Apple TV Providers

[baobabcat]

Hi

There are a few posts about the Apple TV app coming to Sky. However I can't find anything about Sky being added to Apple TV as a TV Provider?

The picture quality and sound is not great from my Sky Q even though it's 4K, maybe because it doesn't have HDR/Dolby Digital, or maybe it's just cheaper components.  So I nearly always stick to Apple TV, especially since Sky got rid of Never Miss as I rarely find anything worth watching on Sky.  

However the only option for live TV on Apple is via various apps that is a hassle and often SD quality, and no HD Freeview option. So I could just get rid of Sky and get something that supports freeview, but most countries have their TV providers listed on Apple - except the UK. Does anyone know whether Sky will support this at some stage?

If they will, I may stick with Sky for that, but if it's never coming I may as well invest the cash I pay for Sky into a decent Freeviee option...

[GD1]

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@baobabcat wrote:

Hi

There are a few posts about the Apple TV app coming to Sky. However I can't find anything about Sky being added to Apple TV as a TV Provider?

The picture quality and sound is not great from my Sky Q even though it's 4K, maybe because it doesn't have HDR/Dolby Digital, or maybe it's just cheaper components.  So I nearly always stick to Apple TV, especially since Sky got rid of Never Miss as I rarely find anything worth watching on Sky.  

However the only option for live TV on Apple is via various apps that is a hassle and often SD quality, and no HD Freeview option. So I could just get rid of Sky and get something that supports freeview, but most countries have their TV providers listed on Apple - except the UK. Does anyone know whether Sky will support this at some stage?

If they will, I may stick with Sky for that, but if it's never coming I may as well invest the cash I pay for Sky into a decent Freeviee option...

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Sky Q does have HDR, have you not been watching Europsort 4K with HDR?  Why would Sky want to be on Apple TV?

[baobabcat]

My Sky Q box says it supports HDR (it has the options in the menu which I've enabled), but it's definitely not like Apple TV. I phoned Sky and they admitted that it wasn't actually available until the most recent boxes.  Apparently there is a shortage of boxes so they wouldn't provide me with one that does support it....

[nigea99]

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@baobabcat wrote:

My Sky Q box says it supports HDR (it has the options in the menu which I've enabled), but it's definitely not like Apple TV. I phoned Sky and they admitted that it wasn't actually available until the most recent boxes.  Apparently there is a shortage of boxes so they wouldn't provide me with one that does support it....

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hi @baobabcat I am confused by your post - you say your box supprts HDR and then imply it doesn't

I don't have a HDR capable box so I don't know the options 

What box do you have  (Settings- System Info - Hardware Version ) ?

There is not masses of HDR material available on SKY Q but there is some including a Eurosport Olympic live feed

[fizzdisco · Accepted solution]

@baobabcat 

The Apple TV 4K box is generally a much better upscaler than Sky Q and has the superior HDR10 & Dolby Vision formats of HDR (Sky's original content & sports coverage uses HLG). It also matches native frame rates for content on most apps, so movies and shows shot at 24fps or 30fps for example, play at the correct speed (they are sped up and pitch-shifted on Sky). Dolby Atmos is also much more widely offered on Apple TV+ shows and on movies purchased from iTunes. 

The TV Provider options are generally more skewed towards the USA where viewers who tend to be tied to a cable TV provider can link their accounts to their Apple TV and get the standard network TV channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.) via streaming, as well as their paid services like HBO, Paramount+, etc. 

Here the UK does lag behind. Perhaps when Sky does eventually launch a streaming version of their Signature package there will be a chance to fully integrate it into Apple TV and have recommendations etc. appear on the Apple TV user interface. It's certainly a lot speedier and user friendly than the current Q interface. When or even if this might happen is anyone's guess though. I'd doubt if we'd see anything happening within a year. 

If you do decide to get rid of Sky then I can heartily recommend the Manhattan T3-R Freeview HD recorder. It's fast, intuitive, quieter than Q and has performed flawlessly for me over the past 9 months. Its picture quality on the HD Freeview channels is superior to the Sky Q equivalents too. It also has the UHD compatible version of BBC iPlayer built in to it so you can stream the BBC's UHD HDR content. (Which you can't do on Sky Q at the moment.)

