YouView has unveiled its next-generation TV platform, leaving Flash in the past and embracing HTML5 moving forward. 

The new interface leverages the cloud, meaning that YouView can quickly and easily update or add features in the background, something that the older Flash-based system wasn't so well equipped for. 

The new system changes a number of pages of the user interface, adding transparency at all levels, so if you're browsing the EPG or heading in to change the settings, you'll still be able to see your programme playing in the background. 

Starting at the top, there's a new home screen for YouView that pulls up the now and next screen, with easy navigation across to YouView's major areas - players and apps and MyTV recorded content (changing its name from MyView currently).

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That means can you can access Netflix, for example, by hitting the YouView button and scrolling across in the bottom ribbon, without the full-screen takeover of the current and past system which moves you through several pages.

The new system is more visual than the old: the settings menu is no longer a list spread across pages, instead each area is represented with an icon so it's easier to find what you're looking for, be that audio options or parental controls.

The MyTV section, which collates all your recordings, now uses thumbnails, rather than just presenting a list of titles as it currently does, so it's quicker to scan through and find what you're looking for, with less reading. 

All this makes things feel lighter and more modern, and much more dynamic than the previous YouView experience.

Things are a lot faster too. We had the chance to explore the new YouView platform at the company's headquarters and there's definitely more snap, even running on the old Humax DTR-T2000 box.

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That's an important point, as the new YouView experience is designed to replace the current system on the hardware that you already have. YouView has long been saying that YouView is the interface and that still applies: whether you're a retail customer or a TalkTalk or BT TV user, everyone will get the update.

The only group of people who won't get the over-the-air upgrade are Sony TV users. We grilled YouView on whether that update was coming and they told us that Sony had seen the performance upgrades it offered, but are yet to confirm or deny and future changes. 

For those who will receive the update, TalkTalk users will be first in line with the update rolling out towards the end of November. BT will follow at some time after that, but the process will be seamless and over the air, giving you a fresh new look. 

Take a look through the gallery to see the new YouView pages in action - we'll bring you more once we've had the chance to explore a little more.