Honest / up-to-date Sky Stream review

[Turribeach]

I am considering getting Sky Stream and would love to have some honest / up-to-date Sky Stream review? What has improved with new releases? What's the latency and response times to channel zapping? What are the major pitfalls with Sky Stream compared to Q? I am very picky so get annoyed by simple things like buffering, slow response, freezing, missing frames, audio out of sync, unresponsive streamer, reboots, etc. 

[Stephen+Mourton]

Others may give you more detailed reply's but a good strong internet connection is vital.  Not just your internet speed but whether you are connected via an Ethernet cable or not.  If all this is in place, you will find it different to Q as everything is web based a bit like using a streaming service although you can get the usual terrestrial channels.  The picture quality is better and almost everything is HD or UHD.  The Playlist where you effectively record progams can be tailored for different members of you family so you can all have your own or joint ones.  I hated the Q recordings as all the family used the same one.  

[Anonymous]

@Turribeach The other thing to note is that not all channels on Q are available on Stream (or Glass), so make sure you're not losing a channel you watch if you're considering upgrading. 

You don't really 'record' either, so you are very much counting on the content providers to ensure the programme is available if not watched live. 

As @Stephen+Mourton says, connecting with ethernet is the best way to use the device and it needs to have a connection speed of 25 Mbps for HD and 30 Mps for UHD content. The number of devices trying to use your internet at the same time might affect its speed if your broadband isn't up to it!

[Turribeach]

Thanks! That's helpful. It will be Ethernet wired so no issues there. Also do I need to use Sky's internet connection or can I use my own? I have 1Gb symmetric from Community Fibre. 

[Anonymous]

@Turribeach Doesn't matter who your broadband provider is. If connecting via ethernet as you intend to make sure you turn WiFi off in the Settings.

[BenJoBanjo]

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@Turribeach wrote:

Thanks! That's helpful. It will be Ethernet wired so no issues there. Also do I need to use Sky's internet connection or can I use my own? I have 1Gb symmetric from Community Fibre. 

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I had no problems with buffering on my Gigabit Community Fibre connection with Sky Stream. The Ethernet port on the Stream puck is limited to 100Mbps but that's more than enough. 
The problem I had with the puck was the sluggishness of the UI and random unreliability. If you're a channel hopper then it's still slower than Sky Q. It's not bad but doing a lot of fast channel changing can cause the puck to freeze or glitch. 
It depends what you're expecting really. If you're methodical and don't hammer it the puck can work really well. If you push it too far it can be frustrating. 

[Jporch316]

Just to add my two pence worth ....

I have 2x glass and 3 pucks and they all run off my wifi flawlessly. I do have virgin media's mesh pod system running 

I don't get any connection issues at all

I havent really missed the recording from Q apart from the odd live music concert I have playlisted on sky arts which have disappeared from my playlist after a few months - I'm assuming the same happens with other one off showings that don't have a permanent stream home 

same can be applied applied to movies as they tend to move around various streaming platforms and if you are not subscribed to one of them (or sky cinema ) it can be difficult to re watch at a later date 

[Turribeach]

Thanks guys, this is really helpful. I think I now understand much better the limitations of the playlist and some of the Stream pitfalls. One are it's not clear to me is accessing content from Apple devices both at home and out and about. Is there an app I can use to stream on the go? How would I watch a Champions League game for instance? 

I guess there are no options for this right? I never understood why Sky wouldn't just release an app I could use on my Apple TV and see all their content there. 

[Anonymous]

@Turribeach To watch a Champions League game you would need to subscribe to TNT Sports and watch via the Discovery+ app if on the go. 

[lettice]

@Turribeach 

For at home and out of the home you would use the Sky Go app to watch live channels and Sky On demand content.

The TNT channels sit alongside the Sky Sports channels.

You cannot though see or manage your playlist remotely.

There is a Sky Go app on an Apple TV, as well as on Apple/Android phone/tablets and also on game consoles.

