Sky Stream. I'm done.

[JJJack]

After many years of being a Sky subscriber I'm done and cancelled the service.

I moved to Sky Stream about a year ago (maybe more).

I've really hated the interface compared to Sky Q or Sky Go on Apple TV.

The remote is not great either- why no dedicated FF or RW buttons and integrating it with Logitech Harmony meant remapping most of the buttons manually.

Also its integration with HDMI CEC has been patchy and unreliable.

Most of the time we've been using Sky Go on Apple TV, which has been a lot better but obvs missing the FTA channels.

At £70+ a month it fails a cost benefit analysis. 

I've suggested to Sky (and to the Sky Go beta team) that they offer a Sky Go only service that includes 4K with an option for Netflix but so far no one has indicated that this would be possible.
Apple TV is much snappier, the interface is great and navigating Sky Go on it has been excellent too.

I'm writing thie post so that hopefully someone at Sky sees it.

If a sensibly priced Sky Go only (30 day sub) happens then I'd consider resubscribing but otherwise it just isn't something I'm prepared to keep paying for.

Cheers, 

JR

[F1Jon97]

Yes a sensibly priced Sky Go subscription would be good.  Also it would be better if it was 1080p HD instead of the just about HD 1024 x 576 that it streams on Apple TV.  Really they should ditch the hardware and just make a Sky Stream app for Apple TV and other streaming devices.  I reckon it would be a lot more reliable.

I recontracted with Sky and took an 18 month contract because of 2 reasons:

1. They now have F1 rights until 2029

2. Sky Go on Apple TV

I thought I would get at least 720p HD, connection to the Sky Q box to watch recordings and other non streamed channels but alas its the usual Sky situation of things not working quite right and making you constantly have to use their hardware to get a decent picture and full functionality.

However if I use Now on the Apple TV I can get full 1080p HD with 50fps on live sports.  Problem with that is catchup takes hours or days to appear for sports and its only in 720p, also no live pause on Apple TV.

Im working on something to try and get around Now's limitations using a HDMI Modulator (which which will convert the HDMI output from the Apple TV to a DVB-T2 signal like Freeview HD) and a cheap and cheerful Freeview recorder.  This would at least allow me to timeshift and manual record.  If this works then im not renewing my contract next year and moving to Now.

[Anonymous]

Apple interface just blows Stream out of the water but Apple and Stream are not like for like products.

Sky sells on its name, people don't investigate alternatives they go with what they know. Most users actually think they need Sky or Virgin or BT etc. but in reality you do not these days.

Over time more program makers will push their own content like Disney, Paramount and eventually HBO through their own apps diluting Sky content (Sky Atlantic to name one).

Sky Go on Apple is dreadful quality but that's Sky making the decision, crisp 4K Sky Go on Apple would render their Stream box defunct destroying their own product.

Now is the way forward and with rumours of 4K finally coming albeit these rumours have circulated for a while it will put further pressure on the flaky Stream product, so Sky are holding back I suspect, as they don't want to put a bullet in the other foot.

The next five years will be interesting to see who becomes champion of the streaming services. Sky will still be there promising a bug fix is coming 🙄. Maybe by then they will offer a decent more powerful puck to face down Apple and Amazon Cube and as for Glass it will quietly become no longer available.

[Exiled-in-HH]

Most of Sky's customers aren't prepared to pay for a good device ... hence they get stuck with Sky's budget devices!

[JJJack]

@Gincap don't disagree with anything you've said. 🙂

For me it probably has to be a fully featured app on Apple TV or I won't resubscribe.
I don't need another box- especially the ones Sky put out.

The latest Apple TV is great- it works with the LG TV's universal remote so I can ditch Harmony remote.

It is less confusing for non-tech people.

If they really knock a great product out that does everythign Apple TV does but better then maybe I will look at it, but I think the chances of that happening are pretty unlikely.

Even though we have another month left with Sky Stream I've already unplugged the boxes and put them away. I'll hold into them in case they get a big update that fixes all the issues.

Other than a year out of the country I've been with Sky for most of the last 20 years.
But it just isn't worth it at this point- even more than that, it is actively annoying to use the Stream and going back to Sky Q would feel like a step backwards.

One thing I am grateful for though that I am not sure has been highlighted much- I was actually under contract for Sky Q when I moved to Sky Stream with a 30 day contract. If I had tried to cancel Sky Q I'd have had to pay out the remaining contract, but with moving to Sky Stream I was able to avoid paying that contract out and it gave me the ability to just cancel whenever.

This sort of choice is very welcome, as is the ability to recontract for 30 days if there is anything I especially want (F1, for example) for a short period of time.

[Anonymous]

I was able to cancel my contract some 8 months in with compensation too.  Sky knew they had problems and did whatever was necessary for damage limitations.

I was very hesitant to plunge into Apple but having done it I'd never subscribe to any platform provider again whether it be Sky, Virgin etc. Plus with TV Launcher now on Apple that is updated regularly it's a no brainer.

Sky of course is a market leader but there are excellent alternatives these days.

[bob1234]

The problem is that we are getting like the early days of HiFi where we listened to the equipment rather than the content. For me the content is more important than the quality and unfortunately it is a long time since I have found anything worth watching. Everything seems to centre on sports which I do not watch in any form.

[SlenderRobert]

I'm in full agreement with everything mentioned here. 

Sky is now only a 'must have' service if you're a sports fan and want it in the best quality. That's the only reason. The ability to time shift with ease in the way that Sky+ introduced was a game changer for TV viewing, but those days of hard drive based PVRs are clearly coming to an end. Streaming is king and Sky are behind pretty much everyone in how they offer their content.

The Stream puck is just far too slow and leaden with advertising, both on the home page and embedded within the content to be useable in our house. 95% of our viewing is now from an Apple TV 4K box. We are not sports fans and mainly watch drama and movies in as best quality as possible so the Apple hardware can give us that quickly and easily. Smart DNS and subscriptions to Max and Peacock USA give us everything (and more) we used to watch on Sky Atlantic - without any advertising whatsoever, less compressed, at the correct frame rate and with more options for HDR. 

Sorry Sky, you're just not good enough any more.  

[best+of+the+best]

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@Exiled-in-HH wrote:

Most of Sky's customers aren't prepared to pay for a good device ... hence they get stuck with Sky's budget devices!

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Fair comment @Exiled-in-HH I don't need to pay for a good device maybe a decent TV with Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HDR10+ etc etc and run the apps like Now, Netflix, Prime, ParamountPlus, Disney+,  Apple+ Freeview Play, and any other apps I may have missed.

I've had Sky Stream 

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with the sentiments of @Anonymous  and @SlenderRobert. It's been 3 months since we said good bye to glass and stream, opting for the ATV route and we have not looked back once, in actual fact our experience of streaming has improved no end.