Sky Stream: A Paying Customer's Review - Is it any good?

In this video we take a look at Sky's new product - Sky Stream, which promises Sky TV functionality, but entirely over the internet without needing a dish. In this video we take a look at the hardware, set it up, then talk about how well it works including some great features, but also some downsides and workarounds I've found.
Get Sky Stream (Affiliate): tidd.ly/3hgI8mm
www.camerongra...
/ camerongray1515
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:20 - Unboxing & Hardware Tour
05:32 - Sky Stream vs Sky Q - Getting Stream Cheaper than Q!
10:55 - Initial Setup
16:12 - It works!
17:59 - Settings I needed to change
20:36 - Live TV
24:36 - Playlists - How "recording" works
27:55 - It teases things I can't access!
31:38 - Adding on-demand content to your playlist
34:41 - Workaround to add content from apps to your playlist
38:33 - Included/missing apps
41:32 - Performance
43:02 - It glows!
43:19 - Conclusion
AFFILIATE LINKS NOTICE:
Product links under this video marked “(Affiliate)” are affiliate links where I may receive a small commission on qualifying sales. Affiliate programs that I am a member of include, but are not limited to: Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network and AliExpress Affiliates.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Purchasing through these affiliate links will not cost you any more money, however the commission earned significantly helps fund the production of videos on my channel.

[@camerongray1515]

Get Sky Stream (Affiliate): tidd.ly/3FpCXIA

[@ChimpRiot]

Who remembers Sky Digital, the interactive button and Beehive Bedlam?

[@justahair8765]

Beehive bedlam is still on sky

[@modelsandtrains7915]

I remember fathom too!

[@imhsn]

Bumble tumble

[@uploader755]

Yes, and now I feel old

[@Alex-ov1og]

I loved beehive bedlam 😂

[@MadSpacePig]

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.

[@AntGeezer]

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 👍

[@blueberry_dino4675]

Thanks for this review. My Sky Q contract is coming to an end, and I was debating switching over. This was very informative.

[@gladallover2004]

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.

[@MadSpacePig]

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.

[@MrKlawUK]

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

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

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!

[@Berd95]

It's called NOW TV in UK? In Germany they call it WOW :D

[@paulpatrick885]

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

[@lit3work]

Resolution is badly hampered on Sky NOW and GO. Stream is a much better platform even in its infancy.

[@daveryandub]

Excellent review.great work.there’s a lot of bad quality reviews of sky stream on KZbin.this is the best one I’ve found.thanks

[@richarddcrossley]

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).

[@camerongray1515]

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.

[@richarddcrossley]

@@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 😂

[@TomKellUK]

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.

[@xinam]

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.

[@leemason666]

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.

[@jbeam794]

Your lucky you got a box. They just ripped me off. Took my money and no box

[@akulamashina]

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.

[@gswhite]

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.

[@anglosaxon361]

Thank you for your review, I’ll stick with SkyQ, since I can record my own programmes

[@hawk_ness]

This is very much what Apple were trying to do with Apple TV and has the same issues! Greedy companies unwilling to play together for a better experience for the end users.

[@seanmcdermott9546]

apart from the recording issue - the other thing is not all programmes appear on catch up

[@SuperHitman55]

That, and the live channels suffer from delays

[@StarkWhisper872]

Sky Q has everything shown in this video. In my opinion the interface on Sky Q is better (not my favourite but better). Also Sky Q works much faster, so if you're going from Q to streaming you'll probably be slightly annoyed. As I was watching, it literally felt like an eternity for the speed in which the channels changed, but I suppose it's personal preference & it isn't the end of the world. Cool that the remote lights up though, Q doesn't do that & I can see that being quite useful so long as it isn't blinding whilst using it, because I'd imagine you're only going to need that feature in a dark room & from experience white lights in your face (unless dim) is very uncomfortable even if it's in the corner of your eye whilst looking at something else, which most of the time is how you'd use a remote. In my opinion Sky+HD is the best version of Sky. - Superior remote design (I really hate the 'new' button mapping & I rarely if ever use the voice/microphone button which could of been added to the old remote, just like they did when they added a pause/play, fast forward/rewind button. Which were in my opinion better placed in the middle of the remote & not right at the top. What were they thinking? - The interface was clean & simple to use. The new interface in my opinion is a complete mess & too full. I'd recommend to anyone new to Sky to just get the Sky+HD version if you can still get it & buy 4K Fire TV Stick (or a different streaming hub) for your Netflix, Prime, Disney, KZbin, etcetera... Atleast until Sky cleans up Q & the streaming versions. : )