Suggest you have  read of the Sky Stream FAQ here;

https://www.sky.com/help/sky-tv/sky-tv-stream/sky-stream-faqs/articles/sky-stream-faqs

[Sky+Go+lfer]

I moved from Q to Stream about a year ago.  I moved house so it was a good opportunity to review. I'm happy with my choice. I found one of the frustations of Q was the fact that the mini box was getting very dated such that you could only get UHD off the main Q box.

Good luck.

[Yakuzah]

I have a very differing opinion on sky stream coming from a technical background, I find the sky stream boxes are, cheap and antiquated. 

i had four sky pucks all running and streaming without issue for the last two years. 

but the issues with the system started to grate on myself and family right from the start. 

The hardware used is so cheap it actually causes many of the issues many people on here complain about. The hardware is a cheap Android box with probably 1 GB of memory and not much operational memory. Which means all menu navigation needs to go to the Internet for updates and refresh. 

I'd be surprised if they cost sky more than a fiver to make. 

Because of there limitations of the hardware you get all the issues I have been experiencing for two years!!  Constant hardware hanging on all boxes. Slow menus, hanging and crashing, reboots, TV guide slowdown. 

all caused by lack of caching memory to help make things buttery smooth and bad software which is buggy as **bleep**. 

so a week ago I went through a long hour telephone call with sky and their technical support and we all agreed that the hardware was the problem and nothing else. The tech support could see all the issues being experienced on my hardware and all the rebooting we have had to experience. 

i have been released from my contract with no penalties and I'm free from sky after being a loyal customer for 28 years. 

it's not just the hardware either. Basic Sky packages on sky stream are around £28 quid. But it's all the other **bleep** you get screwed on. 

advert skip - £5

UHD - £10

etc etc. they make there money on the extras which should be provided for free. 

4K these days should be free. It's well established and supported, stop charging for it. 

anyhow 🤣

 goodbye Sky. Your not a great company and worse since you were bought by Comcast. 

[Turribeach]

@Yakuzah Many thanks for that, I knew it couldn't all be perfect since I have some prior experience with Sky. I do acknowledge some customers are more picky than others and I am certainly one of them.

Below is my list of issues when I left Sky after 10 years in 2020. Sky's moto is "believe in better", do you think I got an answer from this email? Not a chance! Some of these issues are still problems or are not supported on Sky Stream. Some of these are resolved I presume, but the overall impression is one of low quality software, some hardware issues and very slow pace of change. Worse of all if the hardware is so bad then the software has no chance! 

If you are interested in the these are the reasons for my cancellation and want to share them with your product teams, here is the list (in no particular order of importance):
 
1.     It is not possible to watch something I recorded on my Sky box on the go (ie out and about my mobile phone) with the Sky Q app. And watching recorded content from home was only enabled in Sept 2019, years after I got Sky Q installed!
 
2.     It is not possible to watch UHD content I recorded on my Sky box either on the go or at home with the Sky Q app
 
3.     The video quality of the Sky Go and Sky Q Apps is average at best. BT Sport apps have a much greater video quality and features. Even Virgin's TV GO app has now better quality than Sky.
 
4.     Lack of dedicated TV guide button on the Sky Q box remote control forces me to go via Home option which is a waste of time. This is clearly intentional to force users to see the Home screen which people may like but I hate. I know what I want to watch and I don’t want/need to see ads of others things available on Sky.
 
5.     Talking about ads I think paying for a subscription service which gives ads all the time makes me sick. There are no product ads on Apple TV, Netflix and Prime Video. It seems Sky is stuck in the past.
 
6.     The never fixed Sky Q box blank screen issue when switching inputs. Known issue that Sky seems to ignore, multiple threads on this on the web. These two show dozens of customers affected:
a.     https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky-Q/I-keep-having-to-reset-my-Sky-Q-box-to-be-recognised-by-my-TV/m-p...
b.     https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky-Q/Sky-Q-blank-Screen/td-p/2920912/page/25
 
7.     UHD content being treated second rate #1: Lack UHD dedicated channels makes finding UHD content cumbersome. This is premium content that seems to be treated like second rate content! I don't want to go to the sports section, I don't want to have to search for content, I want UHD content visible in the TV Guide as channels like all other SD and HD content is. BT Sport has a 4K channel, why can't Sky Sports have 4K channels?
 
