Sky Stream - Honest Review

Marcus Bronzy Checks out Sky Stream and gives you an honest review!
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[@davecameron7348]

As someone who worked for Sky and spent 90% of my day dealing with Stream complaints, don't buy unless you have decent broadband. Minimum recommended is 30mb/s, I’d say no less than 50. Also, if you want subtitles you'll have to run at 1080p - 4k not supported.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

thank you for the heads up! looks like for future ent products we will all need much faster broadband!

[@james36515]

I got this ordered today and have 500mbps broadband FTTP. Hoping this will be good as had decided this over my original order of Sky Q

[@leemason666]

I’ve had Sky Stream since January and it’s been amazing so far. Hooked up to my LG OLED tv and a sound bar and you can’t go wrong.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

great to hear how you are getting on with this!

[@Leni1889-SU]

Do you need a sky router

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

He said 'Soundbar' 😆

[@santiago3978]

@@DavidMander-rs4ukThat’s what they’re called.

[@andylinder132]

Great review on this. I’ve just received my sky stream and it only took me a few mins to get it up and running. I went for this option as I’m unable to have a dish on my house but always wanted sky. This is a superb alternative if your in the same boat as me. Love it. 👍

[@HowToKillAnHour]

Glad it helped! Feel free to like and sub!

[@andylinder132]

⁠subscribed and liked sir. 👍

[@nigelbailey72]

I've just ordered it and really looking forward to it

[@paulchambers2296]

Great review thanks, just to clarify, if I want to add to a playlist to watch later, something like a soap from BBC or ITV, I can’t?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

I’m talking to sky about this now as i am OOO let me look forcyou

[@andrewthomson91]

Interested in Sky Stream, what happens if you already have Sky Q, do you have to sort out disconnecting the dish yourself.

[@larky0007]

Yes you have to remove dish yourself, you only have to send back your old equipment ie sky box and any extra boxes

[@TheSugarDaddy1]

I had one of these boxes it's a great bit of kit but very buggy the remote control battery's don't last long sometimes there is no internet connection at all I was half way through a box set and they took it down if they can sort out the minor problems it would be great I also paid three months in advance which was alot easier great video by the way

[@HowToKillAnHour]

yes agree it's a nifty bit of kit once they knock the bugs out it will be a formidable offering. Happy to do an update if anyone has questions

[@TheSugarDaddy1]

@@HowToKillAnHour would love to know how you get on with the battery's in the remote i remember the sky box battery's they would last ages

[@jimboro7]

​@@HowToKillAnHourany updates for the bugs that bave been mentioned? I ordered one today getting rid of BT TV, which i personally think nothing could be worse than that 😂

[@mickcleary3568]

Got sky stream last week had to send it back had a different name on it got the replacement yesterday no problem now

[@SuperLeehowarth]

The AC adaptor looks like it sticks out quite a bit, perhaps something to consider if your TV is wall mounted and low profile.

[@richardsan4603]

Can you connect your phone network to the sky box to get internet?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

we have not tried this but I can't see why it would not work - you would need fast mobile internet of course

[@akhan999]

This is great especially the size as I can put it behind my TV that’s great son now I have a option

[@HowToKillAnHour]

Thanks! Feel free to subscribe and let us know how you get on yeah?

[@billyfinn586]

If the match programme on sky sports starts at 7.30pm and I get home at 9pm, can I go back to the start of the programme?

[@issamhussain8683]

Hi just wondering does it show live sports or does it show a stream after the game

[@HowToKillAnHour]

yes you get 'live streams' of sports channels if you have subscribed

[@issamhussain8683]

What you mean subscribe

[@richardborlandhodson]

Great video thank you. Could you do a short video specifically covering how playlists and catch up integrate with iPlayer, ITVX, Channel4 and My5. I am particularly interested in if it is seemless or if you actually move into those services own apps environments and also how well fast forward through adverts works. £5 a month for that would be fine to me. Many thanks.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

it does seamlessly work with all of them - i think it is reasonable but of course that is up to you!

