Channel 5 has its own catch-up service here in the UK, much like other broadcasters nationwide and worldwide. The company has recently released a new Windows Phone 8 app, but the development team have also been busy bees on Windows 8, updating the official Demand 5 app to take full advantage of Windows 8.1.
If you're not familiar with the Demand 5 service, it essentially enables you to keep up-to-date with your favourite shows from the UK broadcaster, including Big Brother, Neighbours, Home and Away, The Gadget Show and more. The app itself has been available on Windows 8 for some time, but today we're looking at a substantial refresh.
Should you not be familiar with Windows 8.1 updates, here's what's included in the latest Demand 5 release:
- Multiple sized Live Tiles
- Integrated search with the new system in Windows
- Resizable view, which can be configured as desired
- Pinnable shows to the Start screen
- Last watched available for convenient access
- Auto-play of next episode when tuned into a series
The Demand 5 service offers a free (ad-supported) 7-day catch up service for the selection of Channel 5 shows, as well as a selection of archived content available indefinitely. Unfortunately, the app does require Wi-Fi, so if you were planning to use the service while on the move, you'll need to either be tethering to a device with unlimited data (or at least a healthy allowance) or on a public connection.
It's good to see the broadcaster update its Windows apps, as well as supporting Windows Phone. Speaking of which, if you haven't already got the app on your smartphone, you can grab it from the Windows Phone Store (Windows Phone 8). You can also download Demand 5 from the Windows Store (Windows 8.1). Please note that broadcasting and access may be region restricted - specifically to the UK.
