That was an exceptionally good run through of the Sky stream box. I’ve signed up for one with their broadband on the back of this review. Thanks for taking the time 👍
Agreed, great video but I've decided NOT to sign up on the basis of this video 😂 Horses for courses, I suppose. I was ready to pull the trigger over the weekend but it's a hard No, for me now.
The reality of the age of streaming is this exact fragmentation, I think it's going to be extremely rare that you find a system as well integrated as what you're asking for. The streaming service providers have all the leverage and don't want to put all this development time into other people's products. They would also never trust another company like Sky to tinker with their applications.
I suspect the aerial / DVB-T tuner will be key in Italy where there are a number of local channels on terrestrial - in fact the Sky Q box over there has a DVB-T tuner too which has always been interesting.
Thanks for putting this up Cameron. Great review. Not sure I want to change from Sky Q just yet but your video was just what I wanted to see Stream in action.
For anyone who doesn't know about it, the simplest way to get Sky channels that doesn't even involve buying a single piece of hardware from Sky, is NOW TV or just NOW as they rebranded to recently. It's just Sky's take on a streaming service like any other and has access to all their channels live. The app is available on Samsung, Sony & LG Smart TVs, Amazon Fire Sticks & Rokus, along with the givens like mobile and desktop. If the overlap with other streaming apps on the Stream is annoying you then this is the way to avoid that, because the only programmes that are going to show in the NOW TV app are they programmes actually available on Sky.
Agree. I find that ok for occasional viewing, but the quality isn’t great. I’ve been waiting for sky stream for F1 in 4k HDR, and to get Sky Atlantic. F1 looks *amazing* and overall I’m pretty happy so far. Most/all content is available enough on catch up that ‘bookmarked’ content works as an alternative to actual HDD recording
Now is the cheapest way to get the Sky Sports channels. Stream and Q force you to buy a base pack before you can add the Sky Sports channels. It’s a shame that the Now app on AppleTV with the boost pack doesn’t have 5.1 audio for unknown reasons. Now often has special offers to keep subscribers. I’m on a 12 month £20 a month sports offer. Now is clearly aimed as the budget offering but can be a good way to get the sports channels for a cheaper price. If Now added 4k UHD with a boost+ pack it would be good as that is the big quality difference compared to Stream
Really detailed video. Despite it almost being midnight, you explained everything thoroughly. Not even the opening of the box was rushed 😉 My only criticism is the placement of your Dyson fan! It is very distracting. And now you've read this, you're going to move it because you can't not notice it while watching the telly 😂I've just found your channel and subscribed. Look forward to going through the backlog and for your future videos!
The fact that so many UK residences are protected makes me wonder if there isn't some non-mounted dish option available? If a sensor-driven motorized auto-correction for the angle can be figured out, I could see dishes on tripods coming into existence over there. Or whatever Dish uses over here for those portable dishes.
Great in-depth review, Cameron. I ordered Stream off the back of watching this. Been streaming all my content for the past 5 years, so this was a bit of a change for me. Tried it for a week, but ultimately decided to return it and cancel the service. Strikes me as a ‘nearly’ product, but I’m informed the software will evolve over time so maybe I’ll revisit it in a year or two.
My Sky TV contract expires next week. After 20 years, that's it for me; it's too expensive. With SKY Q, I do like recording TV, but your explanation of the 'Playlist' function is useful and the decision-maker for switching to Sky Stream. With using the network's own apps I know I would forget a programme, so having the option to take me straight will be handy. The issue you mentioned with Simpsons being on SKY and Disney+ is not a big issue for me, I am a great 911 fan , originally on Sky Witness now the latest series on Disney+, so this will be the same. Next week I will have to decide if to cancel or even switch to NOW TV for my SKY Atlantic fix.
One thing I find annoying was seeing a program on sky news I wanted to “record” and watch later like I would have on Sky Q but it added the program as a playlist but the specific program episode was nowhere to be found!
Useful overview. Was thinking of getting one for my Nana. But while I'd have no bother navigating it, the janky nature of the "recordings" feels like it would confuse her.
Fabulous pointing to the box. Riveting video. The pointing was superb. Made the video a bit of a roller coaster emotionally. Even the whole hand was impressive. But the opening was Oscar performance, 3 minutes of Video bliss.
Thanks for this video. Does it show what episodes you've already watched on the series link/play list? what happens when a new show comes out? will it be at the top?
Great video. Would I be right in thinking that it is not possible to skip adverts when using STV, or any other channel with adverts? Great thing about having a recorder is the ability to circumvent the ads.
In the US Comcast Cable's Xfinity X1 does the same thing with teasing things I can't access, it tries to take me to Netflix or Disney+ which I don't want to have or use. I wish I could do the same and tell it to not show anything relating to them
Notice Stv player can you get itv x as I hate stv also bbc Scotland do have add post code when stalling or can you use a English post code so get BBC South channels. As current Sky Q can add channels to your TV get via Google for frequency?
Unfortunately not which is pretty annoying, it also doesn't seem to accept CEC commands for control so you'd be limited to IR control. Thankfully it does at least support that (even though the remote is Bluetooth it does support IR commands and the remote can be switched into an IR mode) but if network control is important to you, you'd be better off going with Sky Q.
Very good well explained video. It could be i missed something, but can you set the tv channels in order, or as a favourite list rather than scrawl through tons of channels to get the channel i want,..Also I would never remember the channel number i was looking for... Hope this makes sense. Thanks Danny
What they could have done with the "puck" is put an on board hard drive and had an option to record programmes. It need not have cost that much more and it would helped the migration over to streaming with customers who were resistant about switching from the traditional SKY box. You can get a TB of on board memory in a unit that size.
The main mistake people made with sky glass is to go for the biggest TV when it's not a top spec TV. It's still pretty decent as it supports Dolby Atmos and Vision and is a decent VA panel when you manually sort the brightness. In short the 43 inch is awesome TV for the kitchen or bedroom as no need for a separate soundbar. You can also power a 4K Amazon stick via the back USB C port. I've got the pucks linked to better TVs and the sky glass is mint on the kitchen wall for an all in one option. My main annoyance with sky pucks is the removal of the optical out (same with most modern technology including consoles).
That's a fair point, still nice that I can now get it without any sort of TV since I didn't really need a new bedroom one but the Sky Glass does seem like a decent option for a bedroom TV. My only concern would be that since, if you sold the TV on, it can't then be activated as a Sky device by the new owner, it likely won't have the same resale value as a conventional TV. As for the optical output, this is fairly common nowadays as the optical standard has very much been superseded by HDMI. While "fibre optic" sounds modern, it's actually a standard from the 80s and can't handle more than 2 audio channels without compression whereas HDMI can handle full uncompressed surround sound. If you need an optical output (e.g. for an older sound system that doesn't support HDMI) then you can get "HDMI Audio Extractors" which are relatively inexpensive and will provide an optical audio output from an HDMI feed while passing through he HDMI video to your display.