[@jeremylister89]

Subtitles are essential. I've old SKY+ HD box. I've found some programs can only be watched live, if you forget to record it, it's not always available on catch up. Doc Martin is an example. Same on freeview play, some past programs are greyed out. Gone, nadda, nowt. What does sky stream do? Also can you watch all regular sky channels live or is it just individual show selection like Netflix and Prime? Am I right that this WAS on 31 day rolling contract and has this now been dropped and replaced by 18 month contract? Subscription to ff through ads is a terrible idea. Cynical.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

agreed lets hope they add it to all content asap

[@kirkd81]

So it’s basically Sky Go but in HD/4K ? Also sky wanted to charge me more for Sky steam than I already pay for Sky Q which is just bizarre as it’s less equipment 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@HowToKillAnHour]

smaller but different - i think things will change int he future.

[@larky0007]

Just changed from Sky Q and sky stream works out £30 a month cheaper for the same package

[@mitch4943]

Does the live tv program guide take you straight to the live program when you click or does it just take you to the relevant app?

[@Frankie-lp9fx]

Straight to the live programme.

[@LFC1892KOP]

American here. Thanks for reviewing this. I’m a huge fan of a lot of UK-based TV, especially live TV. In the past I’ve subscribed to NOWTV and paid for packages. However if I wanted to switch to watching one of your freeview stations, I had to exit the NOW TV app and jump into another streaming app. That’s why this interests me. Anyway, if you view the settings of the player, is there anything on there that will allow a user to update DNS settings?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

hi there will look into this for you! thanks for your comment!

[@LFC1892KOP]

@@HowToKillAnHour Thank you! Yeah, I went on ahead and ordered service and had a friend ship the box to me stateside. I should get it in two weeks. If the box won’t allow me to change DNS on it, the alternative is for me to update the router settings and plus in an Ethernet. Would rather do it through the box so that I’m not buying another router just for this lol

[@HowToKillAnHour]

@@LFC1892KOP great - mind letting us all know how you get on please? Very valuable info

[@LFC1892KOP]

@@HowToKillAnHour Finally received the box in the mail. Spent the last two days trying to get it set up and it appears that it’s still pulling my IP address here in the US. When I select any of the channels I am told that I need to upgrade my subscription - despite already having that subscription. The player doesn’t allow you to change DNS settings so I tried to gain access through a DNS on the router. No luck though. If anyone from the US tries to do this, they might be able to use a VPN if it’s done through the router. None of my routers have this option so that’s why I couldn’t try it. That might be my next project in the future. Until then it’s NOWTV and TV Mucho for freeview and sky channels.

[@Ridethebomb777]

Use Kodi .... it's cheaper.

[@ofah75]

Would you change from Sky Q for stream or stick with Q ??

[@HowToKillAnHour]

i really like sky q for its great combo of live recording / hard drive and accessibility features - however the form factor of stream is very nice and all issues mentioned can we weeded our with upgrades. so if you cannot get sky where you are this is the logical next step

[@barry1972-b3i]

I been toying with idea to having one,i really miss f1.Already got a Amazon fire tv as a present no problems from the sky broadband.Will it be no different to sky stream?.The trustpilot reviews mention contention issues with wifi?Sky needs sort this out before i buy.?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

you need decent wifi like you do with most streaming boxes now - test it first to see how good it is before you buy

[@subh5920]

Hi how much it’s cost of sky sports on sky box or sky stream. I didn’t purchase yet. Also explain 4K fire stick how it’s work I’m not so good in technology.

[@TheRazvancristian]

I have an Sky Stream puck ,on set up steps,is said is unable to link my account..so i can connect it..same like in your video..what to do?

[@Theresabrown1805]

Is the box rented from Sky or can you buy the box from PC World?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

hi in our case we grabbed the unit direct from Sky.

