When we reviewed YouView last month we gave it a big thumbs up, but like all new platforms and services it’s not yet perfect.
Here’s some suggested enhancements and improvements we’d like to see brought to the platform – feel free to add yours in the comment section.
SEARCH
1. Link search button/facility to the EPG so shows can be watched via on demand or recorded from a single results screen.
2. Within the players it would be desirable for the YouView remote’s search button to behave consistently – in some players it brings up a player-specific search dialogue while in others it does nothing. This can cause user confusion and undermines the core ‘simplicity’ aim of YouView.
3. Earlier PR and the current website previously referred to being to search by actors as well as programme names, enabling this would be a useful enhancement.
4. (added 25th August) In MyView the status text for recordings of radio shows should be changed from ‘Not Watched’ and ‘Part Watched’ to something more appropriate for audio-only content – listened, played or heard.
RECORDING
1. A menu option to add padding to recordings for when broadcast programmes start early or overrun.
2. When watching a programme ‘live’ (i.e. during broadcast) hitting ‘record ‘should record the entire programme (or where the show was watched from part way in, from the start of viewing) rather than from the point of hitting ‘record’.
Sky+ already does this, having retained the viewed portion in the buffer and clearly YouView has the earlier portion buffered to allow live rewinding.
3. When playing a recording it would be useful to be able to select a start point by entering the time point, again Sky+ and some other boxes offer this.
EPG
1. The ability to hide channels on the EPG would be desirable.
2. The ability to decode existing IPTV channels on Freeview such as the Connect TV services. Otherwise these should be removed from the EPG.
RED BUTTON
Enhanced red button services which take advantage of the service’s connection to broadband, especially from the BBC who have reduced their Freeview red button service but have streamed content available online.
This could be added as a player – possibly rebranded for events such as the Olympics or major music festivals.
CUSTOMISATION
Enable ‘bookmarking’ of On Demand content/search results so marked content can be accessed from a new FAVOURITES screen in MyView.