@@camerongray1515 all good advice but in a small bedroom environment where I can only fit a Samsung m5 TV and wanting to use a Sonos ray with sky puck/apple TV/ps5 and Xbox I’m already running out of plugs and ports 😂 I just wanted to use optical to the Ray. I know it is dead really. Be nice if sky added AirPlay out as an option. I’ll probably just watch most none sky stuff via Apple TV and use AirPlay to Sonos (saw you have a Mac mini in your setup too…I use one as Plex server). Thanks for the reply! Side note the puck also fits in an IKEA malm single makeup mirror tray and as Bluetooth really good option in a small space 😂
Can't see this working for Ireland for playlist as we are not allowed access to BBC iPlayer App and The Irish RTE player plays at least four adverts before each program.
Sky and BBC have come to some arrangement about Ireland. It's currently in place for Sky Glass. It's not full-fat iPlayer, but it's not nothing either. Hard-disk recording of BBC is definitely still the better opinion for Irish viewers imo.
I have a smark 4k ultra HD OLED tv when I ordered mine I asked for the added extra to get a better picture but he said I don't need it the picture will be good enough he didn't ask if I had a HD tv or anything like that ,so is the picture quality good
First time viewer. Thanks Cameron for a thorough review of Sky Stream! Think I am going to get this. Wonder if they will do a Black Friday deal? I am pretty useless with Tech - do you know if it is possible to get the remote to turn on and control a sound bar as well? Thanks 👍
Great video. Thank you. Quick question: Let’s say I’ve missed the first 10 minutes of live football match, can I start from the beginning without going into that channel? I’d hate to see the scoreline whilst doing it
Really appreciate this video from an opinion I respect. Answers pretty much all the questions I had as I’ve been pretty interested in moving to this for a while.
I wondered why Sky went for a full on TV and not a stream box. The thing I don't really understand now is: - Why not create a smaller device footprint. Something more like a ticket pen drive. With nVME drives, you could potentially fit an entire stream and recording device in a smaller area. - At this point, why not just create an app for your phone that also works on other hardware such a Google TV streamer or firestick etc? I do understand the implications on account sharing etc, but it will come eventually, I'm sure.
Great video: I have been with sky for 9 years and had Sky Q since it was launched. We recently renovated the living room and wanted the TV on the other side of the room but was restricted by the satellite cables. Bought cable extensions and ran them round the room but it looked awful so rang Sky last week and ditched Sky Q for Sky Stream. Had it almost a week and me and my wife love it. We rarely used the record function as pretty much everything is available on demand now. I had 2 Sky Q boxes which ended up corrupted and lost all of my recordings. Everyone will have their preferences. If the internet goes down then do the old fashioned thing called talking to each other. In the 9 years with Sky my internet went down once. Even the agent on the phone said that satellite dishes are so 1990s and said streaming is the way forward. Each to their own and I respect everyone’s choices but this solved the issue of not having cables trawling around my room and just looks neat and tidy.
They're all working great, for the front channels I'm using the Bronze 50s and then Bronze FXs for the surrounds. I made a video about them all here: th-cam.com/video/WUwCIxJg2XM/w-d-xo.html. Then for the sub I'm using a BK XLS-200FF which I made a video about here: th-cam.com/video/xv4VpPAdI6k/w-d-xo.html
Superb review matey , trees are messing with my dish , so I need an alternative… I like Skys interface and use Zen broadband, so it’s a good option..👍🏼👍🏼
Great overview. I had Sky glass in May 22 and sent it back and re-installed Sky Q. I never thought the TV picture quality was particularly good and I hated the playlists. Especially for channels like ITV. If you added something like Coronation Street, it would be hard to find the latest show or shows fro that week as they were numbered and they would add every bloody episode going back years. Yawn!! Paying for skipping adverts was a joke as well after the first year. Completely taking the piss. So having just a puck that can stream sky is interesting but would have to deal with playlists again. Is the amount of pucks you have limited ? I still think it’s early days for sky software and they need to come up with a better playlists or recording mechanism before I’m go back.
Great review mate! Is there a away to speed up the transition between live channels? It looks like about 5 seconds delya before the picture show up. Thanks
Adding to playlist Test match cricket from another country with time difference is hopeless, e.g. 5am start for recent England versus Pakistan, starts at the beginning fine when I get up say at 10am, but it will stop when the live recording stops around 12-12.30...ie it will only give me the first 2+ hours.
Does it work on any 'host' internet provider or is it only 'certain providers' that can stream through? The building I am moving to is new but and is not wired up to the 'main providers....they only installed 'Hyperoptic' in the building so will this be compatible?
All it needs is the HDMI cable to your TV and the power cable, you can also optionally use an ethernet cable to connect it to your network if you don't want to use WiFi. I didn't bother showing it since all since I felt it was pretty self explanatory looking at the ports on the device and since I have a relatively complex setup involving an AV Receiver, it wouldn't match up with the vast majority people's TV setups.
Thanks! I watched your video and decided to get Sky Stream. I've had it for a couple of days and am very happy with it. I find the user interface better than using the NowTV dongle.
Reference local news on BBC and itv...then app players don't give you local news ...so...can you add local news to play lists? I get home at 8pm and missed 6pm Yorkshire news..how do I catch up on it?
You should just need to set the resolution to UHD. There is also a judder reduction option you could try but if it affects other devices too then you'd be better off checking the settings on your TV itself.
Thanks for such an in depth review. I've just read somewhere that there is no way of switching between HDMI ports on the remote, is this correct? My son currently switches ports when he wants to use his Play Station. Is this still possible? Thank you.
There isn't any sort of input control on the Sky remote however for that you'd just need to use your TV's regular remote. The Sky remote will control your TV's volume and turn it on/off but for anything else you'll need your TV's own remote.
Sky Q is 1080P or 4K10bit and yes Sky Q has the full watch from start. and Sky Q also shows stuff from apps that you might not subscribe to which has always been the case as a way to get you to subscribe recorded films is the say if you later remove your movies sub recorded films can no longer be played.
Absolutely, definitely one of the benefits of this - can just move the box around rather than paying extra for multiroom if you only infrequently need it in different rooms.
Got my late last week. So far pleased with it though a couple of niggles. The video and sound were out of synch so I had to switch Audio from PCM to Auto which resolved the issue. However the other issue is that none of my viewed content is 'remembered' so every time I return to a TV I have to remember what episode I have got to. It remembers that session but as soon as turn it off and back on it loses all of the viewing history. I have checked the settings about allowing content details to be shared and it still makes no difference. Apparently this is quite a common issue but since launch it does not appear to have been addressed which is shame. Hoping they resolve this unless anyone else knows how to fix this...?
When watching live tv on this box, do you know if they have a slight live delay? I currently use iplayer/itv hub for watching the World Cup and the games are slightly behind what sky/virgin would have. I can tell by looking on twitter whilst watching. Hope this makes sense. Thank you.
Yeah, the delay is pretty significant, around 30 seconds. Not a huge issue for me since I don't watch live sports but if you do and want to avoid spoilers you're probably better off with Freeview or regular Satellite (although Satellite will still have a few seconds of delay compared to Freeview)
Is their any lag between the channels on sky stream. For example the sky q box is 2 minutes ahead of sky go. If sky stream has no delay then that’s a game changer
You could get this for £26 a month on a contract (29 without) but honestly I would go for nowtv for £10 entertainment for a month, your existing smart TV probably supports it. You get access to the sky channels on there. If not you can get a Roku streaming stick for £30 from Argos which can run the now TV app.