8.     UHD content being treated second rate #2: Certain Sky Q "basic features" don't work properly when watching UHD content. For instance going to the previous channel feature does not work when watching UHD content. It will all be a lot better if there were proper UHD channels...
 
9.     UHD content being treated second rate #3: I can't tell my Sky Box to start watching the current Premier League match in UDH directly. I have to go to the HD Channel first and then select UHD. This is slow and annoying. Also it makes integration with home automation systems impossible. It's also not clear to customers which channel will have the UHD option, for instance PL games could be on PL channel or main event channel. Another UHD channel issue...
 
10.  UHD content being treated second rate #4: UHD Content often doesn't have subtitles which is available for the same content in SD or HD.
 
11.  UHD content being treated second rate #5: UHD option for some live content is not available, the show has to be downloaded first. Apple TV, Netflix and Prime Video can easily stream 4K content on the fly, why is Sky unable to do it? Another UHD channel issue...
 
12.  UHD content being treated second rate #6: Lack of series link on UHD content ie Premier League. While this has been fixed this season it was infuriating that I couldn't record UHD games automatically for so many months and years after getting my Sky Q box and UHD subscription! Another UHD channel issue...
 
13.  UHD content being treated second rate #7: Unable to send remote record requests for UHD content with the Sky Q app. Did I mention the UHD channel issue???
 
14.  Lack of dedicated TV grid option on the Sky Q app. The Sky Q app is so basic that a lot of customers like myself continue to use the Sky+ App instead. Other missing options are search for future content (>1hr), channel numbers not matching App and Sky Q box
 
15.  Constantly rising prices but constantly diminishing football content (La Liga, Champions League, Europa League, Italian League, etc, etc). I don't want to have to call for a better deal. I am (or was) a loyal customer and I should be rewarded for that not penalised with higher prices. I seriously hope Sky and all the others doing this get penalised as part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ongoing investigation about Consumer loyalty 'rip off': https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45664985
 
16.  Arbitrary arrangement of channel numbers in the TV Guide. Why is BBC1 HD not channel 101? A customer that pays for HD channels should not need to see the SD channels or they should be an option to remove them.
 
17.  Value for money not there, I currently pay £ 79 for Sky Sports UHD but I can get Sky Sports HD and Sky Cinema HD for an additional £ 25 on my existing Virgin plan with all the other channels. £54 (£79 - £25) just for UHD is outrageous not even considering that I will get Sky Cinema HD and BT Sports UHD on Virgin so the £25 makes so much value for money
 
18.  Lack of Sky super fast broadband (over 100mb!) which makes it impossible for serious internet users to buy into Sky's triple play bundles
 
19.  I can get BT Sport 4K in Virgin, but I can't get Sky UHD anywhere else. That's anti-competitive and I very much dislike anti-competitive companies that can’t or won’t compete fairly. Win on price or quality not by cheating or reducing customer choice
 
20.  Lack of customer focus: I can add services/channels to my account online but when I want to remove them or cancel the service I have to speak to customer services which takes ages. You should look at how easy is to cancel Netflix, one click on the account page. And they don't hold customers ransom for 18 months, you can leave any time you want. That's customer focus!
 
21.  Occasionally with very bad weather I will not be able to watch Sky. This doesn't happen with Virgin or BT Sports channels on BT, which come via the internet connection

[Yakuzah]

Absolutely agree with all your points. And you are dead right. 

Poor hardware and software has no chance. Couldn't have put it better myself. 

