Sky Stream has arrived in Ireland

IrishHomer

I was just browsing the Sky Ireland website and it has a banner for Sky Stream. It states to phone Sky for further information

JDxtra

Full details are here:

https://www.sky.com/ie/tv/stream

doc22

A more expensive NOW tv?

DopeTech

€20 a month to be able to watch FTA channels and netflix hardly a bargain but it has its uses I guess where someone can't have a dish.

icdg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860551#Comment_120860551

No it’s different, this carries your RTEs, VMTVs, BBCs, etc - Now TV is (mostly) just Sky’s own channels

Essentially this is the service that powers Sky Glass, but you bring your own TV instead of buying a new one.

icdg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860617#Comment_120860617

It’s not just FTA channels. This is the full Sky TV package, the same one available via satellite, more or less. (Don’t expect to be able to manually tune the likes of ITV or Channel 5 with it though, it’s strictly channels that are part of the Sky TV package).

The downsides are the same as with Glass. As well as the aforementioned lack of Manual Tuning, there’s all the recording restrictions. This affects the BBC the most and the limited version of iPlayer (we are not allowed call it that!) doesn’t mitigate one bit I’m afraid.

IrishHomer

It also has 4k for an extra price unke Now tv.

I wonder would it work abroad in my holiday home, probably not

baz9375

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862099#Comment_120862099

I have the UK version of Sky Stream from NI. Tried this in Portugal in March, worked perfectly using UK mobile as hotspot. Can't see why Irish version wouldn't do the same with Irish mobile hotspot.

Also tried it on Portuguese wifi network - didn't work at all using that.

icdg

Press release:

https://www.skygroup.sky/article/sky-stream-launches-in-ireland#

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862132#Comment_120862132

...surely vpn would work?

...what are these services like in regards buffering/freezing etc?

SortingYouOut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862623#Comment_120862623

Father-in-law has Sky Glass and has had no issues with connectivity but he does have a solid broadband connection. Only issues he has had is with the interface itself being buggy at times but has improved with updates.

icdg

No discussion of circumventing regional restrictions please

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862664#Comment_120862664

is there any noticeable delay in signal, id say its next to impossible not to have some sort of delay, nature of the beast?

cena

I don't see it saying anything about recording shows.

baz9375

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862623#Comment_120862623

Haven't tried it with VPN but I know from trying VPNs in the past with Sky Go that Sky are very good at detecting VPNs.

The service is flawless and I've never has any issues with buffering/freezing - I'm on FTTH with a steady 500Mb download speed.

One thing that may be an issue for sports fans is the lag behind "live" terrestrial broadcasts - its around 30-40 seconds behind live TV (when comparing it to BBC on Freeview).

SortingYouOut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862689#Comment_120862689

There is a slight delay yeah, I noticed it watching the football and friends whatsapping about a goal before it happened. It is only 30 seconds or so though but I'd say that will improve eventually.

I've heard Sky are making a move away from the dish altogether so it will be the standard in a few years i'd say.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862735#Comment_120862735

...delays are just part and parcel of the business unfortunately, they ll struggle to get it below that 30 second delay, without introducing severe buffering and freezing, it will be interesting to see how it develops though....

Atlantic Dawn

I see ad skipping is free for a year, then €6 a month. If I was shelling out for the basic package plus Sports and Sports Extra thats €60 a month, rather poor to have to pay an additional €6 a month on top.

JDxtra

It is a very attractive proposition for a large number of homes in Ireland.

Sure, you can use Saorview / satellite FTA / Now TV / Netflix to get close to this - but it requires effort to setup and maintain, and some expense if you don't have a dish already.

This is one simple box with and a flat cost and a combined interface.

JDxtra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862696#Comment_120862696

It's streaming and catch up service only. Recording is not part of this. Besides, I think it's fair to say that a lot or people are recording less and less these days.

icdg

Not quite, there’s a Playlist feature that takes the place of recording. You add shows to your playlist but how it treats them then depends on whether the channel has catch up or not. If there’s a catch up service adding it to the playlist creates a link to the catch up service. If there is no catch up then subject to rights there is a cloud recording feature.

There is BBC catch up, but it’s limited.

This is essentially the same as Sky Glass, minus any features specifically dependant on the hardware.

TCP/IP

I think there is definitely a market for this even in my case I have the main TV with SkyQ 4k so that's fine but I have two other 4K TVs with no option but HD.

Now I can cancel the two SkyQ mini boxes and get Sky Stream problem solved as they have 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos - Happy days.

I never wanted Sky Glass as they are inferior TV's.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120863523#Comment_120863523

whats the problem with sky glass, doesnt sound great at all?

munchkin_utd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862099#Comment_120862099

If you have an irish account, and are looking to temporarily use it in another EU country, that should work with no need for any funny business thanks to EU rules.

TCP/IP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120863526#Comment_120863526

If you just want a basic 4k TV and soundbar it's fine but certainly not something I would rely on for top-notch quality.

Take a read of this review

https://www.avforums.com/reviews/sky-glass-tv-65-inch-review.19432/

TCP/IP

Technical specs for Sky Stream attached

Sky Stream_Leaflet_A5_.pdf

JDxtra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120863526#Comment_120863526

Sky Glass may suit some - maybe the type of person where a TV is just a TV and they might even throw one into their trolly at Tesco?

Personally I'd rather purchase TVs from known brands where I can check reviews in advance. I'll be using it for at least 5 years so I want it to last and not annoy me with a clunky interface or be locked in to some platform.

This is why Sky Stream is more interesting, it's not locked into a specific TV.

