Limited content access on SBS HbbTV?

[prl]

The SBS HbbTV service seems to only provide very limited access to SBS OnDemand content.

The HbbTV setvice only seems to be able to access 3 shows each from 5 categories (Featured, Movies, Documentary, Comedy and Food), 15 shows altogether.

The SBS OnDemand Web access has far more material available than that. Have I missed something in the SBS HbbTV UI that gives me access to more content? Pressing YELLOW All Programs does nothing for me.

BTW: long-RED doesn't work for SBS HbbTV (it dos for ABC HbbTV). To access SBS HbbTV on the T3 from live TV, it's BLUE>HbbTV Applications>MainNetworkApp. BLUE>HbbTV Applications>SBS HbbTV doesn't seem to do anything useful (and I guess it's what long-RED does).

[MrQuade]

I haven't tried SBS since the early days, and the T3 would always get hung up on the pre-show ad and not actually play the actual show. I'll have to try it again to see what the current experience is like.

That being said, I just read in the other Freeview thread:
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=9118

There is some mention in the linked article of SBS being in the process of "negotiating a return to the Freeview consortium". So I don't know if that has any relation to the fact that their Freeview content is apparently a bit lacklustre for now?

[MrQuade]

And I am seeing the same behaviour as you of course (now that I have actually tested it).
Can't see any more than the top three videos in any of the video categories, and no clear way to navigate to others.

[prl]

I haven't tried SBS since the early days, and the T3 would always get hung up on the pre-show ad and not actually play the actual show. I'll have to try it again to see what the current experience is like. ...

I just gave it a try (though the show I actually want to watch isn't in the list of available content).

I tried "Dig - Catch you later" (S1 E2), it showed the ad, then I got the spinner for a while; initially I thought it might be just filling the buffers, but when I looked at the Ethernet activity LED, there was virtually no traffic. After a while, the spinner stopped, and the screen showed the message "Sorry, this video isn't available right now. Please try again later." I then tried "The Legacy" (S1 E7). Same thing.

Once the message appears, I can exit back to the show's information page using STOP, but pressing RED there for exit doesn't cleanly exit HbbTV. It shows live TV, but the live TV controls like OK don't work. Pressing EXIT again goes back to normal live TV.

I found a search function in SBS HbbTV (BLUE in the the information screens for the shows), but a search for "orp" (looking for Orphan Black, the show I actually want to watch) got no matches, so it appears that it's really a lack of content, not just me not being able to figure out the UI.

The YELLOW button in SBS HbbTV doesn't appear to work in any of the contexts I tried it in (as More shows in the home screen, or as Home in the show information page.

It doesn't look as though this is ready for showtime, either from the content or functionality point of view.

[prl]

...
That being said, I just read in the other Freeview thread:
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=9118

There is some mention in the linked article of SBS being in the process of "negotiating a return to the Freeview consortium". So I don't know if that has any relation to the fact that their Freeview content is apparently a bit lacklustre for now?

I read the linked SMH article and was disappointed to find that the author doesn't seem able to differentiate between an open standard (HbbTV) and open content, which the commercial broadcasters definitely aren't providing on their HbbTV offerings.

[rfmoore]

How do I access Hbbtv on the t4

[MrQuade]

How do I access Hbbtv on the t4

With gritted teeth

Or just press the blue button when watching Live TV, and select the Hbbtv option.

I joke slightly, because Hbbtv is not a wonderful experience. iView works ok, and SBS catchup sorta works (I think that is the fault of their Hbbtv application though), but the other catchup services do not.