[@yellow6153]

so is it basiclly freeview?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

no its different to freeview

[@kobirelf97]

It's not Freeview at all it doesn't use an aerial or a it just uses the internet

[@scotia001]

You could record if you have an external hard drive or usb stick plugged into your TV.

[@symmetryofzero]

How many channels are actually in UHD?

[@thequalitydan]

Great video! They need to work on the latency between actual live TV and the 'live stream' of channels which are about a minute or so behind normal broadcast on satellite and Freeview. Not a major thing in any case but It becomes an issue during live events, especially the football.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

yeah i didn't really have a problem with it tbh. I think most of my issues can be ironed out over time with firmware / software updates. They just have to keep on top of them

[@Ryan-kx2kc]

That's great so you don't have to get a TV licence as it's not live 😂

[@dibils]

thats disappointing, recently moved to a place that doesnt have BT so have to get this to watch sky sport and BT sport ( i will only be here for max 12months so dont want 18 month tv contract) and what i loved about BTTV is how even the streamed sky sports had very minor delay so didnt have to worry about spoilers if looking online or from mates with text messages 😅 now questioning whether its worth getting this now

[@TomDickson66]

That massive GB plug is huge. Do we conclude that it can't be powered from the TV USB ports like other dongles?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

we didn't but will look into it - uk plugs are the best! hahah

[@mkchap1525]

swap out your 13A socket for one with USB and buy a £4 cable from Jeff

[@madmaxpane3694]

How does the size compare to Apple TV?

[@_pikachu_6378]

How does it work for multi rooms

[@HowToKillAnHour]

of course!

[@HappyRareGrooveMan]

Why when opting for subtitles on a sky glass series it only allows small screen

[@maryaboyd2667]

Thank you so much for this video

[@HowToKillAnHour]

no problem - let me know what you end up doing?

[@harryamos3269]

I use my parents sky account on my xbox while im at uni, I wanted to get a stream box for another room in my house does this box do similar functions to sky go on xbox? would there be any added charges to my parents account if I got one of these secondhand?

[@MikeGaming22]

You can’t get them second hand… you don’t own them sky does your leasing the product out

[@ummerfarooq5383]

So when the internet goes down there goes tv?

[@Shteev91]

How bad is the delay from Live TV compared to regular Sky. I feel this could be poor for watching Sky Sports as I've heard that it is a couple of minutes behind.

[@cliffyh466]

Same as analogue to digital, analogue is well faster to watch live sports, like 8 seconds

[@CptSpears007]

Just got a new box, didn’t boot up to that blue screen. Box failed and is going to be sent back.

[@thomas1677]

Im in the military and unable to get a dish fitted etc. This is a brilliant service

[@simonlloyd100]

My biggest gripe...no subtitles on UHD movies 😢

[@HowToKillAnHour]

here's hoping this is one of the things they fix - accessibility is very important.

[@Ryan-kx2kc]

Yeah that's bad for deaf people

[@HowToKillAnHour]

@@Ryan-kx2kc agree it's bad but luckily this can be pushed up to the systems and I presume it will be as accessibility is a must

[@pauljones9526]

I actually like this at first I didn't because I was using my mobile hotspot of phone and kept on freezing all the time since I have got a wifi router and put a sim card in it it works fine now no issues except sometime when you watch live tv part from that I like it

[@sebaszwarc]

They should offer this in Poland with SkyShowtime built-in and unblocked aerial socket

[@PhilHaddon]

If I only have 1 puck can my kids watch Netflicks on a smart tv?

[@GoPro-TV]

Is it cheaper than sky q

[@jimchambers3268]

Well explained thanks 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@Ryan-kx2kc]

We had to login to account online and follow setup and association of the service. This is how the customer service set us up because it was in endless loop.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

Yeah it took a few attempts to kick in for me - no customer service though

[@Hammerhead87]

Great review. Was on the fence but seeing the subscription to skip ads it’s a no from me!

