Trying Sky Stream (in Ireland)

[ChrisGalway]

I have Sky+ and it has occasional problems with the signal when it rains heavily ... and it rains quite often in Ireland!

I was wondering about trying Sky Streaming.  Our internet speed is 40-45Mby download, so that should be OK (is it?).   But when I phoned Sky, they said there is no way to have a trial of Sky Streaming (in Ireland).   And even if I took a 12 month contract for Sky Streaming, they said I cannot keep my Sky+ box ... it's one or the other, and I cannot go back to a Sky+ box because it is an old product.    That's crazy!    

(I cannot instal Sky Q because it needs a different cable from the Sky+ box, and the cable cannot be pulled through ... so several holes would have to be drilled to get from the dish to the TV location, and I'm not prepared to go that trauma.)

Is there any way around all this?  Is just want to try Sky's streaming to see if it works OK (given our broadband speed).  

Can I subscibe to  NOW to try the streaming, without affecting my HD+ box and contract. 

Or is there another solution?

[lettice]

Your broadband speed is on the lower limit for Sky Stream.

With a bit of local bandwidth in use within your property using wifi, you are not really going to have a very reliable experience.

You may just be ok with an ethernet cable from the Sky Stream box to your router, but you are on the lower limits of a reliable service.

In the UK, if you have Sky Q, you are able to cancel Sky Stream after 31 days and return to Sky Q.

Not sure if tha5 is the case in Ireland.

Yes, Sky+ is an older legacy Sky TV platform, that Sky Q for satellite connection has replaced. It is no longer supported for a swap back as you suggest.

By the way, your  existing satellite cable run from your dish to you Sky Q box ( replacing your Sky + box) can be used for Sky Q.

The changes for Sky Q are on the dish itself, where the LNB on the dish gets swapped over, from the one you currently have for Sky+ to the one needed for Sky Q.

Sky Q comprises of a main Sky Q box and mini boxes that connect over their own wifi network or ethernet to the main Sky Q box.

Only one twin cable goes from your dish to your main Sky Q box.

You will as you say get occasional picture breakup in bad weather with a satellite system, but a good realignment of the dish may help a lot with that going forwards. It should only be on rare occasions.

[lettice]

The Sky recommended minimum broadband speed is 25Mbps.
Or 30Mbps if you add an extra Sky Stream puck or to watch in UHD

If you are using the live sync option on Sky Sports that does add a few more Mbps per puck.

[ChrisGalway]

Thanks for all this information.

Regarding the cable from the dish to the Sky+ / Sky Q box, we have been assured that a new cable is needed.  The exisiting one from the dish to the Sky+ box is a single cable, but the one from the dish to the Sky Q box is a twin one, as you say.   This is the cause of our problems!  The new cable cannot be pulled through using the old one, and new holes new to be drilled in floor and walls to get a new twin cable in to the TV room.   We can't face that.

That's why I'm looking at streaming options.  It's frustrating that we can't even TRY IT OUT here in Ireland ... but very typical of the take-it-or-leave-it attitudes here.

[BenJoBanjo]

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@ChrisGalway wrote:

Can I subscibe to  NOW to try the streaming, without affecting my HD+ box and contract. 

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Absolutely you can. NOW contracts are completely independent of Sky+/Q/Glass/Stream so you can try out streaming on NOW whilst keeping your existing Sky+HD box. 

[ChrisGalway]

Thanks, at least that's an option to see if my 40-45MBy  (non-fibre) broadband is sufficient.

(I'm reluctant to get optical fibre installed as they have to dig up the garden ... at least 100m over rocky ground, can't face the mess and upheaval.)

.

[BenJoBanjo]

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@ChrisGalway wrote:

Thanks, at least that's an option to see if my 40-45MBy  (non-fibre) broadband is sufficient.

(I'm reluctant to get optical fibre installed as they have to dig up the garden ... at least 100m over rocky ground, can't face the mess and upheaval.)

.

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That'll be perfectly sufficient for NOW. It uses a lot less bandwidth than Sky Stream because it runs from an app on any streaming device or smart TV which has an app store. Sky Stream is more bandwidth hungry due to SkyOS, the operating system it runs on, being server-based, so is more reliant on a fast and stable broadband connection to function. 

NOW will give you access to any of the Sky channels available on Stream, both live and on demand. You can choose if you only want Entertainment or Cinema or Sports or any combination of them. You're not tied to a base package. 

[TimmyBGood]

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@ChrisGalway wrote:

Regarding the cable from the dish to the Sky+ / Sky Q box, we have been assured that a new cable is needed.  The exisiting one from the dish to the Sky+ box is a single cable, but the one from the dish to the Sky Q box is a twin one, as you say.   This is the cause of our problems!  The new cable cannot be pulled through using the old one, and new holes new to be drilled in floor and walls to get a new twin cable in to the TV room.   We can't face that.

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Q can be made to work on a single cable with some additional hardware.  Whether it's worth doing so when the platform only has a few years left is something else to consider.

As your original issue seems likely to be rain fade exacerbated by a far west location, do you already have a Zone 2 dish?

[ChrisGalway]

Good question, I do not know whether I have a Zone 2 dish, but i'll find out one way or another.  Thanks.

[ChrisGalway]

I do have a Zone 2 dish, it's standard here.   I have someone coming later this week ... or next ... to check the alignment of the dish, and replace the LNB and/or the dish if necessary.  Let's see if that makes a difference, only time (and rain) will tell.

Thank you everyone for your help.   I'm going to ask the engineer about using the exisiting cable for Sky Q as well.   But it seems to me that streaming/wireless is the future, not the Q box.

[TimmyBGood]

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@ChrisGalway wrote:

 I'm going to ask the engineer about using the exisiting cable for Sky Q as well.

They may well not know: it isn't something Sky offers.

  But it seems to me that streaming/wireless is the future, not the Q box.

Once there aren't any broadcast satellites serving the UK and RoI that's somewhat inevitable.

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