Why I returned my Sky Glass Air the day after it arrived

[WABBIT9]

I am writing to advise anyone considering buying a Sky Glass Air, because there are many issues that you won't discover until you unbox it.

1) The only options for audio output are the built-in speakers, HDMI and the near-obsolete SP-DIF optical connector: no headphone socket, and no AUX out for conventional audio amplifiers. Built-in speakers are good but offer hardly any stereo separation.

2) No onscreen display of volume levels when changing them, so setting a repeatable level is hit-and-miss..

3) TV listings default to 'All' even when Favourites have been set up, which defeats the object of having favourites.

4) No ability to program a timer to switch to a channel when a particular program starts.

5) Oversized and screen-intrusive Teletext subtitles, including channels that Freeview, 4, and BBC iPlayer display properly.

6) No way to edit the 700+ channel list in the Aerial menu, or distinguish radio from TV channels.

On every one of these issues, the Sky Glass Air is outperformed by my 10-year-old budget Celsus smart TV.

[mikealanr]

@WABBIT9 

The capabilities of Air are well published as are the inputs and outputs. Some of the issues you have highlighted there are not related to Sky Glass Air directly. SkyOS runs on Pucks, Glass and Air products so TV guide etc the same there too.

Re the channel list aerial is designed for backup purposes. It's a Sky TV for accessing Sky. Generally if you want to watch via aerial a Freeview or Freely TV specifically designed for aerial reception would always give you more flexibility.

Independent research should always be undertaken before making a purchase.

MikeAlanR

[GD1]

@WABBIT9  I'm afraid your lack of research has caused the disappointment, as advised by @mikealanr it's been well publicised what Air does and all the tech specs it has.

[WABBIT9]

Thanks for your comments. I take your point that many of these issues are common to all Sky services,  but I wrote this  for someone thinking of switching to Sky Glass from another TV system, not just those upgrading from a previous Sky subscription. 

It is precisely because  these issues didn't come up  when I was researching -  mainly because they are things that you might assume from experience to be standard industry practice, but aren't - that I wrote this  to help other people with their own independent research. 

[MarkGoldsmith]

With regards to your point about the volume, the volume level indicator appears on the left hand side of the screen so you can see how high or low you are setting the volume.

[MarkGoldsmith]

And your point about the favourites on the Tv Guide.

When you add favourites you will see them listed on the TV Guide rail on the Home Screen, so you can easily see the now/next on those channels. When accessing the full TV guide, yes it defaults to all but you can easily switch to show only your favourites by pressing left and then up.

Whilst some of the comments are fair limitations of the system a few of them I think are likely because you haven't given yourself time to understand all the features available and how to use them correctly.

[WABBIT9]

I am afraid you are misinformed.  While previous Sky Glass devices had one, the Air series does not have an on-screen volume level display,  though I have since learned it can be set using the voice function to a specific percentage with "Volume X%" . 

[WABBIT9]

True as far as it goes,  but you may wish to see more than now and next,  and having set up favourites, they should be the default,  with an option to switch to All, which would almost never be taken, while the option to switch to Favorites will almost always be taken, if you are quick enough - anything more than a very brief press on the OK button takes you straight to the default. 

[mikealanr]

Hi @WABBIT9 

SkyOS does display the volume. There has been a bug in software where it doesn't display untill a reboot or doesn't display in some 3rd party apps. Given that @MarkGoldsmith has an air according to his signature I would say he's well placed to comment.

MikeAlanR

[WABBIT9]

Hi, @mikealanr, I am happy to stand corrected,  I was only reporting my own limited experience,  which is all I had to go on.  And it really shouldn't make any difference what channel you're watching, should it?  As it isn't possible to edit earlier posts,  I'm sorry that it will continue to misinform others about this.