[@HowToKillAnHour]

I thought the bite would be the (lack of) option for dvr and subs. It’s a great product but just needs a few tweaks and sky need to work on a deal so they can get quicker access to shows after they have finished

[@paulyh4531]

Yer that's a bit of a con paying to skip adverts !

[@kirkd81]

@@paulyh4531 Yep especially as it’s already free on other formats , they still charge £7 for standard HD so doesn’t surprise me $$$

[@paulyh4531]

@@kirkd81 All sky subs charge for hd ,that should be scrapped as there is no mainstream channels in SD anymore another rip off.

[@somervillearron]

I got mine free for two months or can send back no cost from a sky booth

[@HowToKillAnHour]

Great let us know how you get on!

[@pauljones9526]

Have now changed my mind about this buffing again and now have the cheek to put the price up by £2 a month only been with them 7 months big regret gonna cancel

[@jonathan75801]

Seems they are going the now tv way of streaming tv through broadband.

[@frankmurphy2061]

I got stream 7 days ago Uhd sky sports is fantastic better quality than sky q.... First few days was bit buggy but has settled down now have wired connection to my modem .. One tip change you settings to 1080p to watch HD don't let box upscale

[@scotia001]

Try mounting your camera so that Both of your hands are free.

[@cliveomahoney4096]

....sorry, that was a bit abrupt. What I meant was, since I got the thing, I've had lots of software issues - ads repeating, time after time, progs on the playlist not being available; either due to other streaming sites not providing them, or Sky not working properly - you can't record anything. so, it's really not a very relaxing experience, hoping that what you want to see is there. The reps at Sky talk about the stuff you add being in the Cloud. This is nonsense BS and probably illegal. I also needed a new remote (after 2 weeks) and my puck was faulty too. It really ain't good.

[@1990SammieJ]

Ah! So that's what they through in with the WiFi. Nice!. Not bad. Good review thanks

[@dawinrules443]

Why no app

[@wrongmark]

I’ve had Sky Stream for a few months, replacing Sky Q that I had for years. I like it but it’s far from perfect. I have 1Gbps up/down internet and a wired connection to the puck and it still occasionally takes a while to start a channel and regularly hangs when starting something on Netflix. No recording so you have to rely on the “Watch from start” thing which is a bit difficult to find sometimes. Ffwd and rewind is an absolute nightmare to be honest. But the picture quality is good and you can have UHD on more than one tv in your house which is better than Sky Q. Picture quality is way better than any dodgy Firestick setup I’ve seen, but the whole nav experience is a bit awkward IMO.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

Hopefully they improve on this as time goes on

[@frankmurphy2061]

I would get if you you could record

[@HowToKillAnHour]

maybe they will have it in a future bit of tech but for you maybe sky q is best

[@frankmurphy2061]

Already have freeview hd can record with that ..apparently sky stream has better picture than satellite. I just want bt sports and sky in uhd

[@frankmurphy2061]

Great rewiew do 👌

[@runnerbean1980]

thay all ready have this basicaly its a new version of the sky mini box i have in my bed room run's off wifi

[@HowToKillAnHour]

this is slightly different to a sky q mini box but if you have any questions feel free to ask

[@kirkd81]

Yeah but you still need a SKY Q box to use a Mini Box

[@HowToKillAnHour]

@@kirkd81 this is true!

[@velosapien]

Is sky stream and sky broadband different. Do I need separate broadband for stream to work...thanks

[@james36515]

Stream is for TV not broadband. So separate product

[@Leeh187]

It has ads and you have to pay £5 a month to be allowed to FF. Im out.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

what would be a reasonable price to pay to skip ads?

