Advice re: Sky Q and alternatives

Pflano

Hi. Would anyone have any advice on alternatives to Sky Q. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the lot of it as I had one of those €99 boxes a few years ago and it took me so long to try (unsuccessfully) to set it up that it left me traumatised!

I'm hearing good things about the Amazon Firestick but I can't seem to find out what channels it will get me and if it's a monthly subscription like Sky+ or a one off payment. Also, Now TV....is it any use? Hearing good and bad things about that.....

We have Sky Q and Sky Broadband and are paying €77 a month - we're in contract with them until July. We barely watch Sky (just on the normal entertainment package - no movies/sports etc) so increasingly thinking it's a waste of money. The channels we'd watch most would be Sky Atlantic, Crime, Channel 4, E4, More4, BBC, RTE, Discovery, Quest. We watch Netflix through brother's account. I had Hayu but cancelled it - would watch reality tv (Below Deck etc). Would like access to catch up tv - All4, RTE Player etc and access to sports if possible - Golf, Moto GP, off the top of my head. Would like to keep Sky broadband.

Could anyone suggest the best scenario for us e.g. "for €40 less, keep Sky broadband, get Amazon Firestick - you'll get all channels except x,y, z"?

Would really appreciate any advice.

thanks in advance!

mossie

There is a thread on Firestick here: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058088307/firestick-general-discussion-thread#latest where there is plenty information.

Live TV is limited on Firestick. There are ways to get it but it involves using VPNs or IPTV (discussion of which isn't allowed on boards as it usually involves bending of the law).

Im getting a recordable Freesat box,fed up of Skys increasing prices and removal of channels. I have a smart tv which has the RTE player on it if I need Irish content.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2075868?clickPR=plp:1:5

This one will do me,its for the cost of 4 or 5 monthly sky payments!

pjdarcy

You could sign up for the seven day free trial of Now TV to see if it has everything you need

digitaldr

I recently got a Philips OLED TV which is android based. It puts terrestrial and satellite TV on the same EPG and recording via USB. You can reorder and delete channels too - best done with their app. No need for a firestick etc as it can also run iplayer (even has some 4k content), hulu etc natively using a smart DNS service. There's lots of apps available via the Google tv play store - IPTV works really well.

Having said all that, it's nowhere near as slick as Sky Q and not able to record one channel while watching another but in the age of streaming/catch up services this isn't a deal breaker for me.

I also have Tiviar combo box. It took quite a bit of work getting it setup with a sky HD skin (there's a sky Q one too) and interface is still a little clunky. Recording/series link doesn't work as smoothly as Sky and the remote is really cluttered.

Pflano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118960212#Comment_118960212

Sorry, I'm only seeing these replies now! Zorro2566 - those boxes don't seem to be available in Argos Ireland - if I was to get one in NI, would it work here? Definitely going to look into this as I have a Smart TV as well

Pflano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118960274#Comment_118960274

Great idea! thanks!

Pflano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118960212#Comment_118960212

Actually, now you have me thinking.... Stupid question alert: I thought my tv was a smart TV but now I'm wondering is it SkyQ that gives it that capability as Netflix, Discovery+, Amazon Prime apps all appear under Apps in the Sky menu. Or would I get that anyway if I got rid of Sky?

Thanks so much!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119024098#Comment_119024098

Yes they will work here! I got one in Argos in Enniskillen which is less than an hour from where I live!

pjdarcy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119024120#Comment_119024120

If you have a smart TV you should be able to access Netflix and the other apps you mentioned using the menu on your TV. (i.e. NOT the sky menu). There's probably a button on your TV remote control to access them

swoofer

If we had make and model of TV we could check spec and it may have a sat tuner and a Saorview tuner.