I am using just streaming services at the moment. I'm resisting sport (no football at moment)

 but even sport on Now TV takes the proverbial p**s

£30 a month for minimum of six months for... wait for it ...TV quality of 720p!!!!!!! LOL

720P in 2025. Is hilarious. 

oh dear customers you wanted 1080p?  That's another £6 a month on top of your now TV contract. So £36 a month

 Want truly 21st century 4K?  That's £9 a month 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

so £39 a month

 i know now tv does deals. But they are not that good. At the moment they are offering 6 months at £26 a month but again at 720p. Which is hilarious in this modern day. 

i shall be resisting buying anything from sky. They are an absolute rip off

 why they are not investigated by governing bodies I have no idea

[Turribeach]

I don't necessarily think that selling the entry point service with 720p is a problem. It's more a reflection of the market than anything else. Most people don't care and that's why they get away with it. Also it gets them a low price point to drive advertising. For me I would look at the total price with the add-ons needed to get to 4K and evaluate based on that. But if you are paying for a premium product you expect a premium service and that doesn't seem to be the case with Sky or Now TV. Below is chatGPT's answer to Now TV streaming Sky Sports in UHD. Seems far from perfectland! 

You’re absolutely right: NOW TV offers Ultra Boost for an additional £9/month, which provides up to 4K UHD HDR, Dolby Atmos, and up to three simultaneous streams — but crucially, that UHD does not apply to all live Sky Sports channels  .

⸻

📺 What Ultra Boost Actually Covers

1. Live Sky Sports UHD

With Ultra Boost, you get up to four live UHD sports channels (Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports F1, and Sky Sports UHD 1 & 2) — but only on supported devices, and those are intermittent   .

2. Device Limitations & Bugs

• Inconsistent support: Certain devices (like some LG and Sony smart TVs) do not reliably show the UHD sports feed, even when Ultra Boost is active. Users report the UHD channels disappearing or defaulting to HD after updates  .

• Platform-specific issues: Apple TV users often report that only UHD 1 & 2 play in UHD, while Main Event and F1 default to HD unless workarounds (like switching to 4K HDR output) are used  .

3. Availability of UHD Sports

On devices where UHD sports do work (like PS5 or Roku Stick 4K), you can watch select live sports channels in 4K liquidly. But on many smart TV apps — even if they support Netflix UHD or other apps — NOW’s UHD sports support is patchy   .

4. On-demand UHD

All Ultra Boost subscribers can view on-demand programmes and movies available in UHD (e.g., House of the Dragon) on compatible devices  .

⸻

✅ In Summary

• Yes, NOW TV Ultra Boost (£9/month) provides up to 4K UHD and Sky Sports live UHD—but only on a limited set of supported devices, and even then, availability can be inconsistent.

• No, not all live Sky Sports channels stream in UHD on NOW—even on devices where UHD exists, Main Event and F1 may revert to HD.

• Many built-in Smart TV apps fail to render UHD channels properly, whereas devices like PS5, Roku Stick 4K, or Fire Cube 4K are often more reliable   .

⸻

🧩 Device Support Snapshot (Ultra Boost + Live Sky Sports UHD)

Device / Platform UHD Sports Support?

Roku Streaming Stick 4K ✅ Yes, good compatibility

PS5 ✅ Yes, UHD channels appear reliably

Amazon Fire Cube 4K ✅ Yes, works on many reports

LG WebOS Smart TVs ⚠️ Often fails or disappears after update

Sony Bravia (A/B series) ⚠️ Mixed – many users report failure

Apple TV 4K (recent gens) ⚠️ Partial support; Main/F1 default to HD

⸻

📌 Final Takeaway

Ultra Boost does allow live Sky Sports in UHD — but only on supported devices, and even then, the experience isn’t consistent. Many users report issues on built-in smart TV apps, where UHD feeds are missing or revert to HD.

To get reliable 4K sports on NOW:

• Use devices like Roku Stick 4K, PS5, or Fire Cube 4K

• Avoid relying on smart TV apps, especially on certain LG or Sony TVs