We‘ve made the decision to soon remove the SBS On Demand app version 2 app from Panasonic televisions from 2011-2013, and external devices including Blu-rays (2011 – 2017) and DVRs (2011 – 2017).
This particular app is called the “v2 app” and it was built back in 2012. The V2 app will be removed from these devices in August 2021. The exact date of removal is to be confirmed with Panasonic and will be published once known.
We’ve made this decision because these older televisions and devices do not support the best experience for the SBS On Demand app. They do not have the memory or processing power to run our most up-to-date app (known as the “v3 app”). This means that the experience on these older televisions and devices doesn’t offer the premium, curated experience our viewers expect and that we’re committed to providing. The v2 app also doesn’t have the enhanced features or improved ad experience currently available on the updated app.
As technology develops, from time to time we need to make tough calls on what services we can maintain, so we can continue to invest in building and updating the SBS On Demand platform to provide as many Australians as possible with the best product we can. Unfortunately, given the range of devices out there today, that means we can’t be available on all of them and instead we focus on enhancing our products across the board, and on offering new and better services.
As the app will soon be unavailable on my television/device, how can I watch SBS On Demand?
Don’t worry, you can still access all the great content SBS On Demand has to offer as long as your television has an HDMI port in it!
The HDMI port on your television looks like this:
Using an HDMI cable from a laptop, smart phone or tablet you can to ‘screen mirror’ to your TV. Learn more about this method here.
Alternatively, you can plug a media streaming device or set top box like Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fetch TV, Foxtel IQ or Telstra TV, into the HDMI port of your TV. There’s no need to update your entire television.
And you can always find SBS On Demand via our iOS and Android app on smart phone or tablet, on a range of Android TVs, Hisense, LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony TVs, and via your internet browser on your computer, tablet or smart phone.