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This page provides updates to the main story here:
Digifusion & Inverto EPG Updates Switched Off

Latest News (4th September 2010, 19:46):
More details about the Beko refund – a few have successfully claimed their £70 refund but most are being rejected. It seems if your serial number is above 60400000 you have a good chance. Here’s a rejection email from Beko:

Dear xxx

Beko PLC purchased the Digifusion label and all outstanding stock in April 2006, these are all units with serial numbers starting with 60400000 .Customers who purchased the FVRT boxes with serial numbers prior to this are required to refer to the liquidators of Fusion Digital Technology. For this information please contact your local Trading Standards or Citizens Advise who should be able to advise accordingly.

Regards

Beko PLC

The bit about liquidators and Trading Standards is just a polite way of saying “get lost”.

Here are the contact details for Beko:

• email: service@beko.co.uk
• via website: http://www.beko.co.uk/Contactus.aspx
• phone: 0845 600 4911

If you want to read about other peoples experiences have a look at this thread on DigitalSpy:
No Epg download again (merged) – Page 32

Some extracts from a letter which accompanied the £70 cheque:

“I can confirm that we have received you Digifusion box. This has been tested by our technical department and the serial number verified”.

“this represents a goodwill gesture outside the warranty conditions and is not an admission of liability”

“by making this payment to you the Digifusion box becomes the property of Beko Plc”

UPDATE#12 (25th August 2010, 14:10):
Reports are emerging that Beko are now offering FVRT145 owners a refund of £70. As Jay comments below:

Breaking News: Beko are offering 70£ for your pvr145 units.

Spoke to a very helpful lady, who sorted this today… mine is packed and on its way back.

Email them your model number and serial number, they will reply with yes or no… any stock that was sold since they purchased digifusion (where serial number is on their list) will be sorted.

Hope this helps everyone in some way!

It’s so far the best offer any manufacturer has provided – Sony’s £100 off was bordering on offensive, see below. Unfortunately it’s not the preferred outcome of a restored EPG, leaving thousands of pre-Beko Digifusion owners high and dry.

Still no further update from Inverto.

UPDATE#11 (2nd August 2010, 12:52):
Potentially interesting development for Inverto users as posted on the Inverto Forum – Jörg Benker, Field Applications Engineer at Inverto has responded with the following:

Just to be sure here, there is no problem at all with this receiver. The EPG is supplied by a third-party company and therefore fully out of our control.

We are working on this problem and are confident to fix this soon. But you have to understand that Inview stopped this service without any notice to any of the companies which are using this EPG.

Best Regards,

I’ve highlighted the significant statement there. It sounds like they might be working on updated firmware for the Inverto. They do have other DVB-T boxes for the European market, so maybe they have code already for getting the EPG from a different source. Inverto also have a track record of distributing firmware updates as files with instructions for updating via the serial port.

Thanks to poloboy for posting the information.

Meanwhile Beko (owners of the Digifusion brand) appear to be planning to make a decision on the EPG issue this week. storkman on the DigitalSpy forum posted the following:

I called Beko this morning regarding my FVRT200 box. The person I spoke to stated that Beko have been having a number of internal meetings and she believed that a decision on how they will respond to the EPG issue will be made next week.

Anyone who has registered with Beko will be informed directly.

I asked if she had been taking many calls – the answer was a simple yes.

Time to stand up and be counted. If you want to be contacted directly by Beko regarding the decision, email service@beko.co.uk to report your problems.

UPDATE#10 (29th July 2010, 19:52):
Sony have started responding to complaints about the loss of EPG on the SVR-S500. Sadly there’s no suggestion of re-instating the EPG. Instead they’re offering Sony customers a trade-in on a couple of other Sony models. On the face of it £100 off sounds quite good, but a quick google search indicates the price of the RDR-DC200 at Sony is £299 yet it’s available elsewhere for £179.99!

Here’s the text from Sony’s response:

Dear Mr xxxxxxx

Thank you for your recent e-mail received on xxxxxxxx.

Thank you for contacting Sony regarding your Sony SVR-S500.