[@jonsonby]

I completely agree. I held off getting sky q for the longest time. We only use the base package so around £20 a month but thought a good time to upgrade. Honestly feels mostly like a downgrade compared to Sky+HD

[@sueandrews2476]

I’m old school and I still have the sky+ hd box. It does everything I want it to and I have the latest Roku stick for my apps. All brilliant when I get a signal from EE!..😂

[@SuperHitman55]

Agreed. Sky+HD is the best version

[@ishhh77]

As an employee working for sky, that's true sky+Hd is a better box, however sky q has alot more amazing features, it's lot more easy and convenient to use, anddd you can add much better content then what you get on sky + hd

[@TheWillumz]

great video.ordered my sky stream today.thanks very much.

[@justefe]

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!

[@simongaddu9801]

Ordered this today for TV upstairs, cost £19 pm includes Netflix. I use virgin TV as my main TV but will use my good vm Internet on this Sky stream.

[@GRIFF22]

I think Sky missed a trick by not including a hard drive, even if it was a 100gb so you cloud delete programmes. With regards to sport, how do you restart the match without first selecting the broadcast and thereby avoid seeing the current score, leaderboard etc? Can you re-watch a sports broadcast that's finished?

[@SuperHitman55]

That's a good point

[@LeeZhiWei8219]

You are one of the best tech UK youtubers I've seen, right next to Techmoan. You are awesome and good job.

[@markmywords99]

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.

[@camerongray1515]

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 KZbin channel.

[@ep1929]

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.

[@likhan.ghosh.]

Awesome in-depth review. The fact that it shows Disney+ and other things you don’t subscribe to would annoy my OCD

[@Youtube_deleted_my_favourites]

so every program is catch up, no recording to be made, I'm ok with that but how do you skip through the adverts?

[@lesliewhicker7409]

You pay an extra £5 pm for this feature but is free on sky Q

[@pineappleroad]

When it comes to multi-room/multi-screen (whatever they call it), Sky Stream is slightly cheaper per month than Sky Q, and there is the added bonus of not having to have the main box on in order for the additional boxes to function (with Sky Q, rather than having a connection to the dish for each additional box, the additional boxes connect to the main box), and plus, the cost of the additional boxes is cheaper than Sky Q Also, with Sky Stream, you can have 3 Sky Glass TVs, and 6 Sky Stream Pucks per account/address (if you have multi-room/multi-screen), whereas Sky Q only allows you to have it on up to 4 or 5 TVs total (can’t remember the exact number)

[@Ratchet_effect]

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." 🖖👍

[@martinmccarthy9265]

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....

[@steventhomas5076]

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.

[@derekhart3308]

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?

[@Fusionw3]

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?

[@misterG2006]

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.

[@richardborlandhodson]

One of the best things about my current Sky HD box (it's not Sky Q) is that the catch up is completely independent of the normal catch up streaming services (BBC iPlayer, My5 etc.). I have no idea why they have chosen a weird, hybrid integration with these services for Sky Stream. It is a huge backwards step.

[@bikeman123]

True. Particularly because the catchup apps are slow and buggy

[@Jacob29nufc]

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!

[@chrisbirchall2876]

Brilliant review, thank you explains a lot of my concerns I had.

[@mazdaram226]

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..👍🏼👍🏼

[@Lessie._.stuckinlife]

How to use the remote!? To setup my remots not working

[@daniscott9657]

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

[@pudpullertm]

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.

[@paulpatrick885]

Super helpful review that shows both the advantages and disadvantages of Stream. Sky will obviously push Stream more than Q,now as there is no requirement for an engineer/installer to visit a customers property to install. It also opens up Sky to a new segment of customers that don’t want or can’t have a dish installed at their property.

[@StarkWhisper872]

When we had our Sky Q box delivered, I set it up, the guy just stood in the door way, just to make sure it was done right. To be honest though, he didn't really have to tell me anything because it was just unplug cables & card from the old box (Sky+HD) to the new one, it really was that simple. It's nothing they can't just tell customers over the phone, in an instruction manual, on KZbin or all three. : )

[@TheCheshireCat.]