SortingYouOut

Will be interesting to see if the live stream devices ever see themselves "jailbroken" for lack of a better word, and what that could bring. I doubt the sky streams themselves can be directly accessed considering Sky have been at that aspect for a while now but I imagine the GUI itself coming in handy if you can build dodgy IPTV streams into it.

What really annoys me about Sky's streaming service is the 1080p limit for most on demand movies. People paying serious money for old HD when every other streaming service is throwing out atmos and UHD for far less. I was recently in my wife's parents house who have Glass and noticed that the new Avatar was only available in HD, which is madness.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120863523#Comment_120863523

You can do that but 2 of these will cost you more than the 2 mini boxes will it not?

icdg

Im not sure you even can, not sure if Sky will allow you to have Q and Stream at the same address.

Even if they do, you would have to be pretty desperate to want 4K in every room to be willing to pay two full price subscriptions instead of just getting multiroom. Especially since you’ll have to pay for Whole House (the Stream name for multiroom) anyway to have two stream boxes! There isn’t even that much 4K content to watch on it, last time I checked the only sport was Premier League and some cricket.

cloudhopper19

I know you shouldn't assume but I am assuming the channels are HD at least .. it doesn't say so on the channel list but I am sure I saw it somewhere just want to confirm.

babelfish1990

Its good to see another IPTV option over Broadband - but at €30pm, Sky Stream looks very bad value vs eir TV at €9.99pm. Granted, the €30 includes Netflix - while eir includes Amazon Prime Video. Eir also allow multi-room without any additional monthly subscription if you purchase additional Apple TV 4k+ boxes whereas Sky force you to pay for multi-room, and use proprietary boxes. The cloud recording options on Sky also seem poorer than Eir. Eir allow flexible recording of BBC, and this is probably the most important, as the BBC i-Player is not officially available in Ireland. The Irish channels don't appear to permit cloud recording currently - but this is less of a problem because their players are available, and they have some catch-up options.

Nevertheless, it appears that IPTV Streaming boxes are the future, and will increasingly displace legacy hard-disk boxes and satellite dishes. Lest everyone gets too excited that this is being done to improve the experience for customers, the cynics might say that the real reason is to give the TV operator greater control over the advertising stream!

Silver Serpent

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120863523#Comment_120863523

You can’ t have both Sky Q and Sky Stream.

lertsnim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864859#Comment_120864859

F1 has its own 4K channel now.

Silver Serpent

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864878#Comment_120864878

Channels are HD as standard.

cloudhopper19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120865309#Comment_120865309

Thanks for that - just wanted to double check before I make the jump.

icdg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864963#Comment_120864963

In some ways it’s a worse experience for customers. I often need to pause prime time games for various reasons, and it’s the feature I most miss about Sky, as Now TV’s live pause feature only works for 30 minutes, if it works at all (and it often doesn’t). Then again I’m paying €30 per month instead of €150pm, so there’s that to weigh up! It’s said that people don’t need PVRs any more, but I tend to disagree. Sky Stream is better than Now TV in this regard (and it should be - you’re supposed to be buying a full cable TV package here not just live streaming of key channels) but it’s still not as good as having a fully featured PVR.

galtee boy

Am I correct in saying that the way recording works on Sky Glass and I presume Stream is the same, is that the programme you want to record is either recorded on the cloud or else, the system digs the programme out of the player for that channel and puts it into a playsuit for you to play when you want. However, what happens with programmes on the BBC channels ? The selection of programmes available to view on the BBC on Demand section on Q is very small, perhaps its different on Glass and Stream. For example, if you want to record BBC news or some other programme not in the On Demand section, what happens then ? Or is cloud recording allowed on the BBC programmes now ?

galtee boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864963#Comment_120864963

It's not quite correct to say that eir tv is only €9.99 per month, don't you have to take eir broadband to get the tv system, whereas you can get Sky Stream without having to get their broadband.

cloudhopper19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867757#Comment_120867757

Correct with eir you have to have their broadband with Sky you're free to choose whomever you want. A friend of mine has Sky Glass and the BBC catch up stuff is not quite iPlayer level but deffo more than what's currently available on Sky Q.

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867757#Comment_120867757

True - but then Sky are forcing you to use their proprietary box which is useless when you leave Sky, whereas Eir allow you to use a standard Apple 4K TV box, which you can still use if you leave eir...and in any case you need to get Broadband from somewhere for Sky Stream to work. Eir also have Android, Chromecast & PC clients, which allow you to access eir TV when away from home. Sky Go does not appear to be included with Sky Stream?

Agent Smith

No discount if you already have netflix tho?!

icdg

You no longer need to pay Netflix if you have it included in your Sky package - they’ll stop billing you once your sub is linked (can’t remember what the process is).

By the way, discovery+ is included too.

Sky Go should be available (may require Whole Home on certain devices).

Kurn

I love this option! I would go for it myself but I have access to the Family Sky Go app via Apple TV (which I pay for) and it seems a very similar experience. I was actually surprised SKY Go is so good on the Apple TV

IrishHomer

Sky Go? Do you mean Now TV?

TCP/IP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864720#Comment_120864720

The cost does not bother me as long as the quality is the best as possible.

TCP/IP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120864859#Comment_120864859

F1, Premier League, Champions League, Darts, Tennis, Boxing, Movies are all in 4K and I am sure I am missing others but plenty to watch in 4K these days.

lertsnim

Is the 4K TNT Sports available on Sky Stream?

TCP/IP

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/watching-sky-q-in-ultra-hd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120872644#Comment_120872644

Yes it is:

Gooser14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120871245#Comment_120871245

They probably mean Sky Go. It's an app available to Sky subscribers for viewing Sky channels on phones & tablets.

TCP/IP

Has anyone actually moved from SkyQ to Sky Stream?

Interested to hear the experience.