In recent weeks we have been contacted by a number of customers with reference to the loss of EPG service on their SVR-S500 Freeview recorder.

This loss of service is, very basically, due to the EPG data stream, specific for this product, no longer being broadcast as of the 29th June.

Since this date, the electronic programme guide will now only display the ‘Now’ and ‘Next’ information; where before it would display up to 8 days of programme lists.

As a result, we are aware that you will no longer be able to see forthcoming programmes or use the EPG to record them in advance. However all other functions will continue as before, with the product still able to display the Freeview broadcast and record programmes via the manual timer function.

However, with the change in service firmly in mind, we have put in a place an offer to give you the option to trade-in your SVR-S500 and get £100 off of one of the following Freeview HDD/DVD recorders:

RDR-DC200
RDR-DC100

Details of these models and their full features and specifications can be found on www.sony.co.uk. Please note however that new ranges do not feature twin Freeview tuners but these products do come with built in DVD recorders which is an added benefit.

If you wish to participate in the trade-in, you can either do this by contacting our Sony Centre Sales line on 0845 6000 124 (select option 1) where they can arrange for you to reserve and collect the new product via your local Sony Centre, or, you can visit your local Sony Centre directly. The offer will run from midday on 29 July. Details of your nearest Sony Centre can be found via www.sonycentres.co.uk. Please note you will need to return the SVRS500 to the Sony Centre to obtain the discount.

I hope that this offer helps you with the current situation.

Yours sincerely

xxxxx xxxxxxxxx
Customer Information Centre
SONY UNITED KINGDOM

Thanks to brumlad36 on DigitalSpy for posting.

UPDATE#9 (27th July 2010, 20:13):
I’ve been away for a few days and it seems very little has happened. I’ve written an article outlining the digital tick scandal: Freeview Digital Tick Fiasco. I tried to keep it unbiased and hopefully some other media organisations will pick it up. Feel free to email the link around; slashdot, digg, stumbleface, whatever it. Obviously your furious comments on the digital tick mess itself might encourage others to run the story.

Some people have been in touch with Beko in the wake of the digital tick scandal. Beko (the owners of the Digifusion brand) do seem to be taking a different line to the one before (see update#5 below). This was there response a few days ago:

Thank you for your email regarding the EPG issue.

Our Global head office are looking into further options, at this moment we do not know the outcome. When a decision is made you will be contacted back, however at this stage we cannot confirm a date.

Kind Regards
Carol Alley
Customer Service Advisor
www.beko.co.uk

So, there’s still hope. What can you do? Tell anyone who will listen, contact the manufacturers, retailers, etc. Keep the pressure on.

UPDATE#8 (19th July 2010, 13:08):
Steve Burgess has posted the following email he sent to the editor of Which? on the subject of the Digital Tick Certification (see Update#7 below):

Freeview Digital Tick Certification Shambles?

Hello Martyn

Further to your story about the loss of the Inview EPG – http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/07/…pdates-220295/ – statements by both the Digital Television Group (DTG) and Freeview cite the importance of consumers buying digital tick-certified products (see extracts below with my highlighting).

However at least some of the PVRs which have been emasculated by the withdrawal of the EPG did come with the digital tick prominently displayed on their packaging (see attached); models include the Digifusion FVRT 145/200/400 and the Sony SVR-S500. (Picture credits: Digital Spy forum member Shoog)

The rather restrained Which? news article does not now, I feel, reflect the seriousness of the situation that the 1100+ Freeview viewers who have signed the on-line petition – http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_pe…ned.cgi?4tvepg – find themselves in. By withdrawing the Inview EPG at no notice thousands of Freeview viewers have been treated in a cavalier manner while confidence in the Freeview platform in general and the digital tick certification in particular has been shaken.

Those responsible for this debacle need to be taken to task and – in the humble view of a Which? magazine reader of some 21 years’ standing – I believe Which? has a role to play. In the interests of all Freeview viewers heads need banging together to get the Inview EPG reinstated at the very least for a minimum of six months while those affected research and acquire a suitable replacement PVR.

