Freesat is to withdraw the last remaining set-tops without its Freetime EPG. The move comes ahead of the BBC’s September 29 move that will see the withdrawal of early versions of the iPlayer that run on MHEG-5.
“By the end of the month you’ll no longer be able to buy a non-Freetime box,” confirmed Freesat’s chief technology officer Matthew Huntingdon, adding that Freetime was fully compliant with the European HbbTV.
There’s also a slight brand refresh for Freesat, adding a capital letter to its logotype.
The BBC says the version of the iPlayer is on a very small number of TV’s and set-top boxes that are unable to use the current version of the iPlayer app.
In addition to non-Freetime boxes from Freesat this also affects the Sony 2010 (KDL-EX range) TVs and some older Freeview devices.