I am considering sky essential TV subscription but not sure if it will work for me

[Alex073]

Hi, I am considering a sky essential TV subscription and adding sky cinema. My setup , I have broadband with good coverage from a third party but no option to plug an ethernet cable in. ( My router is upstairs and TV downstairs) I have a smart TV which is generally working well but I can't watch channel 4 live , it just won't work , all other channels are fine , live and on demand. So I'm wondering if someone knows if  the sky subscription will allow me to watch all channels live and on demand if I can't hard wire ? I have no dish or other box . Willt disused VM Ariel cable be in any way useful for the sky subscription? Thanks upfront!!

[Alex073]

Hi , I am considering a sky essential TV subscription for the first time . Will I receive a box and satellite dish with this subscription?

[CoffeeDrinker · Accepted solution]

Hi @Alex073 

The disused Virgin Media arerial cable won't be of any any help sorry. A Sky Puck will work happily over WiFi provided there is a fast enough internet connection (25Mb/s for HD, 30Mb/s for UHD 4K) and there is a rock solid WiFi connection availible where you plan to install the Sky Stream puck.

Hardwiring via Ethernet is recommended as it provides a dedicated, high speed, highly reliable connection between puck and router, whereas WiFi is by it's nature a shared resource. A good WiFi connection is reliable though.

Best way to tell is to install a speed check app on your phone or tablet, stand or place the phone where you intend to place the puck and run a speed test from there. Bonus reliability points if your router supports WiFi 6. You should be able to check both the signal strength and WiFi speed. As long as you meet the above speeds, you should be good for Sky Stream.

(Our puck is downstairs and connected to the router via Ethernet. Our Sky Glass TV, however, is in the bedroom and connects via WiFi using WiFi 6. 4K HDR film watching in bed from Sky Cinema as well as Disney+, Netflix etc works flawlessly! Doing your speed check homework before buying/trialing will help immensely)

[CoffeeDrinker]

@Alex073 

If you order Sky Essentials as part of Sky Stream, you get the Sky Stream Puck, a HDMI cable to connect it to a TV, a remote control with batteries and a power cable for the puck itself. Sky Stream works over the internet, and neither requires or can make any use of a satellite dish.

[TimmyBGood]

@Alex073 

Whereas 'TV Essentials' is free-to-air satellite television on a Sky Q box, so requiring a dish.

Nothing confusing there at all...

[Alex073]

Thank you CoffeDrinker, great answer , very helpful! Appreciate you taking the time 🙂