I have copied this e-mail to the press contacts at DTG, DCMS, BIS, Digital UK, Freeview and Ofcom and posted its contents on the Digital Spy forum.

Kind regards

Steve Burgess
Woking, Surrey
(member E414224457, since May 1989)

DTG
…Carriage of the 7 day standard EPG forms part of the requirement for the Digital Tick certification mark. Certified products which carry the Digital Tick signify to consumers that these products will work with the standard 7 day EPG.
Any product that carries the Digital Tick will have passed the Digital TV Group’s rigorous test and conformance regimes. The failure of even a small number of ageing receivers in the market emphasises the need for all manufacturers to co-ordinate their production efforts through the specification and test and conformance procedures of the Digital TV Group to achieve the Digital Tick and Freeview trade mark licence, which are proven indicators that a product is compliant, reliable and robust.

source: http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?…lass=0&id=3823

Freeview
…This affects only a small number of old legacy models, which were sold without the industry standard Digital Tick certification provided by Digital UK.
Digital UK and Freeview strongly advise customers to purchase models with the DVB Standard 7-day EPG, which forms part of the requirement for the digital tick certification mark, setting the standard for customers and offering peace of mind when it comes to purchasing equipment which offers access to Freeview…

source: http://www.freeview.co.uk/Press/Free…omson-products

UPDATE#7 (17th July 2010, 16:22):
The petition has reached 1000 signatures. Dave Hill’s going to send it to the Managing Director of Freeview as well as the four manufacturers. He also hints there may be more to the scrapping of the EPG than we’re led to believe.

Freeview has issued a statement on the demise of the EPG in which it states:

Digital UK and Freeview strongly advise customers to purchase models with the DVB Standard 7-day EPG, which forms part of the requirement for the digital tick certification mark, setting the standard for customers and offering peace of mind when it comes to purchasing equipment which offers access to Freeview.

The bit about the certification mark is interesting. Here are some pictures of the Digifusion FVRT200, FVRT145 and FVRT400 boxes (thanks David) along with the Sony SVR-S500 (thanks Chris) – all clearly showing the digital tick.

So, are Freeview wrong about the the 7-day EPG being a requirement or were Digifusion, Sony, and others I suspect, wrong to put it on their boxes.

If you have pictures of other affected models showing the digital tick and freeview logo, upload them to tinypic.com and post a link in the comments.

UPDATE#6 16th July 2010, 01:15):
newcoppiceman on DigitalSpy reports that Radio 4’s You and Yours consumer affairs programme are set to cover the missing EPG story on the show at lunchtime today (Friday 16 July).

Meanwhile Dave Hills, organiser of the petition, mentions he’s been contacted by a TV show about the issue. The petition has over 800 signatures at the moment.

brumlad36 on DigitalSpy managed to get a response from Sony about his SVR-S500 which also uses the 4TV / InView EPG. Speaking by phone to the technical department they confirmed they were aware of the issue said that, “Sony were taking steps to take over the service themselves.” This is probably the most encouraging lead yet. We’ll see what transpires.

Further coverage:

• The Register: Freeview reaches out to EPG-less DVR owners
• DigitalSpy: InView EPG petition tops 760 signatures

UPDATE#5 (14th July 2010, 19:15):
Finally some wider media coverage in the day or so, none of it particularly helpful but good to get some publicity:

• Which? PVRs lose InView Freeview EPG updates – obviously copied the list of models from this site but sadly no link back to here.
• Digital TV Group InView ends 14 day EPG service – sounds more like an attempt to reassure other Freeview users.
• Sky News Thousands Left Without Freeview TV Guide – probably the be best article so far. The part about “compliant” boxes switching from the 14-day EPG to the 7-day one sounds wrong. Interesting to hear if anyone has such a box.

Eileen Tye posted has posted a comment after she received the following response from Beko, the owners of the Digifusion brand.

‘InView Technology,’ (formerly ‘4TV’) the company which provides the 14-day Electronic Programming Guide to your Digifusion Digital Video Recorder as well as to a variety of other manufacturers Digital Receivers, has terminated the service not just to Digifusion but to many other Manufacturer’s Receivers from July 7th 2010.

