Adding apps on my Glass TV

[southandr]

I have a Sky Glass TV, so why cant I add any app that I want to put on there?  Even when I lose my fibre connection, and the Glass TV goes into freeview mode, I still cant add apps outside of what Sky TV controls.  On my other smart TV's (eg samsung), I can add apps of my choice, so why does Sky block me doing this on the Glass TV that I own?

[82bit]

Sky Glass/Stream is a closed system - only apps and services that Sky officially support are available. What you see there now in the apps rail is all there is. 

As you're perhaps beginning to discover, Sky Glass isn't as much of a 'Smart TV' as actual Smart TVs are. 

[southandr]

That should be interesting, if Sky is ever taken to court over this.  I was just thinking about when Microsoft was taken to court over their Windows programme and Apple over their programme, and how the courts forced them to open up so other software companies can also use their systems, so they cant monopolise a system.  To be honest, if I had known at the time I brough my Glass TV, I couldn't add what I wanted, I'd never have gone over to Glass, and would have stayed with Sky Q, at least then, the apps I'd added to my TV I could then use.

A little underhanded, not being informed at the time of buying.

[82bit]

A sort-of solution would be to hook up a Fire Stick or similar, to one of the spare HDMI ports and use the apps that aren't available on Glass, on there. Not ideal I know. I still have my old Apple TV boxes rigged up to be able to use the Twitch app, for example. 

[Ellie_TV]

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@southandr wrote:

I have a Sky Glass TV, so why cant I add any app that I want to put on there?  Even when I lose my fibre connection, and the Glass TV goes into freeview mode, I still cant add apps outside of what Sky TV controls.  On my other smart TV's (eg samsung), I can add apps of my choice, so why does Sky block me doing this on the Glass TV that I own?

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The difference between your other smart TV's and Sky Glass is that your other TV's have app stores and a limited amount of on board storage where apps can be downloaded to. Sky Glass has no on-board storage for customer use and no means of downloading apps. All apps on Sky Glass are actually on Sky's servers and only Sky can add or remove them. It's a very different type of platform, designed for simplicity, not necessarily flexibility. 

[TimmyBGood · Accepted solution]

@southandr 

The historic definition of a 'smart television' is simply presence of internet connectivity.  An app store isn't necessarily a requirement.

Microsoft and Apple legal issues were due to their effective monopolies as operating system providers with enormous market share: that's not the case with Sky.

[TimmyBGood]

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@Ellie_TV wrote:

 It's a very different type of platform, designed for simplicity, not necessarily flexibility. 

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Also because Sky is required to provide comprehensive support, including staffed call centres, for all apps present on their platforms, and so they don't host those from partners who aren't prepared to contribute towards the cost of this.  A typical smart television manufacturer isn't expected to offer anything like the same level of support as a subscription service provider: they simply refer app issues back to the app owner.

[MarkGoldsmith]

In addition to the points above, Sky Glass runs on its own proprietary operating system, so any apps owners would need to develope and support their apps to work on Skys custom OS. Having a custom OS it what allows Sky to add new features whenever they want and also provide features like the playlist feature on the platform. Realistically even if Sky used a known OS as a base it would have likely needed to be heavily customised for their platform to work which would immediately eliminate the benefits of using an already existing OS.

Virtually all other smart TVs will be powered by one of the bigger Operating Systems, so app developers would only need to ensure their apps worked on a couple of different OSs and it would make their app available of literally dozens of different smart TVs from different manufacturers.

[southandr]

Yes, I do and can understand what you are saying, but as a buyer of the Glass TV, shouldn't Sky and/or its representatives explain this at the point of sale, as it's too late for the consumer after purchasing it's product then finding out by yourself that you have these issues.

As I said previously, had I known of this problem and the control that Sky have over the Glass TV, I would never have brought one, but stayed with my Samsung TV and my Sky Q box.

[TimmyBGood]

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@southandr wrote:

 it's too late for the consumer after purchasing it's product then finding out by yourself that you have these issues.

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That would be why consumer protection legislation mandates a cooling-off period for goods and services bought unseen (and Sky doubles the statutory timeframe of 14 days)

[southandr]

But how would you know about this, until a time comes when you want to add an app many months later.  If you were told before you buy, then at least you have a choice.

[SKY1992bf]

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@southandr wrote:

But how would you know about this, until a time comes when you want to add an app many months later.  If you were told before you buy, then at least you have a choice.

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@southandr by doing your research and asking questions on community's like this before you buy

[southandr]

So not being informed at the point of sale.

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@southandr wrote:

So not being informed at the point of sale.

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At the point the of sale its not possible for a sale person to go through every single feature. Obviously if a customer specifically asked the question about an app store i would expect a truthful answer to come from the sales person, but as not all customers would be interested in something like whether there is an app store available a sale person is only ever going to go through the key features of a product.

Ultimately when making a big money purchase its always best to do your own research in addition to what you have been told by a salesperson. Don't forget a salesperson job is ultimately to make the sale and earn commission so its always best to confirm any information provided by the sales person from other sources.

[TimmyBGood]

@southandr 

I'm afraid expecting a salesperson to go through all the things a product doesn't do is frankly unrealistic.