Standard quality 720p with stereo sound (worse than sky stream). You can pay £5 per month for the "boost" add-on for nowtv, which also gives you the ability to use 3 devices at once, which provides 1080p and 5.1 sound (same as sky stream standard offering)
If you want to record on sky stream you need and hdmi converter to digital to create digital channel your freeview recorder or dvd recorder can recieve so you can record the programme to the hard drive and dvd recorder.
That's definitely an option (known as a DVB-T Modulator) although these are relatively expensive and are designed more for distributing the video to different rooms. A cheaper alternative could be using some sort of HDMI capture device to record to a computer. That said, I basically have zero interest in recording in this sense, if it's important to you to have traditional recording, then Sky Q is the product to go for.
Unfortunately not that I've been able to find, think Sky Q is similar which was a surprise when moving from Sky+ HD! The best I've been able to find is that if you have started a channel from the TV Guide, pressing back will take you back to the guide. However, if you started watching the channel and then did something such as open the home menu to browse and then went back to the channel using the "Currently Playing" shortcut, pressing back will take you back to the main menu.
Hi, great video. Had a quick question please. I’m considering purchasing this however I have access to a UHD Netflix account so I don’t need to pay the £8 extra with sky. Is it possible to sign into Netflix on Sky Stream with a different account than what is linked to your Sky Account without the bills merging? Thanks in advance.
Would love to know if you can move the box somewhere. Like we have a holiday home in then UK can I take the box with me there? Some posts suggest it's geolocated to your address on account some how.
I am really curious about that myself. Id love to know if I could take it to work n use in the staff room. Also if it works with a VPN if I was to visit friends abroad could I connect it to a router running a UK VPN server.
I haven't tried it myself but I can't see a technical reason why not - I don't have Sky broadband so there's no way for them to monitor which address it's being used at. Of course I can't speak for Sky's terms of service and whether they'd take issue if they saw it regularly hopping between multiple ISPs.
@@camerongray1515 technically the box can go anywhere you have wi-fi. However for now sky have it locked to your installation post code. So no it was the first thing I checked.
@antrobusg, where about are you seeing this? Without having Sky broadband or the Sky Stream box containing some sort of GPS hardware (which I highly doubt) then there would be no real technical way they could implement such a restriction.
@@camerongray1515 No, you can’t move your Sky Stream boxes to other houses, as the devices are geo-fenced and will only work when they’re located in the address of the main account holder.
This is a great fair review, I have just moved to the steam service, I have a large property with a 2TB SkyQ main box and 3 mini's - I don't have Sky BB as its poor so I moved to Virgin 350m which is great! Skey engineers came last week as boxes keep disconnecting and we have one in the annex next door (In laws) and said the only way is to hard wire all the boxes (I don't want cables everywhere and neither does the wife), so I moved to Stream and bar some subtitle issues it's been fine, picture is better, we shall see how it performs over the coming weeks....
Ive had 2 of these for about a year now, they now both have developed the same issue, the sound is fine when when I first put the TV on but over time the audio starts to lag, last night it was approx 1.5 seconds behind, the only way to resolve the issue is to switch the sky stream box off and the back on, very frustrating. Internet search provides that others have experienced the same. Sky blame Internet speed, I have fibre direct and very fast speed.
the 4K HDMi copy protection.... I have the same thing with my Virgin box and AV receiver. My work around is sending picture to TV direct, and sound to AV via optical. Sky stream doesn't have optical - but I REALLY hoped it wouldn't have this copywrite issue. that would make it a hard no unfortunately. WHY is this an issue???????????????????
Most of them yes, although when you factor in the cost of subscriptions for Netflix, NowTV and Discovery+, you essentially come to around the same price as Sky Stream but gain the nice unified interface and live channels though a single TV guide rather than needing to use separate apps.
I just love instructional videos where there's a remote being waved around and just do this like that where you can't see what he's done. Thanks a lot.
This video was intended as a review and demonstration, not an instructional video, hence me not focusing on explaining exactly how to use it. Had I spent longer explaining and showing exactly how to do everything, the video would have dragged on even longer than it did and wouldn't have been useful for the average person who just wants to see a review of Sky Stream before they decide to order it. If you need organised instructional content, Sky have tutorial videos on their own TH-cam channel.
Depends what you mean - it will output all channels at a 4K resolution when connected to a 4K TV so your TV doesn't have to constantly switch resolution when changing channels, but it won't improve the quality of them in any way
Yeah, the remote works as a standard IR remote as well as using bluetooth so without it paired it'll use IR to control the device. This also allows you to use the remote with IR blaster type devices, for example, if you are using some sort of system that distributes the video to other rooms.
@camerongray1515 Many thanks. With regards to your Simpsons issue on playlist. My understanding having read a few reviews is that content would only be aggregated from the apps that you've 'signed into' and that effectively you can use this box as a Sky content only by not signing in and therefore it would only pull Sky content. You could then use a Google TV, apple etc for the other apps. From your review, this doesn't look to be the case...has there been an update since to resolve the issue you faced?
I suspect it's required for the tight integration between the various catchup apps and the Sky platform since, if this was built as a smart TV app, it wouldn't have things like iPlayer/My 4 within this app. Sky offer Now TV as an app based version for streaming Sky's own content but this doesn't have any non-Sky channels. I suspect there may also be licensing/rights issues around streaming some channels within an app when that channel already has their own app. Ultimately it's not really something that bothers me since I can basically use the Sky box in place of the TV almost entirely and just use the TV as a display. Plus, with the dreadful performance of many smart TVs, having a box that Sky have full control over can allow them to manage the overall user experience and allows upgrades by simply replacing the box rather than needing to upgrade an entire TV.
@@camerongray1515 That's my point, most TV's now have access to all of these apps without a Puck. Sky seem to be the only platform clinging on to hardware. Not for long, Sky Glass is not flying off the shelves. I'm unsure there's a mass market for Stream.
Sure, smart TVs have those apps however the point of Sky Stream is that they are all integrated with the playlist feature as well as the ability to stream all channels from a single interface - this wouldn't be possible with a smart TV if Sky was delivered as an app. If you want Sky's content as a smart TV app then they offer that very thing branded as Now TV. It's not just Sky - Virgin and those weird TalkTalk/BT TV type services all still offer their own hardware. Long term popularity is still to be seen, however I suspect Stream will be significantly more desirable than Glass since Sky Glass only really appeals to people who also want a new TV. Sky Stream will basically appeal to the same demographic as Sky Q but for people who can't have/don't want a dish or like me want to save £5/mo by separating the billing for UHD Netflix from UHD Sky content.
Pretty much as soon as i saw this on the sky website, i subscribed to it (i decided to add on the multi-room service as well, I haven’t added on UHD or any of the additional channel packs though), one box connected to the main TV (which is a 1080P TV), and a second one is in one of the bedrooms
It shows a progress bar on the thumbnail of shows to show how far through it you have watched. However, I've found this to sometimes disappear after a while if I've gone back to a series after not watching it for a while which is a bit annoying.
Nice video. I'm going to have to renew my dad's Sky sub soon. He's almost 90 and not very tech savvy. He has Sky HD currently and I'm toying of either Sky Q or this service. He records a lot of old TV from channels like Great TV and Great Movies. I'm wondering if/how these programmes work on Sky Stream as they don't have sophisticated catch up services like the ones you showed in the video.
