of someone’s barely thought out idea means someone needs to take responsibility for this and not should not be allowed to voice any opinion or attempt to have any input in further upgrades.
I am at present now forced to use “My5” and other applications, when previously I avoided using them as a matter of choice. Unable to go straight to the program I want to watch as I am unable to fast forward through the adverts.
This needs to be reversed immediately, irrespective of the cost, this serves no purpose.
Absolute rubbish
All recordings that I had saved for future viewing now gone – why .?
Absolutely hate this upgrade. I thought something was wrong with my box at first and tried looking all through settings menu to see if I could change appearance back to old style and even unplugged box and tried rebooting to no avail. Searching google I found this website that explains it’s an actual upgrade. Question to b.t. WHY?????? And why no notice to us users about upgrade?? It takes longer now to access recordings and guide just doesn’t feel user friendly to me.
Sorry b.t but I think you have dropped a clanger with this one.
As an earlier post mentions what part of ” if it aint broke, don’t fix it” do they not understand????
This upgrade is rubbish. I have 7 old pages of recordings but now they’re all on only one line. I used to be able to see about 20 programmes per page at a glance to choose what to watch but now I have to scroll along one line, forgetting what I’ve just seen. It was a brilliant service but now that’s all lost. Why change something that worked so well? And where’s My Scheduled Recordings?
David you still can. On the left hand side press my TV and then all your recordings will be shown in their former style took me ages to sort it out.
Absolutely disgusted with BT. How can this be called an ‘upgrade’? A previously straightforward interface has been made stupidly complicated with absolutely no regard for us the end users. I just cannot believe that BT automatically applied this software change to my box without notifying me first. Thank you BT for deleting all of my stored recordings. I am now investigating swapping over to Sky.
This update is very frustrating, as it makes a previously simple system so much more complicated and time consuming to find what you want.
Why do they insist in changing things? What part of ‘If it isn’t broke don’t fix it’ don’t they understand
Rubbish upgrade, totally without the option of reverting to the old version.
It is no more than a list of everything available on TV.
Please get rid and go back.
Thanks Bt your new system has successfully deleted the previously recorded the films on my watch list that I obviously had recorded to watch at a later date. Why??? Leave things alone it was perfectly ok before Change does not always mean improvement.
It’s very slow, half a second delay after pressing remote the cursor moves. Very poor.
Hate the upgrade a step back wards in my opinion.
upgrade is rubbish was very happy with the old system. Could find programmes without any problems. Now more scrolling to find what I want.
Upgrade is a backward step, very clunky . Hate it
Until the platform move to Android apps they will always be lagging behind the regular improvements which can be obtained with an Android TV or add on box or stick.
Rollout of updates has been quite slow historically.
Will be interesting to see what happens to YouView with the potential merger of Freesat and Freeview. It’s been heavily focused to ISPs (rather than retail) but I guess BT needs it for now.
And regretfully there is no way to go back to the previous version because this update has not been greeted with much approval.
agree, needs to roll back, awful upgrade.