50 Bravia Smart TVs are losing YouTube access

Owners of a number of Sony Bravia Smart TVs released throughout 2012 will see the in-built YouTube app vanish at the end of the month.

9to5Google reports that a recent change to the YouTube HTTPS encryption API has rendered it incompatible with a number of Bravia models, with owners complaining of video freezes and app crashes.

Sony says it is unable to fix the problem, so has chosen to remove the YouTube app completely – a change that will come into effect on September 30th. 50 models are affected, spanning the EX, HX and X product ranges.

Owners of earlier Apple TVs were previously dealt a similar blow when YouTube changes rendered their hardware incompatible.

The lesson? It’s probably better to plug a smart device into a dumb TV. Those affected will need to invest in something like a Chromecast, Fire TV or Apple TV to access YouTube on the sets in the future.