Streaming is pointless if your Internet goes down for X amount of hours or days, hence the advantage of a dish. Which was never mentioned in this review. 🤷‍♂️

[@paulpatrick885]

@@TheCheshireCat. The 30 second plus delay on live sports compared to the satellite broadcast is another disadvantage. If your internet does goes down then having fall back options of freeview or Freesat are worth having. The situation you describe is a reason why it could still be worthwhile having a blu-ray player and disks. I guess an advantage of Stream is in theory you could still use it when travelling via tethering to your phone or WiFi. I think Now is an easier option to access Sky channels as the Now app is on Fire TV, AppleTV, android TV etc but it is very stripped back compared to Stream.

[@TheCheshireCat.]

Unless Sky have implemented a way so you can't stream it mobile then again pointless. I assume it only works when you're streaming it from your address. Wouldn't be surprised, Sky being Sky, same with the Virgin Media puck.

[@camerongray1515]

To answer some of the questions above - yes it won't work when your internet is down, I didn't mention this in the video since I thought it was implied and realistically, if your internet connection is going down regularly enough for this to be an issue, then that is a fault and should be raised with your ISP. I maybe have an hour of internet outage every few months, usually in the middle of the night when maintenance is being carried out. I also have the facility for a backup LTE connection for this situation. I actually get significantly more disruption due to snow affecting my satellite reception! It is possible to stream to a mobile device using Sky Go, there are even apps for Windows and Mac OS so I can use it to watch TV from my laptop while I'm travelling. As far as I can tell it doesn't have any sort of tie to this address - I do not use Sky broadband so there is absolutely no way that Sky can tell where I am using the box.

[@calumthomson2108]

The lack of recording is fine for situations where it’s a series show or on catch up, but if I were to be out during a live sports show and wanted to record it, you wouldn’t be able to cause sky don’t put the whole programme on catch-up, just the highlights. This is a particular pain for f1. Ik not an issue with your particular circumstances, however I fear sky are going to eventually push to kill off the satellite tv entirely. I have family that live literally in the middle of nowhere and the only internet you can get is satellite with like kilobytes download speeds, so in that situation satellite is the only option. Personally we still use Sky+HD as it does everything you’d want from tv and is still supported.

[@SuperHitman55]

Even the SD boxes still work, haha. Sky will never block these boxes

[@craigr306]

Still got a chipper ntl box nocking around

[@benjohnson3178]

Great review! I had Sky Stream but didn't like it so went back to Q.

[@pineappleroad]

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

[@genoshajames]

I've been using nothing but Internet for streaming for over 10 years. I have no complaints

[@Rhythmman14]

seeing those old sky boxes took me back lol

[@SuperHitman55]

I have the biggest soft spot for the black Sky+HD boxes! Absolutely adore it, lol. It took me until 2020 to finally get Sky Q😂

[@Zauchi]

the bit with the live TV is just what I needed to know :)

[@ScottMillar]

I wish Sky would just have a sky stream app for smart TVs/Android/Google TV etc - the stream box is really unnecessary.

[@camerongray1515]

They offer NowTV which is basically this although it's limited to Sky channels and their own catchup shows (although it is also cheaper to make up for that). I suspect a lot of it ultimately comes down to various rights and licensing agreements with various TV networks. I also imagine that if this was built as a smart TV app, it probably wouldn't be possible to launch the various other streaming services from the playlists since smart TV apps tend to operate in a very sandboxed environment.

[@aligizzle69]

Agree 100%. These stream boxes look cheaply made and I’d wager to bet much lower spec than, say, Apple TV 4K

[@SuperHitman55]

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)

[@SBBUK]

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.

[@SuperHitman55]

@@SBBUK How's the quality compared to Sky Stream?

[@SBBUK]

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)

[@Garstonk]

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.

[@Forde-Photos]

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.

[@dondwyer]

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.

[@poppasmurf]

No matter how good the streaming, until it can record, either to a hard disk or The Cloud, it will remain a non-starter for me, and I dare say, for millions of others.

[@TheCheshireCat.]

