My Sky Glass Air Review
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KevNewMedia
This review was written by a Superuser who has received a free Sky Glass Air TV from Sky, as part of the Superuser programme
Delivery
The delivery service was exceptional; within a couple of minutes of placing the order, I received a confirmation email with the delivery date and a link to track the progress via the AIT website. When clicking the link, it provides a host of additional upgrade options that can be added to the delivery schedule up to 5pm the day before delivery. I didn’t upgrade the delivery; however, it’s nice to see the additional services (including unpacking the TV and placing it on the stand, wall mounting the TV, and recycling your old TV). I think that £15 to take away and recycle an old TV is great value for money for those who need it and can do without the hassle of finding a local recycling centre to take their old TV to.
The night before the delivery was scheduled, I was provided with a 2-hour delivery time slot via text and email. On the day of delivery, I was called by the driver when they were 30 minutes away.
The delivery men were personable and polite, and asked which room I would like them to leave the TV in.
Installation
The TV was very well packaged using as minimal packaging as possible. All the packaging is made of cardboard and is recyclable, which helps promote the Glass’s credentials as an environmentally friendly TV. When the top of the box is opened, clear instructions are provided to remove the TV stand pegs, the plug, and the remote from the top sections before opening the tab that grants access to the TV.
One thing to note is that the TV may not be easy for everyone to lift out of the box, despite the Sky Glass Air's weight being about a third of the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV's weight. This is mainly due to the size of the TVs. One improvement that could be made is to have an ergonomically designed groove or recess in the back of the TV. This would allow for a better grip on the TV when removing it from the box and mounting it on the stand.
The provided instructions serve as a good guide for mounting the TV on the stand and setting up the remote control. At first I thought the instructions for the TV stand were a bit unclear, as I didn’t think it was obvious which way round the metal pegs for the stand needed to go, however if you place the metal pegs into the stand the wrong way round, you will be unable to twist and lock the pegs in place.
The back of the TV has small indicator marks showing where the stand's pegs need to go, which made lifting the TV onto the stand a breeze. Once the marks were lined up with the pegs, the TV slotted on easily. I placed the stand on the floor and then lifted the TV onto it. I subsequently lifted the TV and the stand to put them on my TV cabinet.
Setup
The setup was simple, quick, and easy. As soon as the TV is plugged in and turned on, the setup process commences.
The first part is to select a language.
Then set up the internet.
Followed by setting up the remote in Bluetooth mode
All you need to do is follow the on-screen instructions, and the setup is completed within 5 minutes.
Plugging in other HDMI devices, such as a Fire TV stick, PlayStation, and a soundbar, was easy because the HDMI sockets are located sideways on the TV.
One annoyance I found with the setup, being an existing Sky customer with a Sky Stream puck, is that the channel favourites aren’t synced across from my existing puck, so all the favourites had to be set up again on the Glass. It would be nice if there were a constant syncing of the favourites between devices for those customers who have Whole Home and thus multiple devices running Sky OS.
For all third-party apps available on Sky OS, you need to open and sign in to each app individually. This is a relatively simple process for most apps, as you can scan a QR code displayed on the screen and then sign in using your mobile device. However, this is an annoyance if you have Whole Home and have already logged into each app on a Sky Stream puck or another Sky Glass. Completing this process for the number of available apps was more time-consuming than initially installing and setting up the TV.
The TV supports Apple AirPlay 2, and setting it up was incredibly simple, resulting in a seamless experience for casting content from my Mac and iPhone.
Design
From the look of the TV, you couldn’t tell it's made up of partially recycled materials, and from a distance, it looks like a premium product (a slimmer version of the Gen 2 Glass). You can only notice the difference really if you go up close to the TV.
Despite the stand having no height, there is still enough room at the sides of the TV to sneak cables through and behind the TV to hide them away.
The remote control is the same version that comes with the Glass Gen 2, featuring extra definitions on the buttons compared to the original Glass/Sky Stream pucks. In particular, the little ridge between the volume up and down buttons makes it easier to select the correct option without having to look down at the remote. The buttons appear firmer, and there is a more pronounced clicking sensation when pressing the buttons. Overall, the remote is a good upgrade on the original model that was previously provided with Sky Stream pucks and the original Sky Glass.
Picture
The auto picture setting does give a decent picture; however, on occasion, I felt the brightness was slightly dull. For some content, I’ve found switching to the vivid or extra vivid modes gives a brighter, more vibrant, and colourful picture. I’ve found that tweaking and customising the settings (contrast, hue, white balance, brightness) slightly to achieve a setup that meets my general viewing preferences, so I don’t have to keep changing the mode based on the content I’m watching. What’s good is that these settings are easy to change and play around with (and reset if you make a complete mess of it).
The TV has a good viewing angle. You do lose some brightness and vibrancy from tighter angles, but even at a tight angle, it doesn’t look dull or washed out in any way.
As a casual gamer, I found the picture quality to be perfectly decent; however, with only a 60Hz refresh rate, I can understand why this TV may not be suitable for hardcore gamers.
Sound
I’ve tried the sound using the built-in speakers and connecting it to my existing soundbar. Connecting my soundbar was easy thanks to the eARC HDMI 2 port. When the soundbar is turned on or off, the audio output automatically switches between the internal speakers and the soundbar.
When using the built-in speakers, speech comes across crystal clear (perhaps helped by having the enhanced speech quality setting on). The built-in speakers are perfectly adequate for everyday TV use; however, big movie or music buffs may want to connect a soundbar for improved bass.
One thing to note is that, due to the stand being slim and providing no additional height to the TV, some people may have an issue placing their soundbar in front of the TV. This will purely depend on the size and shape of the soundbar. My soundbar fits perfectly in front of the TV, without obscuring the screen in any way when I sit down to watch.
Sky Content
Generally, I like the home screen of Sky OS, with its relatively snappy navigation; it does a good job of recommending content you may be interested in, particularly as it starts to learn your viewing habits. There are endless hours of content to choose from. With all the included Sky channels and on-demand content, the Netflix catalogue, which comes with the subscription, and the on-demand catalogues from free streaming apps like iPlayer, ITV X, and C4, the options are truly endless. Whilst the continue watching rail can occasionally be buggy (and still unfortunately doesn’t support Disney+ content), I love the concept of it as it makes it so easy to jump back into a show that is hosted on practically any app.
It's easy to navigate around Sky OS to find your desired content, whether using the remote or voice commands. I was well-versed in using voice commands with the remote on my Sky Stream puck; however, the hands-free voice control that the Air offers is a great feature, and I've tended to prefer that over the remote where I can.
My only criticism of the home screen is that some of the functional buttons like the Settings are hidden quite far down the home page, and I think would be better placed being higher up the screen, allowing all the recommended content to be displayed below it without being interspersed with some of the more functional rails.
Overall
In my opinion, this is a great TV that's perfect for the average TV viewer, who is considering subscribing to Sky, whilst seeking a good audio-visual experience at an affordable price to enhance their daily TV viewing. It's good as a standalone TV and works equally well for those who have already invested in a decent audio system. It's perfectly suitable for casual gamers, although hardcore gamers would likely want to look elsewhere for a proper gaming TV to connect their gaming console to.
Initially, when Sky announced the Glass TV, I was one of those people who thought, “Why would I want a TV with Sky built-in?” This was the reason I had previously opted for Sky Stream over Sky Glass. After using the Glass Air, I’m now converted, and I would certainly consider purchasing additional Glass TVs in the future.
