Sky stream , honest review

[Super+Anthony]

Hi all, does anyone have a link to the page that lets us know that with the puck you won't get above 100Gbps at all?

I know whether it was on this chain or another, someone helpfully attached it

The reason is that I have over 500 on my WiFi, but when I did the Netflix test on my TV via stream with the Ethernet I was only getting around 90

I was told last night that it should be above 100 and I have traffic issues. I don't think this is correct as I have seen on here that there was a page that showed you won't get above 100

Thank you for any help

[Padam_Padam]

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@Super+Anthony wrote:

Hi all, does anyone have a link to the page that lets us know that with the puck you won't get above 100Gbps at all?

I know whether it was on this chain or another, someone helpfully attached it

The reason is that I have over 500 on my WiFi, but when I did the Netflix test on my TV via stream with the Ethernet I was only getting around 90

I was told last night that it should be above 100 and I have traffic issues. I don't think this is correct as I have seen on here that there was a page that showed you won't get above 100

Thank you for any help

---

Sky have removed a lot of the more technical details on the Stream puck from their corporate site so I can't find anything official but the ethernet port is definitely limited to 100Mbps. 

The Australian Hubbl Hub is identical to the Stream puck and it lists it as such:

https://help.hubbl.com.au/s/article/Hubbl-Specifications 

[TimmyBGood]

@Super+Anthony 

Pucks have 100Mbs ethernet because no content on them needs more than 30Mbs.

WiFi 6 chipsets are now in higher production than WiFi 5, so pucks are capable of totally unnecessary speeds on wireless.

[Super+Anthony]

Thank you so much @Padam_Padam where does it show about 100Gbps

 Actually I see it

Ethernet / LAN ports: 1 port - 10/100Mbps

[lettice]

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@Super+Anthony wrote:

Hi all, does anyone have a link to the page that lets us know that with the puck you won't get above 100Gbps at all?

I know whether it was on this chain or another, someone helpfully attached it

The reason is that I have over 500 on my WiFi, but when I did the Netflix test on my TV via stream with the Ethernet I was only getting around 90

I was told last night that it should be above 100 and I have traffic issues. I don't think this is correct as I have seen on here that there was a page that showed you won't get above 100

Thank you for any help

---

Be impressive if it was an 100Gbps Ethernet port.

The ethernet port on the pucks is 10/100 Mbps

Much like most smart TVs for sale today, that is plenty to cope with the current smart TV streaming apps and also for the current recommendations for Sky Stream within a household.

Wifi runs well for me on one of my Sky Stream pucks, get about 290-330 Mbps running the Netflix speed test, same as what my Smart TV it's connected to and a Roku.

Not that any of those devices are using anywhere near or need that kind of speed.

But having the available bandwidth within the household is a more important factor, when you have multiple devices.

On my Sky broadband Ultrafast + (500Mbps), I get the following average when running a speed test from a desktop pc via ethernet to a router;
Latency 4-5ms, 523-525 Mbps download, 72-74 Mbps upload.
Doing some background network tests on my network per each puck in use, I'm seeing average use as;
HD = Watching any live TV, On demand or cloud recordings - 6-7 Mbps per puck.
UHD = Watching any live TV, On demand or cloud recordings - 11-12Mbps per puck

So it seems with Sky recommended, is not far off the mark in the Sky help page link below;
Recommended minimum broadband speed of 25Mbps. Or 30Mbps if you add an extra Sky Stream puck or to watch in UHD.

Sky Stream FAQs | Sky Help | Sky.com

[FizzySteve]

I've been using Sky Stream since November 2022 and my perspective is probably a bit different to most people as I have a a house in the USA and have a similar service called Xfinity X1 (https://www.xfinity.com/learn/digital-cable-tv/x1). The reason this is important is because Sky and Xfinity are both owned by Comcast.
Overall I like the Sky Stream concept. In 2024 with fibre broadband speeds, there should be no need to install a dish !!!
I have Full Fibre 500 from BT and a TP-Link Deco mesh network to give me decent wifi coverage for the house, garden and garage. Bandwidth is not an issue.
Despite this the pucks can be flaky. I have frequent issues where one or both pucks will simply not connect to wifi. Disconnecting the power is the only way to fix this issue. This can take 5-10 minutes 😞
My biggest complaint is the lack of a true DVR like a Sky Q box, which my Xfinity X1 box has !!! The Playlist is a poor substitute for a DVR regardless of where the programs are actually stored - local hard drive or cloud. For example, if I miss the start of a grand prix by 15 or 20 minutes, I can't seem to find the program in the Playlist and start at the beginning of the program. Sometimes I have to wait hours or even the next day to see my "recording".
The ideal solution would be to combine the functionality of the Sky Q DVR box and the Sky Stream puck. This is exactly what I have with Xfinity - one DVR box and "pucks" on the remote TVs, but it's all seamless.
So please can I ask the Sky technical team to talk to their counterparts at Xfinity and find a solution here in the UK.

[Padam_Padam]

@FizzySteve 

I've been saying for years that the UK needs to get on board with cloud DVR's... but nobody seems to be interested. The advertising industry have probably put paid to it ever happening. It's now all about streams with forced ads unless you pay for their removal, or the abhorrent ad-skipping pack to give you the ability to fast forward them. 