If he's not super tech savvy and is used to recording, I'd definitely go with Sky Q. Sky Stream is good but it'll definitely have a larger learning curve and a bit of a mental shift for someone who's used to the idea of recording live TV content. Just bear in mind that even Sky Q is a pretty significant UI change over Sky+HD so there will still be some learning involved!
@@camerongray1515 Great points. I agree about the switch from Sky HD to Q as I've had both in the past and it will be a tricky change for an older person. There is an "accessible" remote control available for Q which is essentially the same as the old HD remote. I got that when I had Q and my dad used it when he was at my place. It did help a lot.
Looks ok, was worried live TV would be an issue but the guide and playback appears to be just like my current skyq. As for your issues with app content with playlist I feel you're exaggerating the problem, if it isn't live cant you just use voice search either for the programme directly or for the app? Why worry about adding it to playlist? As for guide showing content you don't have Sky stb's have always done that.
I find the playlist feature useful as a way to bookmark different series that I'm watching. I tend to watch a bit of a random mix of different series where having a central place to keep track of what I've been watching where I can easily dip back in is super useful vs needing to remember the name of everything so that I can search. As for the guide, I'm aware that this is how Sky's regular guide works (and is the reason that I stopped using an old Sky+HD box as a free to air receiver), still worth mentioning since it's not something that I'm a fan of and is entirely resolvable if Sky wanted to fix it.
The channel selection is the same as Sky Glass, so there are slightly less channels than Sky Q but not really anything that bothers me. Sky have a comparison here: www.sky.com/help/articles/tv-channel-list-sky-glass
I've just noticed this as an option on Sky's web site and have been looking into it. Thanks for the detailed review. Oh I looked into that Antenna input and found this: "The built-in Freeview (digital terrestrial) receiver isn't activated for UK use on Stream pucks: it's available as a fallback on Glass television sets." 🖖👍
if you dont use subscription channels like netflix amazon do you have to pay anything to sky at all?And how much does it cost to buy i dont subscribe to any tv at the moment.
This device requires a subscription to do anything, you're also paying for things like the Sky channels as well as the internet streaming of the traditionally free to air channels such as BBC. If you want to receive channels for free in the UK, your only real options are Freeview or Freesat. Streaming channels over the internet, even traditionally free ones such as BBC, will cost Sky money for every concurrent viewer, whereas streaming them over the air costs the same no matter how many people are watching, therefore they wouldn't be able to offer this service for free.
You'll need a subscription for Sky Stream and therefore a Sky account to use it, but you don't need to have an existing Sky account or Sky broadband.etc. I didn't have a Sky account before I ordered Sky Stream and set the account up during the ordering process.
Appreciate your videos mate. I'm changing over to sky stream and ditching sky q as i need 4k sky mini boxes in 3 rooms and sky's mini boxes are only HD, only the main box is 4k. My only concern is that I need a way of being able to record on the sky stream puck, do you know of a workaround? Like using a DVR. I know you can add programs to a playlist but some don't stay available indefinitely. Cheers!
The most you could maybe do is using some sort of HDMI capture device but this would be akin to connecting a Sky box to a VCR - it'll only record the video source that is currently being played back and if a programme runs for an hour, it'll take an hour to capture it. You may also run into HDMI copy protection issues. My suggestion would be to stick with Sky Q for now and live without 4K and if you need 4K apps for things like Netflix, either use the smart TV apps or get a 4K capable smart TV stick type device. Hopefully Sky will release 4K capable mini boxes in the future.
@@DjKProductions You'll likely be able to do that to record Freeview channels but I highly doubt it'll let you record an HDMI source such as the Sky box.
@camerongray1515 ok, I'll probably try a hdmi capture device, even with it's limitations. Not sure what u mean by HDMI copy protection issues, will it stop me from recording certain channels or programs?
Are the channels the same as now ? Was thinking of swapping now to stream puck but won't bother if it's the same. I have entertainment and movie subscriptions of now
Very similar in that sense however you also get a bunch of channels from the likes of Discovery which I don't think Now has. It then has all the typical freeview type channels. Price wise it's probably roughly the same as Now TV plus Netflix so you don't really save a lot but I like how it's all integrated into one interface rather than needing to check between various different apps to get a full list of what's on.
Get Sky Stream (Affiliate): tidd.ly/3FpCXIA
Who remembers Sky Digital, the interactive button and Beehive Bedlam?
Beehive bedlam is still on sky
I remember fathom too!
Bumble tumble
Yes, and now I feel old
I loved beehive bedlam 😂
That was an exceptionally good run through of the Sky stream box. I’ve signed up for one with their broadband on the back of this review. Thanks for taking the time 👍
Agreed, great video but I've decided NOT to sign up on the basis of this video 😂 Horses for courses, I suppose. I was ready to pull the trigger over the weekend but it's a hard No, for me now.
The reality of the age of streaming is this exact fragmentation, I think it's going to be extremely rare that you find a system as well integrated as what you're asking for. The streaming service providers have all the leverage and don't want to put all this development time into other people's products. They would also never trust another company like Sky to tinker with their applications.
Excellent review.great work.there’s a lot of bad quality reviews of sky stream on TH-cam.this is the best one I’ve found.thanks
I suspect the aerial / DVB-T tuner will be key in Italy where there are a number of local channels on terrestrial - in fact the Sky Q box over there has a DVB-T tuner too which has always been interesting.
Thanks for this review. My Sky Q contract is coming to an end, and I was debating switching over. This was very informative.
Thanks for putting this up Cameron. Great review. Not sure I want to change from Sky Q just yet but your video was just what I wanted to see Stream in action.
For anyone who doesn't know about it, the simplest way to get Sky channels that doesn't even involve buying a single piece of hardware from Sky, is NOW TV or just NOW as they rebranded to recently. It's just Sky's take on a streaming service like any other and has access to all their channels live. The app is available on Samsung, Sony & LG Smart TVs, Amazon Fire Sticks & Rokus, along with the givens like mobile and desktop.
If the overlap with other streaming apps on the Stream is annoying you then this is the way to avoid that, because the only programmes that are going to show in the NOW TV app are they programmes actually available on Sky.
Agree. I find that ok for occasional viewing, but the quality isn’t great. I’ve been waiting for sky stream for F1 in 4k HDR, and to get Sky Atlantic. F1 looks *amazing* and overall I’m pretty happy so far. Most/all content is available enough on catch up that ‘bookmarked’ content works as an alternative to actual HDD recording
Ooh so that’s why I couldn’t find a now TV box anywhere, it’s on the fire stick now so I know what gift to get for F1 fan!
It's called NOW TV in UK? In Germany they call it WOW :D
Now is the cheapest way to get the Sky Sports channels. Stream and Q force you to buy a base pack before you can add the Sky Sports channels. It’s a shame that the Now app on AppleTV with the boost pack doesn’t have 5.1 audio for unknown reasons.
Now often has special offers to keep subscribers. I’m on a 12 month £20 a month sports offer. Now is clearly aimed as the budget offering but can be a good way to get the sports channels for a cheaper price. If Now added 4k UHD with a boost+ pack it would be good as that is the big quality difference compared to Stream
Resolution is badly hampered on Sky NOW and GO. Stream is a much better platform even in its infancy.
