Sky Glass is a downgrade on SkyQ

[Razor1986]

I've been a Sky customer for 25 years. I've always upgraded to the next version of Sky and have been impressed with the improvements each time. Sky+ was a huge upgrade on regular Sky. SkyQ was then another big upgrade on Sky+. I therefore fully expected to have the same level of improvement for Sky Glass. I was aware there was no hard drive and was a little dubious, but figured that streaming was the way things are now. And simply put, after 25 years I trusted Sky enough to upgrade with only a small amount of research. 

HOW WRONG I WAS... Sky Glass is truly awful and a massive downgrade on SkyQ. Ultimately you can stream/download everything on SkyQ anyway if you didn't use the hard drive's record function. Without a hard drive Sky Glass is inferior to SkyQ. On top of that there are so many other reasons why Sky Glass is terrible. I've only had Sky Glass 24 hours and this is my list of annoyances so far:

- No collective programme schedule so I have no idea when new programmes will become available, unless I go into every programme to see when he next episode airs

- No Sky Glass app, you can use the SkyQ app, but you have no access to your playlist. Previously the SkyQ app was great for watching your recordings on your tablet or phone.

- Custom playlists for each person are good but cannot access then via the puck on other TVs so makes lists pointless

- Dolby surround sound will be chargeable after free trial

- More difficult to fast forward than on SkyQ 

- SkyQ had a 'New Series' feature which seems to have gone. New series are highlighted, but not in a concise way like SkyQ

- No recording function means films/programmes that you've could added to play list could just dissappear if a channel loses the rights to a film/programme 

- Not sure if this is a glitch but not all programmes can be added to play lists, I've repeatedly tried to add certain programmes to my play list and they just don't seem to add properly, or are there one minute and gone the next.

- Often there is no indication of your progress on a semi-watched programme, there dies seem to be a blue line at times, but not always. 

- Skipping ad feature will be chargeable after free trial

- Voice control is inferior to Sky Q, it regularly gets the commands completely wrong 

I would like to reiterate that this is what I have noticed in only 24 hours. I'm sure I'll find a lot more inferiorities in the coming days. Luckily we have a 30 day cooling off period and I fully intend to revert back to SkyQ. I did try to plug my old SkyQ box into the Sky Glass TV and it did work for a bit, but they soon deactivated my viewing card.

If I had access to my SkyQ box then I'd keep the Sky Glass TV, but no doubt they will make me pay a lot more money to have both the SkyQ box and Sky Glass TV together, so likely that I'll be saying goodbye to Sky Glass forever. 

I know this has been an essay, but I truly feel let down by a company that I have always stayed with and paid an insane amount of money to over the years.

Avoid Sky Glass. Stick with SkyQ. 

[Jporch316]

@Razor1986 

A lot of what you said is indicative of a streaming platform in general 

the exception being that your playlists are available on multiple pucks / glass . If they are not showing unplug the device from the mains for a few minutes and it should then appear 

[Jporch316]

Just a note there is a 30 day cooling off period where you can switch back to Q .........

[Razor1986]

Yes, but this is what made SkyQ better than just a  'streaming service'. It has streaming options plus the benefits of a hard drive. As Sky customers we expect a better product than just a normal steaming service, with all of these 'indicatative' problems.

[Chrisee]

@Razor1986 it takes time to a)understand and get used to any new operating system and b) for the system to learn your tastes and what you watch when and where. A new Q system would have some of the same issues. However a few comments  on your list

As the system understands what you watch the Continue Watching rail will present the next episode as it becomes available. Playlist displays the latest episode by default. A lot of your comments should stop being a problem once you get used to the system and it to you.

Dolby Surround sound is not an extra charge think you are confusing that with the UHD/Dolby Atmos add on to get Sky programming in UHD which also carries Dolby Atmos sound. Normal Dolby Digital+ sound is available on some programming at no extra charge. Apps that use Atmos sound also dont require the add on.

Recommendations take time to adjust to reflect your viewing but work like Sky Q you may find going in the  Super sections menus for TV programmes, Movies etc give you more suggestions

Many of your issues revolve around losing local recording which unfortunately is at some point inevitable as the rights holders do not want customers to have that option. Not sure you are aware but Sky does remove recordings from Q boxes remotely where rights cease. 

Trick play is less responsive with a streaming service as you are controling a remote server rather than a local hard disc. Using voice commands can be better something like Forward 3 minutes etc work for me. It takes time for the system to get used to your voice. 