Streaming is pointless if your Internet goes down for X amount of hours or days, hence the advantage of a dish. Which was never mentioned in this review. 🤷‍♂️

[@joshSpencerUK]

Yeah I agree same for me

[@jamieleehayden]

100%

[@jimf4748]

Yes until your hard drive fails and you lose everything. I've had 2 sky boxes fail, streaming is the why forward.

[@jimf4748]

@@TheCheshireCat. My internet has never failed in the last 7 years.

[@gordonissocoollike]

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

[@abzhuofficial]

Sky Q has the "start from beginning" feature as well Cameron

[@thewolfman6854]

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 👍

[@johnseffs0161]

Great review thanks. Detailed and articulated brilliantly.

[@johnnash2815]

The problem I had with this is that I'd be watching 'Live' football and my neighbours would be celebrating a goal that I hadn't seen yet. It's at least 30 seconds behind the live broadcast. If you're ok with that, then it's an excellent service I would say.

[@camerongray1515]

That's an interesting issue! Not something that bothers me since I don't know the first thing about football but definitely a very valid concern if this sort of thing would affect you!

[@randlepmcmurphy6117]

30 seconds if you are lucky, some people are reporting up to 90 seconds of a delay. If watching live sports it’s a no.

[@bikeman123]

For anyone with patchy freeview struggling with multiple buggy catchup apps, yes i'm looking at youview, this looks great

[@bikeman123]

Update after I subscribed to sky stream. As far as I can see there is no integration with netflix at all. Netflix programmes don't show in search results and cannot be added to the playlist. Also when you add programmes to the playlist, sky decides to add the subscription services rather than the free services ie it will add a program from prime instead on chl4. So the playlist gets cluttered up with services that I haven't subscribed to even though the programmes are available for free elsewhere. It's supposed to record to the cloud but half the time it just adds the series to the playlist. It's all very confusing and hasn't really met my expectations. I am thinking of cancelling and going back to youview with a nowtv subscription.

[@Thebald_gamer]

Iv switched for the fact ill be saving money as stream is cheaper than my q for exactly the same package

[@mikewilliams6948]

Really helpful thank you so much! My Sky Q contract is about to expire and I'm looking at options. On my existing Sky Q service I can skip 5 minutes of ads in just a few seconds on recorded programmes by pressing the Fast Fwd button followed by 5 quick presses on the right arrow key. Is this feature available on Sky Stream?

[@NormanF62]

Without WebTV as the world’s first thin Internet client, none of this would have been possible. The idea TVs and set top boxes could deliver content was a new one. From that world, emerged smart TVs, the Roku Ultra, DirecTV Stream and in the UK, Sky Stream. They’re still thin Internet clients but instead of bringing the World Wide Web into the home, they now deliver entertainment.

[@alanjrobertson]

Another good in-depth video, thanks Cameron. Agree Sky Glass seemed a bonkers proposition and this is much more sensible (esp for a lot of flats), however pricing still seems pretty punchy. Between Netflix, Amazon Prime and iPlayer (along with Plex for existing content I've got) I'm not sure there's much in the basic Sky package that would tempt me for £33/mo. I don't care about sports either and found (when I did have Sky) the film channels were pretty repetitive and didn't have that much new content each month so I just got rid of it altogether! Now TV (also owned by Sky) seems a potentially cheaper option for some of their content, but presumably that misses out some things?

[@pineappleroad]

If I remember correctly, Now TV only gives you access to the channels that Sky operates, whereas this gives access to some pay to view channels that are not operated by Sky in addition to the ones that are (and i am not entirely sure, but there is also a possibility that sky excludes some of their own channels from Now TV) I suppose the only real benefit this offers over Now TV outside of the extra channels is that a basic Netflix subscription is included (I was previously signed up to Now TV, but i canceled my subscription due to it being inconvenient (having to switch over to a separate device, TV not a smart TV), and when i saw this service on the Sky website, i decided to see how good it was for myself)

[@camerongray1515]

Yeah, Now TV doesn't seem to include quite as many channels as Sky Stream and when you factor in the cost of Netflix which is included with Stream, you end up basically paying the same to get Sky Stream including Netflix vs separate NowTV and Netflix subscriptions

[@alanjrobertson]

@@camerongray1515 sounds sensible. I get Netflix at 20% off after some deals on supermarket gift cards (on top of some Google chromecast offer) so just pay for it direct and no Sky/Now TV but agree if you want the service then this seems a better value way that you've done it 👍