Really detailed video. Despite it almost being midnight, you explained everything thoroughly. Not even the opening of the box was rushed 😉 My only criticism is the placement of your Dyson fan! It is very distracting. And now you've read this, you're going to move it because you can't not notice it while watching the telly 😂I've just found your channel and subscribed. Look forward to going through the backlog and for your future videos!
Great video. Well thought out, in my opinion. Informative and demonstrated understanding.
great video.ordered my sky stream today.thanks very much.
so every program is catch up, no recording to be made, I'm ok with that but how do you skip through the adverts?
You pay an extra £5 pm for this feature but is free on sky Q
The fact that so many UK residences are protected makes me wonder if there isn't some non-mounted dish option available? If a sensor-driven motorized auto-correction for the angle can be figured out, I could see dishes on tripods coming into existence over there. Or whatever Dish uses over here for those portable dishes.
Great in-depth review, Cameron. I ordered Stream off the back of watching this. Been streaming all my content for the past 5 years, so this was a bit of a change for me. Tried it for a week, but ultimately decided to return it and cancel the service. Strikes me as a ‘nearly’ product, but I’m informed the software will evolve over time so maybe I’ll revisit it in a year or two.
My Sky TV contract expires next week. After 20 years, that's it for me; it's too expensive. With SKY Q, I do like recording TV, but your explanation of the 'Playlist' function is useful and the decision-maker for switching to Sky Stream. With using the network's own apps I know I would forget a programme, so having the option to take me straight will be handy.
The issue you mentioned with Simpsons being on SKY and Disney+ is not a big issue for me, I am a great 911 fan , originally on Sky Witness now the latest series on Disney+, so this will be the same.
Next week I will have to decide if to cancel or even switch to NOW TV for my SKY Atlantic fix.
One thing I find annoying was seeing a program on sky news I wanted to “record” and watch later like I would have on Sky Q but it added the program as a playlist but the specific program episode was nowhere to be found!
How to use the remote!? To setup my remots not working
Useful overview. Was thinking of getting one for my Nana. But while I'd have no bother navigating it, the janky nature of the "recordings" feels like it would confuse her.
Fabulous pointing to the box. Riveting video. The pointing was superb. Made the video a bit of a roller coaster emotionally. Even the whole hand was impressive. But the opening was Oscar performance, 3 minutes of Video bliss.
Thanks for this video. Does it show what episodes you've already watched on the series link/play list? what happens when a new show comes out? will it be at the top?
apart from the recording issue - the other thing is not all programmes appear on catch up
That, and the live channels suffer from delays
Great video. Would I be right in thinking that it is not possible to skip adverts when using STV, or any other channel with adverts? Great thing about having a recorder is the ability to circumvent the ads.
In the US Comcast Cable's Xfinity X1 does the same thing with teasing things I can't access, it tries to take me to Netflix or Disney+ which I don't want to have or use. I wish I could do the same and tell it to not show anything relating to them
Notice Stv player can you get itv x as I hate stv also bbc Scotland do have add post code when stalling or can you use a English post code so get BBC South channels. As current Sky Q can add channels to your TV get via Google for frequency?
Hey Cameron have you found any way at all of controlling the Sky Stream over the network? It used to be doable with SkyQ boxes.
Unfortunately not which is pretty annoying, it also doesn't seem to accept CEC commands for control so you'd be limited to IR control. Thankfully it does at least support that (even though the remote is Bluetooth it does support IR commands and the remote can be switched into an IR mode) but if network control is important to you, you'd be better off going with Sky Q.
So, after 2yrs, have your complaints been addressed. Such has playlist integration with apps ??
Very good well explained video. It could be i missed something, but can you set the tv channels in order, or as a favourite list rather than scrawl through tons of channels to get the channel i want,..Also I would never remember the channel number i was looking for... Hope this makes sense. Thanks Danny
What they could have done with the "puck" is put an on board hard drive and had an option to record programmes. It need not have cost that much more and it would helped the migration over to streaming with customers who were resistant about switching from the traditional SKY box. You can get a TB of on board memory in a unit that size.
The main mistake people made with sky glass is to go for the biggest TV when it's not a top spec TV. It's still pretty decent as it supports Dolby Atmos and Vision and is a decent VA panel when you manually sort the brightness. In short the 43 inch is awesome TV for the kitchen or bedroom as no need for a separate soundbar. You can also power a 4K Amazon stick via the back USB C port. I've got the pucks linked to better TVs and the sky glass is mint on the kitchen wall for an all in one option. My main annoyance with sky pucks is the removal of the optical out (same with most modern technology including consoles).
That's a fair point, still nice that I can now get it without any sort of TV since I didn't really need a new bedroom one but the Sky Glass does seem like a decent option for a bedroom TV. My only concern would be that since, if you sold the TV on, it can't then be activated as a Sky device by the new owner, it likely won't have the same resale value as a conventional TV. As for the optical output, this is fairly common nowadays as the optical standard has very much been superseded by HDMI. While "fibre optic" sounds modern, it's actually a standard from the 80s and can't handle more than 2 audio channels without compression whereas HDMI can handle full uncompressed surround sound. If you need an optical output (e.g. for an older sound system that doesn't support HDMI) then you can get "HDMI Audio Extractors" which are relatively inexpensive and will provide an optical audio output from an HDMI feed while passing through he HDMI video to your display.
@@camerongray1515 all good advice but in a small bedroom environment where I can only fit a Samsung m5 TV and wanting to use a Sonos ray with sky puck/apple TV/ps5 and Xbox I’m already running out of plugs and ports 😂 I just wanted to use optical to the Ray. I know it is dead really. Be nice if sky added AirPlay out as an option. I’ll probably just watch most none sky stuff via Apple TV and use AirPlay to Sonos (saw you have a Mac mini in your setup too…I use one as Plex server). Thanks for the reply! Side note the puck also fits in an IKEA malm single makeup mirror tray and as Bluetooth really good option in a small space 😂
Can't see this working for Ireland for playlist as we are not allowed access to BBC iPlayer App and The Irish RTE player plays at least four adverts before each program.
Sky and BBC have come to some arrangement about Ireland. It's currently in place for Sky Glass. It's not full-fat iPlayer, but it's not nothing either. Hard-disk recording of BBC is definitely still the better opinion for Irish viewers imo.
I have a smark 4k ultra HD OLED tv when I ordered mine I asked for the added extra to get a better picture but he said I don't need it the picture will be good enough he didn't ask if I had a HD tv or anything like that ,so is the picture quality good
But after having the tv and sky for a few months now I did up grade for the better picture .
First time viewer. Thanks Cameron for a thorough review of Sky Stream! Think I am going to get this. Wonder if they will do a Black Friday deal?
I am pretty useless with Tech - do you know if it is possible to get the remote to turn on and control a sound bar as well?
Thanks 👍
Great video. Thank you. Quick question: Let’s say I’ve missed the first 10 minutes of live football match, can I start from the beginning without going into that channel? I’d hate to see the scoreline whilst doing it
Really appreciate this video from an opinion I respect.