[@Leeh187]

@@HowToKillAnHour ads should not be included in a service you already pay for. It urks me when you pay your sky sub, then you pay extra for a ppv event and then there are even tonnes of ads during the ppv event too. It’s disgusting

[@_pikachu_6378]

£5 only gets you 1 coffee in a month ur like a duck and that’s water tight

[@Leeh187]

@@_pikachu_6378 No I just wont waste money on skipping ads for a pid for service, however you feel free to carry on bending over and taking it from sky.

[@SgtSlapmaster]

@@_pikachu_6378This is a common saying but the reality is it’s not one cup of coffee. The overall service starts at about £30 and there are a range of ‘cup of coffee’ extras like this that add up to quite a bit of cash. If you want multiroom, UHD (4K), and ad skipping you’re suddenly looking at about £55 for Stream, or £660 a year. If you want movies or sports you can increase that to £65-£85+. All that matters is the overall value proposition and I think Sky has work to do here. Paying so much for the aforementioned features shouldn’t be a thing with today’s tech.

[@UKVATO]

What do you do if the network is down ?

[@HowToKillAnHour]

then it will not work like other streaming services

[@knownpleasures]

You can basic channels in settings when network is down

[@dbcooper7326]

How many channels can you record at the same time ?

[@lordhamptonwick5320]

I left Virgin for this because I had a issue with Virgin and they annoyed me. However switching to SKY Puck is the biggest mistake I've made in a long time. I absolutely hate it. I can't stand the menu or the remote. This streaming business is a pain in the backside. Also I've lost half the stations I had on Virgin, but it's costing the same. Luckily I'm still within the 31 days cooling off period which means I can cancel with no financial penalty. I shall be arranging my cancellation first thing in the morning after only 3 days. Also I've tried to remove the back of the remote to access the batteries, but to no avail, bloody impossible. Ridiculous!

[@HowToKillAnHour]

let us know how you get on! we are not sky affiliated so are happy to hear about experiences?

[@markherbert4799]

The back of the remote just slides off to expose the batteries, it couldn't be easier.

[@Richnsoul]

Did you go back to Virgin ? We are with V but considering a Sky switch to save 50% .

[@stevedunne9131]

I had a right ball ache setting this up for the first run, phoning Sky for help on a Sunday is a joke. I was going around in a loop for two hours until I read about a factory reset. and realised I had to change the "network" to ethernet on settings and away we went.

[@TDRFORUM]

Tbh we just recieved our sky stream and it disgusts me that u pay all that money for a tv service that is useless u cant record its as useful as an apple tv i wanna fling it

[@nickaxe771]

Sky Q is on the way out.

[@nobladeofgrassTV]

A fiver to skip ads. ??. I’ll keep Sky+ thanks.

[@liamlivesey7718]

Sky Q is a better product 100%

[@james36515]

Sadly on its way out, and costlier. Going to give this a go and see how it goes

[@denniswright4807]

The main problem is ? It doesn’t record so yes it’s good to watch but nothing more .

[@jakedillingham8710]

It's the year 2525.....

[@denniswright4807]

Try telling sky that .

[@pm3577]

Absolute crap. They can’t come take their telly back quick enough. It’s like going back in time but not in a good way. Low-fi.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

what happened?

[@Matthew-by5bt]

You still need a tv licence and an extra £5 a month for no advertising, no thanks

[@kobirelf97]

I still don't understand why people are paying for a TV licence you can tell them you don't need one then leave you alone I haven't paid for one ever

[@jbeam794]

These rip offs at sky stream rip me off. Payed for a box never got it and after so many cry stories they are refusing to send my box or my money.,

[@daviddutton9002]

Sky q

[@agmarks208]

Thats diddy 😁

[@GeraldTait-kp9ez]

Prefer sky Q

[@billB101]

It's Sky, no thanks.

[@HowToKillAnHour]

may we ask why you would say that? constructive feedback is always welcome on this platform

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

Any products by Sky and i'm out!

[@garybacon64gb]

Absolutely crap, couldn't even set it up with the help of sky engineer. Don't bother.