This has come about due to ‘InView Technology’ no longer being given access to the necessary bandwidth that delivers the information to your Recorder, and not in any way because of contractual issues with Digifusion.

This is unfortunately completely out of our hands as we have no control over changes in Bandwidth usage or Broadcasting Transmission’s in the UK, which are constantly changing with the Digital changeover, and has seen other loss of services in the past such as ITV discontinuing broadcasting it’s Teletext service.

I responded to this repeating the question about why they cannot find an alternative method, and pointing out that it seemed mad that people were being forced to throw out perfectly functioning electronic items just for the lack of a third-party information service service which no longer operates. This was their response:-

Invision have confirmed to us in writing that the reason for the service being withdrawn is as a result of the contract between Invision and its supplier for carrying the signal had reached the end of its term. We understand that this supplier was unwilling to extend the contract further and Invision have chosen not to seek an alternative supplier. The termination of the service has not related to any contractual or commercial issues between us and any supplier.

The Digifusion product was designed and manufactured by Fusion Digital technology. This company went into liquidation in the early part of 2006 and we purchased the brand name and the remaining stock at this point. Therefore we do not have access to the design team for these products.

Invision has told us that the 4TV software was “hard coded” into the product. They have explained that as a result, even if a design team were available, they would be unable to redirect the box to acquire data from elsewhere (from SI information for example).

I do understand that you may be unhappy with this situation, however we are not able to offer you any more assistance in this matter.

Interesting reading. So as Beko only own the brand and stock from Fusion Digital, who owns the intellectual property for these devices – the hardware and software designs? I was under the impression that was 4TV Ltd. Their name is on the circuit boards and inside the firmware. 4TV are now InView so do they own the IP? The part about being “unable to redirect the box to acquire data from elsewhere” needs to be clarified. I don’t yet understand why it would not be possible, with access the firmware source code.

One other thing, if you disassemble the Digifusion firmware you’ll find a logo for Beko, so they had some involvement when the boxes were being designed.

UPDATE#4 (10th July 2010, 11:02):
Dave Hills has started an online petition requesting the re-instatement of the EPG (see comment below). It’s directed at Freeview UK and although this is not their responsibility, they are well-placed to resolve it or at least help. Hopefully they will feel some kind of obligation and step up to protect Freeview users. If significant numbers sign, it could lead to more publicity and pressure on the manufacturers, etc.
Sign it here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/4tvepg/petition.html

UPDATE#3 (8th July 2010, 20:23):
DTEG on Invertfo Forum has had a response from Inverto which offers a glimmer of hope:

I had the following back from Jörg from Inverto (and one-time forum rep) today. Talk may be cheap, but you never know…

Quote

We are very sorry to, that you are facing now this difficulties with the EPG on our receiver. We are actually in contact with the EPG provider, they switch of this service some days ago, we are trying to find a solution to fix this problem asap.

Meanwhile some people have been trying other European firmware for the Inverto IDL7000 without success, while others are trying to reverse engineer the .EPG file format used to store the EPG data on the hard disk of the Digifusion.

UPDATE#2 (30th June 2010, 10:47):
DigitalSpy are now covering the story themselves: InView/4TV ends Freeview box EPG updates. The article doesn’t really say add anything, in fact, it reads quite like this one.

UPDATE#1 (29th June 2010, 16:29):
Inview have posted the following on the DigitalSpy forum:

As you know we have had to bring to an end the broadcast of the 4TV 14 day guide.

Unfortunately this has been caused by circumstances beyond our control – simply put the bandwidth contract has run out and we have been unable to secure a new arrangement.

As you know Inview has tried hard over the last few years to keep this service running but it seems that its time has now passed. We do hope you will manage to find a suitable new arrangement.

Just to clarify one point – when the current listing expire on your Thomson/Digifusion devices both will revert to a simple now/next guide.

Best regards, Inview

Tags: 4tv, beko, dhd400, digifusion, digital tick, digital uk, epg, freeview, fvrt100, fvrt145, fvrt150, fvrt200, fvrt400, guide, inverto, inview, sony, svr-s500, thomson

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