Background:
I originally had Sky Glass when it was first launched after numerous issues with the TV set, I returned it and switched to stream. Again, these issues re-occurred to the point where watching sky was just too much effort. At this point I had an 80Mbs internet connection.
After returning glass I brought a new TV with an OS that covered most streaming services including Now TV and spent the next year and a half using them and some basic Freeview services.
This setup worked flawlessly and of course was a lot cheaper, but I missed certain content and genres that only sky could provide. There were “Dry Times” where all the latest streaming series were binged on and I found myself in situations where there was literally nothing to watch and I was reverting back to watching Blu-Ray’s to fill the gaps.
Recently I moved to a more rural setting with a dish that was configured for Q and contemplated returning to the old satellite model. On pricing Q I was shocked to see that they charge (between £8-£10) per month for HD! There was no way in 2024 I was going to pay for HD channels which should now be the norm, to make it even worse to get Q I would have to commit to a 24 Month contract which was just too rich.
So, I revisited stream, the benefits with stream is you can have a 31 day rolling contract (which was a must), especially on a product I had previously bad experiences with.
I was very naughty with I ordered stream, knowing my internet connection did not meet the minimum requirements, but I did my research (In Depth) and knew even with my low connection it would work fine, as I am the only member of the household, who would not be using the internet for other purposes whilst streaming TV, so most of my available bandwidth would be available to stream when required and if it didn’t work I had my 14 days to return it..
So I ordered stream was told it was a 2 day delivery window, the next day whilst at work I got a DPD text saying it was going to be delivered in the next 30 minutes (This was at 8.00am) so I jumped in my car and went home to accept delivery (Luckily I live round the corner).
So can’t fault the delivery.
Connected the box (Connected via Ethernet direct to router) – I have BT Broadband, all the setup went without fault and was quick.
Day 1: -> Binged series I’ve missed for the last 2 years, Main one was AirCrash Investigation, playback was spot on not one glitch or drop out or error, major improvement from my original experience with Glass/Stream and more to the point surprised me considering the speed of my connection.
Took a while to get used to the interface again, been so used to the TV interface it’s sometimes hard to adjust. Navigation can be cumbersome in places but you kind of learn the kinks as you go on.
Signed up to the free discovery+ (Which is a bonus) and watched a few series from there also, again no playback faults.
The apps do run slowish, It does take time to execute them sometimes, and there are a few weird things happening, like on ITVX the font is all weird, but playback on ITVX was flawless, I have a premium subscription to ITVX so it was nice to not have the ads.
Ads – and Ad Skipping
I tried to use voice to skip ads, that was very cumbersome, It sometimes didn’t recognize the voice command (I tried many variations), and took me out the playback of the show, I found it extremely difficult to return back to the playing show, so gave up with this method in the end.
I reverted back to using the good old-fashioned buttons, I found if you use 30X the results were unreliable, but at 12X you kind of get there. The whole ad thing is very annoying especially after I have been so used to have pretty much 0% ads in the last 1 ½ years.
I would happily play more a month to have a “Remove Ads” feature instead of a skipping method.
I had an issue with remembering where I was in a show but it appears if you add it to the playlist first, it does seem to remember where you got to.
It’s only been a week, but the general experience has been ok, its useable, it’s not the most enjoyable experience but does what it needs to do provide me the content.
It’s definitely a lot better than the early releases but just feels unpolished in places I think with the right attention to detail it could be a great platform but just doesn’t feel quite there yet.
I am now questioning if at my previous address I didn’t have a stable internet connection (not speed wise but reliability wise). As I had no end of issues there, with crashes, playback issues, constant box reboots, whereas at my new address the physical connection seems solid although slow.
I think the stability of your internet connection from cabinet to house is more important than the speed it outputs.
I will keep on playing and see where we are in a month.
