TV owners will need to know which components are inside their Freeview TV- but there is an easier way to find out if ITV Hub will continue working after 28th September 2022.
Freeview is letting viewers know that some devices won’t support the ITV Hub after ITV upgrades it content protection next month. ITV is upgrading its systems to prepare for the transition from ITV Hub to ITVX.
But rather than publishing a list of actual TV models, Freeview is communicating technical details relating to what’s inside the affected TVs. Some websites have passed on this information, oblivious that most viewers will not be able identify their TV based on this data.
For example, Freeview says the Sharp UMC MSD6486 will be affected. The MSD6486 is not a type of TV, but in fact a main board found inside a number of Sharp smart TVs manufactured by UMC in 2016-17.
For Panasonic devices, the Freeview list actually refers to the MediaTek MT5810 inside TVs that won’t support ITV Hub after 28th September. Incidentally, the MT5810 sits inside models including the TX-49DX603/603E or the TX-58DX800. Only the most die-hard TV hardware fans will know that!
Freeview’s list of devices don’t include model numbers, but refer to components inside the TVs.
You don’t need to know what’s inside your TV to check if the ITV Hub will still work at the end of September
ITV is pushing pop-up messages on affected devices that will tell you if you need to take action.
If your device is affected, you’ll need to switch to another device to continue accessing ITV’s streaming service as it transitions into ITV Hub. That’s because your device can’t be upgraded to support the new content protection being added to ITV’s online service.
UPDATE
Since publishing this article, Freeview has dropped its existing advice and is now also advising viewers that affected devices will show a pop-up message.
Iain Hatton, features writer, RXTV
Updated 16/08/2022 18:13 and 24/08/2022 10:43