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@FizzySteve wrote:

I've been using Sky Stream since November 2022 and my perspective is probably a bit different to most people as I have a a house in the USA and have a similar service called Xfinity X1 (https://www.xfinity.com/learn/digital-cable-tv/x1). The reason this is important is because Sky and Xfinity are both owned by Comcast.
Overall I like the Sky Stream concept. In 2024 with fibre broadband speeds, there should be no need to install a dish !!!
I have Full Fibre 500 from BT and a TP-Link Deco mesh network to give me decent wifi coverage for the house, garden and garage. Bandwidth is not an issue.
Despite this the pucks can be flaky. I have frequent issues where one or both pucks will simply not connect to wifi. Disconnecting the power is the only way to fix this issue. This can take 5-10 minutes 😞
My biggest complaint is the lack of a true DVR like a Sky Q box, which my Xfinity X1 box has !!! The Playlist is a poor substitute for a DVR regardless of where the programs are actually stored - local hard drive or cloud. For example, if I miss the start of a grand prix by 15 or 20 minutes, I can't seem to find the program in the Playlist and start at the beginning of the program. Sometimes I have to wait hours or even the next day to see my "recording".
The ideal solution would be to combine the functionality of the Sky Q DVR box and the Sky Stream puck. This is exactly what I have with Xfinity - one DVR box and "pucks" on the remote TVs, but it's all seamless.
So please can I ask the Sky technical team to talk to their counterparts at Xfinity and find a solution here in the UK.

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It would appear that the Stream puck is the standard that Comcast want to adopt globally for their subsidaries, otherwise i would have expected the DVR feature to have been added. The Sky Glass and Stream puck were the first Sky TV product developed under Comcast ownership so you would have to think that Comcast had an idea what they wanted to eventually have as a global standard across their subsidaries.

[Super+Anthony]

Still waiting patiently for the new update 😀but I have to say again, I do feel stream is very good. Sound and picture is much better than Q

[mufngruf]

I'm befuddled...
According to Skystream, If I put something on my planner - like an NFL game in the middle of the night - when I get up the next morning, I can indeed watch it.. but only the highlight.. there's no way to watch the entire game.
Is that really true??

[mufngruf]

if you select "watch from start", do you get the entire game, or just highights??

thanks for the help

[Padam_Padam]

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@mufngruf wrote:

I'm befuddled...
According to Skystream, If I put something on my planner - like an NFL game in the middle of the night - when I get up the next morning, I can indeed watch it.. but only the highlight.. there's no way to watch the entire game.
Is that really true??

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It depends. 

There is no method to 'cloud record' or playlist a programme with 100% certainty. It depends on who the original broadcaster is and whether they have streaming rights, or whether Sky has the rights to allow it to be 'cloud recorded' for an indeterminate period of time. It can also seemingly depend where you set it to 'record' from - the EPG or a listing page.  

Some content will be available in full the next morning. Some won't. You can't tell beforehand whether it will be there or not.  

The key difference with Sky Stream is that the control of the content is with the broadcaster. They have full control of it, not you. You cannot set something to record and then delete it later once you have watched it like you would have done with a Sky Q recording of a broadcast. You merely gain access (at Sky or the broadcaster's discretion) to a file for streaming. There is no option to delete anything on Sky Stream, just the option to remove a piece of tracking information (a playlist entry) from your account which tells Sky's servers you no longer want access to a particular programme from your playlist screen. 

The system does take a bit of getting used to - many people love it and find it works well for how they watch TV. Others find it infuriating and seek alternative options, be it Sky Q or a different service. All you can really do is try it and see if it works for how you watch TV. 

[Ratmanmat]

Hi,

Thanks for the real world reveiw. 
I'm in a simular situations with sky Q. At the mo I have the main box and 1 other. While streaming netflix, prime, disney and YouTube i oftern get buffering during playback dispite 900mbps download speed and a hardwired Q box. 
I don't want sky glass but considering jumping to sky stream. 

[Chrisee]

@Ratmanmat there are pros and cons as you have had probably read. One pro to me is the greatly simplified networking especially if you dont have Sky as your broadband supplier. While Q uses a proprietary networking system where the Q minis will only connect to a Sky wifi signal, act as wifi hot spots etc the Stream plucks are simple network clients and can connect to any router. Each puck needs sufficent bandwidth (say 30Mb/s for UHD sport) but just as important that feed must be regular and free from interference. 

These days that is not that difficult to achieve in most homes but may need more than the free router Sky or other ISPs bundle into their deal. 

[mufngruf]

so... it appears that sky stream just won't cut it for my personal purposes. I record too much stuff to watch later.... if for no other reason than that there are two people in this household and we don't always want to watch the same thing... at the same time.
It seems that local councils are, more and more, refusing to allow dishes to clutter up their nice clean lines in new builds.. most of my neighbours have opted for skystream... .. to each their own, I suppose.
I discovered that I can replace my old SkyQ box service with a BT box... and use the BT streaming service... and record just like the old days with Sky Q.  I would have preferred to stay with Sky... and have no great loyalty to BT... but in order to get to watch and record what I want WHEN I want... the change is gonna come, I'm afraid.
And if BT can figger out how to put a box on tTHEIR streaming service that I can record on, I don't see why Sky couldn't. Ah well.. thanks for the help and advice, folks.