Answers pretty much all the questions I had as I’ve been pretty interested in moving to this for a while.
Brilliant review, thank you explains a lot of my concerns I had.
I wondered why Sky went for a full on TV and not a stream box.
The thing I don't really understand now is:
- Why not create a smaller device footprint. Something more like a ticket pen drive. With nVME drives, you could potentially fit an entire stream and recording device in a smaller area.
- At this point, why not just create an app for your phone that also works on other hardware such a Google TV streamer or firestick etc?
I do understand the implications on account sharing etc, but it will come eventually, I'm sure.
Great video: I have been with sky for 9 years and had Sky Q since it was launched. We recently renovated the living room and wanted the TV on the other side of the room but was restricted by the satellite cables. Bought cable extensions and ran them round the room but it looked awful so rang Sky last week and ditched Sky Q for Sky Stream. Had it almost a week and me and my wife love it. We rarely used the record function as pretty much everything is available on demand now. I had 2 Sky Q boxes which ended up corrupted and lost all of my recordings. Everyone will have their preferences. If the internet goes down then do the old fashioned thing called talking to each other. In the 9 years with Sky my internet went down once. Even the agent on the phone said that satellite dishes are so 1990s and said streaming is the way forward. Each to their own and I respect everyone’s choices but this solved the issue of not having cables trawling around my room and just looks neat and tidy.
Your lucky you got a box. They just ripped me off. Took my money and no box
Thank you for your review, I’ll stick with SkyQ, since I can record my own programmes
Not for me, no my5, UKTV is also missing on the apps. Plus there's a monthly subscription :-( think I'll stick with my firestick.
I just got it a few days later as you say , no instructions in the box and batteries were flat. In the controller . However+. Worked out well
EE are starting to offer Sky Stream through their service on October 15th.
How is the M-A Bronze C150 centre channnel working for you? What config do you have and which are your other speakers? Great video, thanx!
They're all working great, for the front channels I'm using the Bronze 50s and then Bronze FXs for the surrounds. I made a video about them all here: th-cam.com/video/WUwCIxJg2XM/w-d-xo.html. Then for the sub I'm using a BK XLS-200FF which I made a video about here: th-cam.com/video/xv4VpPAdI6k/w-d-xo.html
@@camerongray1515 great, thank you! Missed the review, I'm new sub here :)
Superb review matey , trees are messing with my dish , so I need an alternative… I like Skys interface and use Zen broadband, so it’s a good option..👍🏼👍🏼
Hi Cameron. Any thing to add after long term use?
Great overview. I had Sky glass in May 22 and sent it back and re-installed Sky Q.
I never thought the TV picture quality was particularly good and I hated the playlists.
Especially for channels like ITV. If you added something like Coronation Street, it would be hard to find the latest show or shows fro that week as they were numbered and they would add every bloody episode going back years. Yawn!!
Paying for skipping adverts was a joke as well after the first year. Completely taking the piss.
So having just a puck that can stream sky is interesting but would have to deal with playlists again. Is the amount of pucks you have limited ?
I still think it’s early days for sky software and they need to come up with a better playlists or recording mechanism before I’m go back.
Great review mate! Is there a away to speed up the transition between live channels? It looks like about 5 seconds delya before the picture show up. Thanks
Do you need an antenna for the unit to work correctly? For the live TV ? I don’t have an antenna at my house
Nope, it's purely internet based. The box has an antenna connection but it's not currently used for anything.
Adding to playlist Test match cricket from another country with time difference is hopeless, e.g. 5am start for recent England versus Pakistan, starts at the beginning fine when I get up say at 10am, but it will stop when the live recording stops around 12-12.30...ie it will only give me the first 2+ hours.
Hi, Dose Sky stream have a sub- title facility for the hard of hearing? Thank you
Does it work on any 'host' internet provider or is it only 'certain providers' that can stream through? The building I am moving to is new but and is not wired up to the 'main providers....they only installed 'Hyperoptic' in the building so will this be compatible?
This should work with basically any ISP that is fast enough - I'm using it with TalkTalk, Hyperoptic should be absolutely fine!
@@camerongray1515 Thanks for the reply - That helps.
What did you connect exactly at the back of box man should have showed us how you connect and where it goes??
All it needs is the HDMI cable to your TV and the power cable, you can also optionally use an ethernet cable to connect it to your network if you don't want to use WiFi. I didn't bother showing it since all since I felt it was pretty self explanatory looking at the ports on the device and since I have a relatively complex setup involving an AV Receiver, it wouldn't match up with the vast majority people's TV setups.
Thanks! I watched your video and decided to get Sky Stream. I've had it for a couple of days and am very happy with it. I find the user interface better than using the NowTV dongle.
Reference local news on BBC and itv...then app players don't give you local news ...so...can you add local news to play lists? I get home at 8pm and missed 6pm Yorkshire news..how do I catch up on it?
If I have uhd TV what picture setting should I set sky stream? Sometimes on Apple TV or Netflix there is a slight judder.
You should just need to set the resolution to UHD. There is also a judder reduction option you could try but if it affects other devices too then you'd be better off checking the settings on your TV itself.
I have this problem with Sky Q, no matter what settings i use. For Netflix etc I have to use the TV apps
Thanks for such an in depth review. I've just read somewhere that there is no way of switching between HDMI ports on the remote, is this correct? My son currently switches ports when he wants to use his Play Station. Is this still possible? Thank you.
There isn't any sort of input control on the Sky remote however for that you'd just need to use your TV's regular remote. The Sky remote will control your TV's volume and turn it on/off but for anything else you'll need your TV's own remote.
@@camerongray1515 thanks very much
Sky Q is 1080P or 4K10bit and yes Sky Q has the full watch from start. and Sky Q also shows stuff from apps that you might not subscribe to which has always been the case as a way to get you to subscribe recorded films is the say if you later remove your movies sub recorded films can no longer be played.
I take it you can unplug the box and move it to another room and plug back in and steam sky in different rooms ?
Absolutely, definitely one of the benefits of this - can just move the box around rather than paying extra for multiroom if you only infrequently need it in different rooms.
Is there an app that you can use to add shows to the tvs playlist like what you can do with a sky+ box via the sky+ app?
Is this used in replacement of the sky q box or is it just for multi room and wrong sky q box does 1080p or 2160p
This is actually the future of the Sky boxes they will be killing off the sky q boxes just
like the Hd boxes and replacing them with these
Got my late last week. So far pleased with it though a couple of niggles. The video and sound were out of synch so I had to switch Audio from PCM to Auto which resolved the issue. However the other issue is that none of my viewed content is 'remembered' so every time I return to a TV I have to remember what episode I have got to. It remembers that session but as soon as turn it off and back on it loses all of the viewing history. I have checked the settings about allowing content details to be shared and it still makes no difference. Apparently this is quite a common issue but since launch it does not appear to have been addressed which is shame. Hoping they resolve this unless anyone else knows how to fix this...?
I wonder what cost would be in the states ?
Don't think this will be available in the States.
the bit with the live TV is just what I needed to know :)
Great video who was your Internet provider when you reviewed this ?
TalkTalk - Realistically Sky Stream will work with any ISP as long as you have a decent, reliable connection.
You are one of the best tech UK youtubers I've seen, right next to Techmoan. You are awesome and good job.