[@nigeljordan1146]

Yup - just looking at Stream vs Nowtv (im fully loaded except sport) and prices are almost the same with netflix on top. Around £40, with all the Now HD/ and NFx UHD switches on, but on 18mth contract However - on Stream, you do get Paramount+ free with Cinema, (which you dont on Now) ....and you can get UHD and Atmos (though you have to pay) . Now maxes out at HD and std 5.1 with the Boost upgrade, which can get a bit annoying when other App have stuff on UHD and Atmos. Obv these difference may be appealling or not, but thought they were worth mentioning here :) On the bad side - The UHD option OR if you move over to monthly rolling options takes Stream above seperate subs. If you get deals on NFx and Now - which many people do - then it may not be worthwhile. Youre also locked into NFx with Stream, and i quite like being able to drop subs im not watching (even tho im rubbish at it :D) Its the ability to get UHD and atmos on all subs which is just about swinging it for me, and im keen to try the aggregated interface (so your video has been helpful) its just the locking in part which is holding me back (and im rubbish at deciding things like this :D) Be interesting Cameron, if youre still enjoying it/using it after a few weeks, and if anything changes when it learns your watching habits Alan - I think Plex added something similar a few months ago - re: App aggregation - i did try it briefly, but could only get it on my Nvidia Shield and it was a little clunky transitioning between apps. not sure if its got any better. The Sky version does look somewhat slicker

[@rosslogan4154]

@@nigeljordan1146 Nigel, I enjoyed reading your input. I'd appreciate it if you could clarify the point in the first para where you stated that Stream and Now TV are on 18 month contracts. It was my understanding that they were both on one month rolling contracts and this was a big advantage of both options compared to Sky Q which would be an initial 18 month contract.

[@AlexPettitt]

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.

[@camerongray1515]

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.

[@bits2646]

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!

[@camerongray1515]

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: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYbadHyuf8xljq8. Then for the sub I'm using a BK XLS-200FF which I made a video about here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqeXh6OGdsl8bM0

[@bits2646]

@@camerongray1515 great, thank you! Missed the review, I'm new sub here :)

[@Nevexo287]

This is the second time I've been looking into something and you release a video the day after lol, great as always, such a shame it's so fragmented but I guess that's the way of the world.

[@Skyecraft92Gaming]

thank you for your video after watching it, i ordered sky stream for the house

[@bilbp41]

Callum just to make sure where in case you haven’t already. It doesn’t matter whether you set a pin or not because it is still pin locked on any channels until 9 pm because they’re streaming services. It happens on sky glass as well. I also had similar issues to you in fact outside almost the same issues but it does work are you sky blasting also Callum are used to live in Edinburgh. Are used to go to the Royal Blind school that was in Craigmillar, I love your channel because you do similar things to what I want to do even Norwich to blind. I still like to ring them if you fancy a Projects helping me although I live down in England and now I would love you to help me with some extra cabling. Be much appreciated. Take care David

[@camerongray1515]

Yeah, I've noticed that about the PIN, seems to ask for it a lot more than I used to see it on Sky HD, even The Simpsons on Sky Showcase often prompts for it! Small world, I used to actually live pretty near to the Royal Blind School at Craigmillar, used to pass it most days on my way to work!

[@rolandfry5688]

Sky Q is the same as Sky Stream but with Sky Q youcan record. Sky Q allows you to watch from the beginning also

[@sebastianwilcox333]

There is a built in Freeview app but it’s only available when there’s no internet connection.

[@SuperHitman55]

I haven't been able to get the Freeview side working

[@SuperNova-py1ec]

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...?

[@daibonehead]

Hi Cameron. Any thing to add after long term use?

[@woahitsryan4220]

11:40 virgin media decided to put their cable under my carpet so now every time you walk over that spot you feel it

[@yaziedhendricks]

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

[@RobertAllen-oq3dp]

I wonder what cost would be in the states ?

[@SuperHitman55]

Don't think this will be available in the States.

[@philipkeys3638]

Do you need an antenna for the unit to work correctly? For the live TV ? I don’t have an antenna at my house

[@camerongray1515]

Nope, it's purely internet based. The box has an antenna connection but it's not currently used for anything.