Whether Glass/Stream works for you depends to a large degree on how and what you watch. For people who mainly watch programming recorded off air that Glass is not for them however if you mainly watch on demand content as many people tend to do it works well. Oddly I remember similar posts about SkyHD+ in the first few years of Q where people bemoaned the loss of features on thst system in "upgrading " to Q. 

I would suggest you dont give up after one day as you have a 31 day cooling off period where you can switch back to Q simply at no cost. Its also worth watching the videos on your new TV as they explain how features work. The Entertainment OS is as different from Q as Q is from SkyHD+.

[MarkGoldsmith]

The sky streaming platform isn't a upgrade it's a completely different product that works in a completely different way. It should neve really be seen as an upgrade as that would imply it's similar to the change between Sky + and Sky Q, which was an upgrade on the existing satellite broadcast mechanism.

A streaming platform is a completely different service, likely why in sky terms your account can't be upgraded and they create a new streaming account to replace the old "TV" account when you sign up to it.

Streaming is inherently the future of television and is likely to be the main way all TV is provided within the next decade. this has been bought on by the success of the on-demand streaming apps in terms of people wanting to sign up and consume their shows via binge watching whenever they wanted. 

Not everyone at this current time will be comfortable and use to streaming which is why Sky Q is there as an alternative product still for those that prefer to be able to record and rewatch shows whenever they want.

[Jones_The_Cat]

Streaming is the future of TV. Sky need to produce much better hardware if they want to compete. Our household has already started abandoning use of the Stream puck because other non-Sky streaming devices work better. 

[Razor1986]

I understand that it is a different product and the future of watching TV, which is why I made the jump. However, Sky Glass needs a lot of improvement. Can anyone tell me what Sky Glass can do which SkyQ can't do? That's my point. There are no advantages of having Sky Glass over SkyQ. SkyQ offers streaming and intergrates other streaming platforms too. Other than the TV and no dish, I can't see any other benefits.

[Jporch316]

One more thing to consider is that with the advent of superfast internet speeds streaming is a lot more economical for tv delivery and although satellite tv will be around for a while yet it will eventually be phased out. Freeview is also launching their streaming system imminently and it will be governed by the same viewing rights as glass / stream in terms of playback .....

[TimmyBGood]

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@Razor1986 wrote:

Can anyone tell me what Sky Glass can do which SkyQ can't do? 

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Primarily, it doesn't require the orbiting platforms, which will reach the end of their operational life at the turn of the decade, to be replaced.

Not all 'upgrades' are for the benefit of the customer: sometime they are necessary for the survival of a supplier.  Satellite television broadcasting is a technology from the 1980s, and its time is coming to an end.

[Exiled-in-HH]

Broadcasters support the transfer from legacy terrestrial and satellite broadcasting because it allows them to regain control of their creations😉

[trevforum]

I moved from Sky Q and found it better in terms of picture quality but I found the supplied remote difficult to use so I use my bought Sky Q remote which has a few more features available and in live TV channels I can't really tell I'm not using Sky Q.  I guess it'sup to what is important to you.  Playlists seem fine to me but then I didn't rally use the recording feature.

BTW I have both Sky Glass(as a secondary TV)and a Sky Stream puck attached via a Pioneer receiver to a Panasonic DX902 TV which I used with Sky Q.

[PSC133]

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@Razor1986 wrote:

I understand that it is a different product and the future of watching TV, which is why I made the jump. However, Sky Glass needs a lot of improvement. Can anyone tell me what Sky Glass can do which SkyQ can't do? That's my point. There are no advantages of having Sky Glass over SkyQ. SkyQ offers streaming and intergrates other streaming platforms too. Other than the TV and no dish, I can't see any other benefits.

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Sky Glass/Stream can provide 4K/HDR/HLG/Atmos in multiple rooms which a combination of Sky Q and mini boxes cannot.

This was my primary reason for changing from Sky Q.

[Nigelb1972]

Speaking as a Stream user that moved from BT TV and has never used Sky Q for anything meaningful other than flipping channels at my in-laws, my wife and I get on really well with Stream. Sure it has it's quirks but nothing that causes any annoyances. The picture quality is outstanding, especially on UHD, the sound quality is also outstanding, the UI is clean and straightforward and Ad Skipping works. 

The only major annoyance is that it doesn't HDR10+ and Amazon Prime uses that format and AppleTV likes to try and output Dolby Vision as its HDR format and thats the one on Samsung QLED doesn't support so it falls back to HD. But it's not a deal breaker as I just use the native apps on the TV itself.

We aren't using Sky Glass but have Stream connected via Ethernet to a 500mbps connection and a Samsung QLED which is connected to a Sony soundbar via eARC..