When watching live tv on this box, do you know if they have a slight live delay? I currently use iplayer/itv hub for watching the World Cup and the games are slightly behind what sky/virgin would have. I can tell by looking on twitter whilst watching. Hope this makes sense. Thank you.
Yeah, the delay is pretty significant, around 30 seconds. Not a huge issue for me since I don't watch live sports but if you do and want to avoid spoilers you're probably better off with Freeview or regular Satellite (although Satellite will still have a few seconds of delay compared to Freeview)
@@camerongray1515 thanks mate. Yeah been thinking of getting freeview just need to get some cash together 😂
Is their any lag between the channels on sky stream. For example the sky q box is 2 minutes ahead of sky go. If sky stream has no delay then that’s a game changer
Hi Cameron
Can i use it too on The Netherlands?? The sky stream box!!!
I'm only after the Sky channels, which service would you recommend? I'm not fussed about quality too much, and mainly after TV shows (not Sky Sports)
You could get this for £26 a month on a contract (29 without) but honestly I would go for nowtv for £10 entertainment for a month, your existing smart TV probably supports it. You get access to the sky channels on there. If not you can get a Roku streaming stick for £30 from Argos which can run the now TV app.
@@SBBUK How's the quality compared to Sky Stream?
Standard quality 720p with stereo sound (worse than sky stream). You can pay £5 per month for the "boost" add-on for nowtv, which also gives you the ability to use 3 devices at once, which provides 1080p and 5.1 sound (same as sky stream standard offering)
Does this work on normal digital to? Or only on sky glass?
Still got a chipper ntl box nocking around
Does this has HDR as some of the new Sky Q boxes have?
If you want to record on sky stream you need and hdmi converter to digital to create digital channel your freeview recorder or dvd recorder can recieve so you can record the programme to the hard drive and dvd recorder.
That's definitely an option (known as a DVB-T Modulator) although these are relatively expensive and are designed more for distributing the video to different rooms. A cheaper alternative could be using some sort of HDMI capture device to record to a computer. That said, I basically have zero interest in recording in this sense, if it's important to you to have traditional recording, then Sky Q is the product to go for.
Wheres the router please? Not included?
Great video. Do you know if you can jump straight to the TV Guide all channels with one button press? For us, it takes like 4 to 6 button presses!
Unfortunately not that I've been able to find, think Sky Q is similar which was a surprise when moving from Sky+ HD! The best I've been able to find is that if you have started a channel from the TV Guide, pressing back will take you back to the guide. However, if you started watching the channel and then did something such as open the home menu to browse and then went back to the channel using the "Currently Playing" shortcut, pressing back will take you back to the main menu.
Does it have the same accessibility options as Sky Q on live TV like audio description?
Hi, great video. Had a quick question please. I’m considering purchasing this however I have access to a UHD Netflix account so I don’t need to pay the £8 extra with sky. Is it possible to sign into Netflix on Sky Stream with a different account than what is linked to your Sky Account without the bills merging? Thanks in advance.
You'll have to contact Sky. I wasn't able to do this as the Netflix app immediately signs me in with the Sky account
Great review thanks. Detailed and articulated brilliantly.
Would love to know if you can move the box somewhere. Like we have a holiday home in then UK can I take the box with me there? Some posts suggest it's geolocated to your address on account some how.
I am really curious about that myself. Id love to know if I could take it to work n use in the staff room. Also if it works with a VPN if I was to visit friends abroad could I connect it to a router running a UK VPN server.
I haven't tried it myself but I can't see a technical reason why not - I don't have Sky broadband so there's no way for them to monitor which address it's being used at. Of course I can't speak for Sky's terms of service and whether they'd take issue if they saw it regularly hopping between multiple ISPs.
@@camerongray1515 technically the box can go anywhere you have wi-fi. However for now sky have it locked to your installation post code. So no it was the first thing I checked.
@antrobusg, where about are you seeing this? Without having Sky broadband or the Sky Stream box containing some sort of GPS hardware (which I highly doubt) then there would be no real technical way they could implement such a restriction.
@@camerongray1515 No, you can’t move your Sky Stream boxes to other houses, as the devices are geo-fenced and will only work when they’re located in the address of the main account holder.
This is a great fair review, I have just moved to the steam service, I have a large property with a 2TB SkyQ main box and 3 mini's - I don't have Sky BB as its poor so I moved to Virgin 350m which is great! Skey engineers came last week as boxes keep disconnecting and we have one in the annex next door (In laws) and said the only way is to hard wire all the boxes (I don't want cables everywhere and neither does the wife), so I moved to Stream and bar some subtitle issues it's been fine, picture is better, we shall see how it performs over the coming weeks....
Ive had 2 of these for about a year now, they now both have developed the same issue, the sound is fine when when I first put the TV on but over time the audio starts to lag, last night it was approx 1.5 seconds behind, the only way to resolve the issue is to switch the sky stream box off and the back on, very frustrating. Internet search provides that others have experienced the same. Sky blame Internet speed, I have fibre direct and very fast speed.
the 4K HDMi copy protection.... I have the same thing with my Virgin box and AV receiver. My work around is sending picture to TV direct, and sound to AV via optical. Sky stream doesn't have optical - but I REALLY hoped it wouldn't have this copywrite issue. that would make it a hard no unfortunately. WHY is this an issue???????????????????
Can’t you get all that service on the internet anyway through apps on your smart tv ?
Most of them yes, although when you factor in the cost of subscriptions for Netflix, NowTV and Discovery+, you essentially come to around the same price as Sky Stream but gain the nice unified interface and live channels though a single TV guide rather than needing to use separate apps.
I just love instructional videos where there's a remote being waved around and just do this like that where you can't see what he's done. Thanks a lot.
This video was intended as a review and demonstration, not an instructional video, hence me not focusing on explaining exactly how to use it. Had I spent longer explaining and showing exactly how to do everything, the video would have dragged on even longer than it did and wouldn't have been useful for the average person who just wants to see a review of Sky Stream before they decide to order it. If you need organised instructional content, Sky have tutorial videos on their own TH-cam channel.
Sky Q has the "start from beginning" feature as well Cameron
Hey does this upscale the 1080p channels to 4k no ?
Depends what you mean - it will output all channels at a 4K resolution when connected to a 4K TV so your TV doesn't have to constantly switch resolution when changing channels, but it won't improve the quality of them in any way
Does the remote work prior to connecting it? Just thinking, how did you get it connected to WiFi or ethernet before pairing?
Yeah, the remote works as a standard IR remote as well as using bluetooth so without it paired it'll use IR to control the device. This also allows you to use the remote with IR blaster type devices, for example, if you are using some sort of system that distributes the video to other rooms.
@camerongray1515 Many thanks. With regards to your Simpsons issue on playlist. My understanding having read a few reviews is that content would only be aggregated from the apps that you've 'signed into' and that effectively you can use this box as a Sky content only by not signing in and therefore it would only pull Sky content. You could then use a Google TV, apple etc for the other apps. From your review, this doesn't look to be the case...has there been an update since to resolve the issue you faced?
I'm lost as to why there's a need for hardware at all? Why not an app on the TV, like every other platform? Or is this for those with non-smart TV's?
