UHD option do I need it?

[ChrisBarnes1981]

Hi all

i have the UHD option for £6pm and have the highest Netflix subscription through sky stream.

i DONT have sports or cinema.

i have seen posts about this before but never really saw a conclusive answer. Based on what I have,  am I basically paying for nothing with my package options, or is there UHD content which I still have access to?  I read that on demand content is in UHD which I mainly watch rather than live tv, is this correct?

Really appreciate any pearls of wisdom you guys can offer me. 

[GD1]

@ChrisBarnes1981  The choice is a personal one, so we can't tell you definitively if you do or don't.  You need to decide for yourself.

[ChrisBarnes1981]

@GD1 while I appreciate your response, that doesn't help or answer my question, I am asking the question because I don't know the answer and was hoping somebody who did would give me some guidance?

I don't know what UHD covers or whether I am basically paying for something which I have no access to or use of?

[Digifriendly]

I have just moved house and decided to migrate from Sky Q to Sky Stream. I have UHD and use it for sports. I notice there are 3 other general UHD channels apart from Sky Sports Main Event and TNT Sports Ultimate. However these channels seem to be blank most of the time.

I do not have any interest in cinema so have not checked it out for UHD.

There is UHD on demand as you state but haven't checked this out yet.

Personally if I did not watch sport I would not be paying for UHD.

UHD via certain red button events on BBC is free eg. Wimbledon Centre Court matches.

[Exiled-in-HH]

Doesn't it only cover UHD on Sky's channels?

Any UHD on other broadcasters services, such as Netflix, are covered by their own charging tiers🤔

You only get UHD on Netflix by paying for their top tier😉

@ChrisBarnes1981  Does your TV flag HDR content, or even support HDR ... that's the best way to spot UHD ... only Sky's recent originals are UHD/HDR so there's very little of Sky's entertainment in UHD🙁

[Chrisee]

@ChrisBarnes1981 the UHD/Atmos add on charge only affects Sky's broadcasting apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc are not affected as they have their own subscription tiers.

In terms of content some block buster shows like House of the Dragon are available in UHD with HDR on demand so try watching the HD version to see if they still appeal as much. Most content however is produced only in HD so a lot depends on what you watch. 

The loss of impact switching to HD depends on the quality of your TV, the distance you sit away from it (over 10 feet from a 65inch screen the extra resolution is barely distinguishable asuming you have normal vision) and your own taste. Personally I would find the loss of HDR - high dynacmic range - makes the add-on decent value as while HDR can be added to HD material Sky dont. For people who do watch sports Sky's UHD output is in true 50fps while HD is only 25fps which impacts movement..

[lettice]

I see you do not have Sky Sports.
This generally is the big uplift for many Sky customers, as you get the dedicated F1 uhd channel.
Plus, for the cricket, premier league football, efl and some other selective leagues in uhd.
It also gives you the main event channel as a dedicated uhd channel, that as well as simu casting the above content also provides hd upscaled to uhd content from other sports like darts, golf etc and even has sky sport news on there at times.
Eurosport has uhd content for the olympics and its tennis coverage, this is only available as part of the UHD/Dolby £6 option..
You also get the three Ultra UHD channels that are providing the above linear live channel sports content.

Much of the Sky original and their rights owned drama and documentaries on the various Sky owned channels offers a uhd/hdr option from the On Demand. Its not live linear, but the more recent series like House of the Dragon, The Rookie, FBI series etc have been quicker than of late to put up the uhd/hdr for viewing.
For a good overall view of that content, say uhd into your Sky Stream remote to bring up rails of varying content.
I do not subscribe to Sky Cinema, so have no idea on that content.

The apps on Sky Stream work in uhd/hdr without having the UHD/Dolby Atmos £6 option.

For some of those you need to go to a higher paid price level, like having Netflix premium.

Others, like AppleTV+ and BBC iPlayer for example offer uhd as part of their standard subscription paid and free service.
Also, if you have any uhd content purchased via Sky Store and on Stream that is played via the app, it will play out fine without the UHD/Dolby £6 option.

With Stream, the UHD/Dolby option is often (like with ad skipping) offered as a few month trial, so try removing from your packs within the Mysky app. Its so easy to add/remove from there and the offer always honours the free trial term until it expires. You may even get another offer if you remove during the free term. a day or so later after its expiry. 

Some, do take the option as it also gives Dolby Atmos sound content.
Mind, some on here are reporting with certain setup, that the lip sync issue is causing problems when using that.
I have not experienced that issue though with my combination of dedicated Dolby Atmos TVs and high end soundbars. 
That though can be a mixed bag, a personal choice, especially on sports content and often I find its better turning it off when watching some sports.

[Mister_Dalek]

I'm new to Sky Stream & am using a free trial of UHD/Atmos at the moment, mainly to watch House of the Dragon. I certainly don't think I'll pay for it though when the trial is up. Yes, the image is a bit sharper but the Atmos audio through my amp is frequently out of sync. A reboot of the puck usually fixes this temporarily but it always goes out of sync again after using the puck for a while. I like to rewatch the HOTD episodes and there's always different lip sync every time I watch. It's not consistent & very frustrating so definitely not worth paying for. 
Oh, and before anyone tells me to try passthrough/eARC/direct to amp/2.1 cables, etc - believe me I've tried them all. None of the 'fixes' are actual solutions. The pucks just can't handle Atmos very well.