[baobabcat]

Hi @nigea99 

My hardware version is 32B064. 

In terms of HDR setting, I have 10bit UHD enabled, which is the pre-requisite: ie.

Settings.

Select Setup, then Audio visual.

Choose 2160p (UHD).

When prompted to select 8-bit, 10-bit or Find it for me, select Find it for me to find the right setting for your TV. If you want to watch Sky Q in HDR, you'll need to select 10-bit.

[nigea99]

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@baobabcat wrote:

Hi @nigea99 

My hardware version is 32B064. 

In terms of HDR setting, I have 10bit UHD enabled, which is the pre-requisite: ie.

Settings.

Select Setup, then Audio visual.

Choose 2160p (UHD).

When prompted to select 8-bit, 10-bit or Find it for me, select Find it for me to find the right setting for your TV. If you want to watch Sky Q in HDR, you'll need to select 10-bit.

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hi @baobabcat ah that explains it. 

You have a v1 2TB UHD box (like mine) that is not HDR capable - hence the explanation that you would need to upgrade (& be charged)  to get HDR

Edit : I find the SDR UHD quality variable sometimes very good (Lord of the Rings trilogy a good example) but never close to  an HDR image - often I find some of the UHD (SDR) content not significantly  better than HD

Edit 2 : BTW yes 10 bit is a pre-req for HDR but doesn't actually set HDR - it just means it is uses the wider colour pallette (that is also needed for HDR)  - You can have / use 10 bit without HDR but not get/use HDR without 10 bit.

[baobabcat]

@fizzdisco 

Many thanks - I agree with everything you say.  It's difficult to know if the HDR/Dolby Digital Sky boxes match Apple TV sound & vision quality, but it's difficult to justify renewing my contract  and locking in just for channels that I already pay for with the license fee for.

It does also seem strange that the UK is behind all these other countries in terms of the Apple TV providers, but I really appreciate the recomendation of the Freeview box. I've been thinking of doing that anyway when my Sky contract ends, but was worried that the GUI or audio/visual quality may be poor.  A Freeview app for Apple TV would be ideal, but it doesn't sound like that's likely for some reason. There is an app for iPhone/iPad, so maybe certain companies feel threatened and have lobbied not to have one on the TV.

Anyway thanks for the great advice, that's really helped....

[nigea99]

hi @baobabcat I am not quite sure you are referring to Dolby Digital correctly. 

Your box is capable of using Dolby Digital & Dolby Digital + to use Dolby Atmos  which I use when available. 

Are you meaning Dolby Vision which is an HDR version which no SKY boxes currently support 

[baobabcat]

Thanks @nigea99 

Yes that aligns with what Sky told me, although they wouldn't let me upgrade even if I paid.  Which, to be honest, I'm grateful for as I will save a lot in the long run getting a decent Freeview box, and using that alongside Apple TV without Sky.  I've been with Sky for decades, so it's been a useful nudge..,

[kfagan]

I have Sky Q and I  get HDR and am able to download films in UHD OR UHD/HDR when picking formats.  My TV supports HDR and this is an automatic function and just appears in the top right when watching a show that supports HDR. Check the Formats of the UHD films and if you HDR compatible device you should be able to download the film in HDR

[baobabcat]

@kfagan 

Yes it's the HDR bit I'm missing. Do you have anything with HDR10/Dolby Atmos you can compare it with?

The picture may be closer with HDR, but the sound alone from Sky is a bit thin and tinny in comparison to Apple TV,. and I only have a B&W 3.0 sound setup,  so I find it difficult to believe the difference is Dolby Atmos. Also when I had an HD (rather than 4K), it was also better than the Sky Q sound.

I have no idea why as I've tried tuning and resetting my AV Reciever settings, so I think @fizzdisco is correct in the post above that it's a difference in the capabilities of the components...

[kfagan]

I have Dolby Atmos and actually got rid of my old sound bar when I bought my new tv and watch everything through that, including Apple TV through an app on tv. I did need to change the settings on the Sky Q box for Digital Audio output.  Maybe speak to sky and get a new sky Q box, as if the Apple TV box is better it's not the tv.