I suspect it's required for the tight integration between the various catchup apps and the Sky platform since, if this was built as a smart TV app, it wouldn't have things like iPlayer/My 4 within this app. Sky offer Now TV as an app based version for streaming Sky's own content but this doesn't have any non-Sky channels. I suspect there may also be licensing/rights issues around streaming some channels within an app when that channel already has their own app. Ultimately it's not really something that bothers me since I can basically use the Sky box in place of the TV almost entirely and just use the TV as a display. Plus, with the dreadful performance of many smart TVs, having a box that Sky have full control over can allow them to manage the overall user experience and allows upgrades by simply replacing the box rather than needing to upgrade an entire TV.
@@camerongray1515 That's my point, most TV's now have access to all of these apps without a Puck. Sky seem to be the only platform clinging on to hardware. Not for long, Sky Glass is not flying off the shelves. I'm unsure there's a mass market for Stream.
Sure, smart TVs have those apps however the point of Sky Stream is that they are all integrated with the playlist feature as well as the ability to stream all channels from a single interface - this wouldn't be possible with a smart TV if Sky was delivered as an app. If you want Sky's content as a smart TV app then they offer that very thing branded as Now TV. It's not just Sky - Virgin and those weird TalkTalk/BT TV type services all still offer their own hardware. Long term popularity is still to be seen, however I suspect Stream will be significantly more desirable than Glass since Sky Glass only really appeals to people who also want a new TV. Sky Stream will basically appeal to the same demographic as Sky Q but for people who can't have/don't want a dish or like me want to save £5/mo by separating the billing for UHD Netflix from UHD Sky content.
22:37, we have Sky Q and it does do the 'play from beginning' popup so it's not unique to Sky Stream
Ahh interesting, that's good at least! Been a long time since I've used Sky Q extensively
Pretty much as soon as i saw this on the sky website, i subscribed to it (i decided to add on the multi-room service as well, I haven’t added on UHD or any of the additional channel packs though), one box connected to the main TV (which is a 1080P TV), and a second one is in one of the bedrooms
Will it mark shows you have watched with a tick, so you know what you have and have not watched?
It shows a progress bar on the thumbnail of shows to show how far through it you have watched. However, I've found this to sometimes disappear after a while if I've gone back to a series after not watching it for a while which is a bit annoying.
Nice video. I'm going to have to renew my dad's Sky sub soon. He's almost 90 and not very tech savvy. He has Sky HD currently and I'm toying of either Sky Q or this service. He records a lot of old TV from channels like Great TV and Great Movies. I'm wondering if/how these programmes work on Sky Stream as they don't have sophisticated catch up services like the ones you showed in the video.
If he's not super tech savvy and is used to recording, I'd definitely go with Sky Q. Sky Stream is good but it'll definitely have a larger learning curve and a bit of a mental shift for someone who's used to the idea of recording live TV content. Just bear in mind that even Sky Q is a pretty significant UI change over Sky+HD so there will still be some learning involved!
@@camerongray1515 Great points. I agree about the switch from Sky HD to Q as I've had both in the past and it will be a tricky change for an older person. There is an "accessible" remote control available for Q which is essentially the same as the old HD remote. I got that when I had Q and my dad used it when he was at my place. It did help a lot.
Looks ok, was worried live TV would be an issue but the guide and playback appears to be just like my current skyq. As for your issues with app content with playlist I feel you're exaggerating the problem, if it isn't live cant you just use voice search either for the programme directly or for the app? Why worry about adding it to playlist?
As for guide showing content you don't have Sky stb's have always done that.
I find the playlist feature useful as a way to bookmark different series that I'm watching. I tend to watch a bit of a random mix of different series where having a central place to keep track of what I've been watching where I can easily dip back in is super useful vs needing to remember the name of everything so that I can search. As for the guide, I'm aware that this is how Sky's regular guide works (and is the reason that I stopped using an old Sky+HD box as a free to air receiver), still worth mentioning since it's not something that I'm a fan of and is entirely resolvable if Sky wanted to fix it.
Are the channels available on Sky Stream identical to SkyQ? I think Sky Glass has fewer channels that Q.
The channel selection is the same as Sky Glass, so there are slightly less channels than Sky Q but not really anything that bothers me. Sky have a comparison here: www.sky.com/help/articles/tv-channel-list-sky-glass
I've just noticed this as an option on Sky's web site and have been looking into it. Thanks for the detailed review. Oh I looked into that Antenna input and found this:
"The built-in Freeview (digital terrestrial) receiver isn't activated for UK use on Stream pucks: it's available as a fallback on Glass television sets." 🖖👍
if you dont use subscription channels like netflix amazon do you have to pay anything to sky at all?And how much does it cost to buy i dont subscribe to any tv at the moment.
This device requires a subscription to do anything, you're also paying for things like the Sky channels as well as the internet streaming of the traditionally free to air channels such as BBC. If you want to receive channels for free in the UK, your only real options are Freeview or Freesat. Streaming channels over the internet, even traditionally free ones such as BBC, will cost Sky money for every concurrent viewer, whereas streaming them over the air costs the same no matter how many people are watching, therefore they wouldn't be able to offer this service for free.
Do you need an account to have this I am with virgin, could I still get this to work or is it just for sky customers
You'll need a subscription for Sky Stream and therefore a Sky account to use it, but you don't need to have an existing Sky account or Sky broadband.etc. I didn't have a Sky account before I ordered Sky Stream and set the account up during the ordering process.
All the issues mentioned also happen on SKY Q
Appreciate your videos mate.
I'm changing over to sky stream and ditching sky q as i need 4k sky mini boxes in 3 rooms and sky's mini boxes are only HD, only the main box is 4k.
My only concern is that I need a way of being able to record on the sky stream puck, do you know of a workaround? Like using a DVR.
I know you can add programs to a playlist but some don't stay available indefinitely.
Cheers!
The most you could maybe do is using some sort of HDMI capture device but this would be akin to connecting a Sky box to a VCR - it'll only record the video source that is currently being played back and if a programme runs for an hour, it'll take an hour to capture it. You may also run into HDMI copy protection issues. My suggestion would be to stick with Sky Q for now and live without 4K and if you need 4K apps for things like Netflix, either use the smart TV apps or get a 4K capable smart TV stick type device. Hopefully Sky will release 4K capable mini boxes in the future.
@camerongray1515 thanks for the good info. Do u think I could plug something into the USB port on my Samsung S95b QD-OLED TV to record programs?
@@DjKProductions You'll likely be able to do that to record Freeview channels but I highly doubt it'll let you record an HDMI source such as the Sky box.
@camerongray1515 ok, I'll probably try a hdmi capture device, even with it's limitations. Not sure what u mean by HDMI copy protection issues, will it stop me from recording certain channels or programs?
Can you access sky store content? I have a few films via my sky q box which I can access.
Are the channels the same as now ? Was thinking of swapping now to stream puck but won't bother if it's the same. I have entertainment and movie subscriptions of now
Very similar in that sense however you also get a bunch of channels from the likes of Discovery which I don't think Now has. It then has all the typical freeview type channels. Price wise it's probably roughly the same as Now TV plus Netflix so you don't really save a lot but I like how it's all integrated into one interface rather than needing to check between various different apps to get a full list of what's on.