[@KPP365]

Hi, Dose Sky stream have a sub- title facility for the hard of hearing? Thank you

[@paulmapp8306]

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???????????????????

[@stephenpeat3885]

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.

[@camerongray1515]

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.

[@LooseWheelNutPod]

Simple solution! Now TV! Much cheaper same service as this and if you go to cancel it they normally offer brilliant discounts.

[@camerongray1515]

It's definitely a decent option however in terms of price, assuming you'd want Netflix anyway, Sky Stream works out basically the same price as Now with the boost pack plus Netflix. Compared to Now, Sky Stream has a few more premium channels (such as those from Discovery) as well as having all the Freeview channels with everything in one place

[@paulshrubb1407]

I’m so happy I stayed with Q at least I won’t be 2 minutes behind of real time broadcast.

[@camerongray1515]

I've never noticed the delay to be that significant, under a minute as far as I can tell. Realistically it's not really an issue for me, the only time I could really see it being an issue would be with live sports events but this isn't something that I'm interested in.

[@tonyguida5190]

@@camerongray1515 There is no delay, I can only receive superfast broadband where I live I connected a cat7 Ethernet from router to puck, and it works perfectly.

[@leemcqueen500]

@@tonyguida5190There is definitely a delay

[@SuperHitman55]

@@tonyguida5190 No, there is a delay. Sky Q wins in this regard

[@dannygillan2044]

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

[@scotiajinker8392]

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?

[@dominicedwards9117]

Does this work on normal digital to? Or only on sky glass?

[@MrFalkirkfc]

I take it you can unplug the box and move it to another room and plug back in and steam sky in different rooms ?

[@camerongray1515]

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.

[@Springboi8389]

I must say, Sky Stream is an interesting concept for a full-featured streaming device for countries outside of the United States. The counterpart to Sky Stream over in the United States where I live, is Xfinity Flex, which is provided to Xfinity Internet-only customers who either cannot afford the full X1 cable TV service, or they don't want to pay for the full X1 cable TV service, because of how expensive it is. My mom does plan on deactivating the X1 cable service that she's still paying for, mostly to save on the monthly costs of Xfinity as a whole, though we will probably be given Xfinity Flex, even though we already have the Chromecast with Google TV and a Vizio SmartCast TV.

[@sebaszwarc]

You can use Sky stream in United States too but it’s not as easy to setup

[@mixit72]

Does it have the same accessibility options as Sky Q on live TV like audio description?

[@Flexic3D]

I just got sky q this year. If Sky Q and the satelite dish stuff is outdated, i will buy the sky stream if i have to.

[@camerongray1515]

Sky Stream isn't a replacement for Sky Q, it's just a different option for people who don't want a dish. If you already have Sky Q then there aren't many reasons to switch to Stream.

[@iheckg6811]

Sky stream works excellent if you have a good internet connection, there are many positives and negatives, it's just depends on what you're comfortable with, i have handled many customers, i only discuss sky stream if they have requirement or else we just discuss about sky Q

[@oneummah9336]

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

[@rafregt13]

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?

[@Ajajambo]

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

[@xerp7626]

The whole point of getting sky for me is to get sky sports. I really don’t see why people would pay 20 odd quid for just sky entertainment (deducting the cost of Netflix). It only becomes of value if you are adding broadband and may be sports. For me at least. But even anyone wanting just sky entertainment and netflix, £41 for that is a bit too much.

[@RonnieMain]

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?

[@camerongray1515]

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.

[@RonnieMain]

@@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.

[@camerongray1515]

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.

[@andrewkennan8812]

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

[@crufayi]

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

[@Forde-Photos]

To try stop the teasing is there a favourite channels list you can make that would filter out the movies ,kids channels etc?

[@thetechdudemc]

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

[@allansutcliffe648]

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.

[@camerongray1515]

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.

[@Roger-gs5ew]

Interesting review, what Internet speed are you running on, as heard system needs 15mgs

[@KMA_ACWH]

Great review, thank you for doing this.

[@jcs3330]

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?

[@camerongray1515]

This should work with basically any ISP that is fast enough - I'm using it with TalkTalk, Hyperoptic should be absolutely fine!

[@jcs3330]

@@camerongray1515 Thanks for the reply - That helps.