Best Sky Q Alternative

[Dan 80]

As per the title - have been with Sky for many years but it’s renewal time and they are even more difficult to deal with than usual. Prices have gone up again and I’ve tried to negotiate but have ended up cancelling as they just didn’t seem to care about my business. We watch little TV these days and most things are streamed but the Mrs does love the ability to series record programmes and pause live TV etc. She also loves the Sky UI with all the other apps she uses (Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Paramount) all in the same place and easy to navigate to.

What’s the next best alternative? I can get Virgin but it seems that these days they only do streaming type boxes rather than PVR’s, is this right? Or do I purchase a decent freesat PVR and they have access to all the apps as well - if so then any recommendations? Or will I have to break things up and get a PVR and a Firestick for all the apps?

Any advice and recommendations very welcome…

Thanks

[alangla]

Have you got a smart TV? I found I was able to trade down from Sky Q to a Panasonic smart TV without too much trouble. I already had a Freeview recorder but it’s barely used. The one annoying thing about the Panasonic is that it doesn’t do Now or Paramount Plus. Samsung smart TVs can do those two as well as all the usual ones, so if you’re buying I’d look at one of those. LGs might support Now & Paramount but I don’t know.

[Dan 80]

alangla said:

Have you got a smart TV? I found I was able to trade down from Sky Q to a Panasonic smart TV without too much trouble. I already had a Freeview recorder but it’s barely used. The one annoying thing about the Panasonic is that it doesn’t do Now or Paramount Plus. Samsung smart TVs can do those two as well as all the usual ones, so if you’re buying I’d look at one of those. LGs might support Now & Paramount but I don’t know.

I also have a Panasonic TV but it’s probably 10 years old so I’ll have to see what apps it supports. I’m loving the man-maths though in terms of getting a new TV out of this as well!

[Dan 80]

Anyone else have any other ideas / thoughts?

[fourstardan]

BT was the only closest alternative for me when looking at other options.

[The Gauge]

There really is no Sky alternative, just poor imitations. I’ve tried many different products over the years but always end up sticking with Sky.

Their OS is just brilliant and so user friendly, and so is the remote. We have 3 mini boxes around the house so it’s piped to where we need it. Basically I’m happy to pay whatever Sky ask.

Oh , and remember, every time someone leaves Sky a puppy dies. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience would you!

[craig1912]

Dan 80 said:

Anyone else have any other ideas / thoughts?

Nearly went with EE as they seem to be the closest in terms of content. Main box is a streaming box but records. Extra boxes available.

[TEKNOPUG]

Write a list of all the live TV shows you watch. You can watch and pause all live BBC shows via iPlayer. I expect everything else can be streamed via an app. Series recording isn't an issue as everything is already available via streaming. So it's just pausing live TV and getting used to a different UI. If you get a Firestick or new TV, the popular apps will have their own button on the remote or can be arranged on the home page. So the only real UI difference will be with the Freeview channels.

You could get a PVR but really, how much is it worth paying just to pause live TV to go and make a cuppa, when it can all be streamed anyway?

[outnumbered]

The Gauge said:

There really is no Sky alternative, just poor imitations. I’ve tried many different products over the years but always end up sticking with Sky.

Their OS is just brilliant and so user friendly, and so is the remote. We have 3 mini boxes around the house so it’s piped to where we need it. Basically I’m happy to pay whatever Sky ask.

Oh , and remember, every time someone leaves Sky a puppy dies. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience would you!

I agree, from the user experience point of view, Sky's offering is probably the best.

Question is, how much is that worth to the OP (or more likely his Mrs)

We moved from Virgin a couple of years ago, and now just have Fibre Broadband, freeview aerial, and various TV sticks (Roku, Fire, Google).

The user experience is a lot worse - for example, if anyone likes channel surfing, apart from Freeview channels, it's practically impossible. You end up having to watch ads on ITV/C4 etc because you can't record and skip over them. You're forever going in and out of various apps, telling them who you are, and whether you're Over 18.

That said, we're pleased we made the move, as it's saving about £60 a month and I had got fed up with the way VM treated us as a customer. I can live with the downsides for that.

[Dan 80]

outnumbered said:

The Gauge said:

There really is no Sky alternative, just poor imitations. I’ve tried many different products over the years but always end up sticking with Sky.

Their OS is just brilliant and so user friendly, and so is the remote. We have 3 mini boxes around the house so it’s piped to where we need it. Basically I’m happy to pay whatever Sky ask.

Oh , and remember, every time someone leaves Sky a puppy dies. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience would you!

I agree, from the user experience point of view, Sky's offering is probably the best.

Question is, how much is that worth to the OP (or more likely his Mrs)

We moved from Virgin a couple of years ago, and now just have Fibre Broadband, freeview aerial, and various TV sticks (Roku, Fire, Google).

The user experience is a lot worse - for example, if anyone likes channel surfing, apart from Freeview channels, it's practically impossible. You end up having to watch ads on ITV/C4 etc because you can't record and skip over them. You're forever going in and out of various apps, telling them who you are, and whether you're Over 18.

That said, we're pleased we made the move, as it's saving about £60 a month and I had got fed up with the way VM treated us as a customer. I can live with the downsides for that.

Thanks for all the replies - I think the above 2 posts sum it up for me. Nothing is quite as good as the Sky UI and experience - ultimately this is about keeping the Mrs happy as she watches TV far more than I do, but I will be saving a decent amount of money though and as the above poster said, this is also about not giving Sky my hard-earned cash anymore as their customer service, especially around renewals, is terrible. I might suck it and see with a Firestick or equivalent for a few months and see how we get on....

[SeanyD]

We got sick of the cost of sky, so trialled a firestick with various, ahem, add-ons. Absolute nightmare, spend more time clicking in and out of apps, trying different servers, more time spent fannying on than actually watching content.

(Still with Sky)

[kent_phil]

We did the same thing after Christmas and went all in on Apple TV replacing the main Sky box and mini-boxes after 12 years with Sky.

Apple TV itself does a good job of aggregating the other services on top of it's own content so a single app most of the time.

We also bought the HDHomeRun for recording terrestrial TV connected up to an aerial - all sits up in the loft next to the aerial, user interface is not great but for the rare time it's needed then it is there - in hindsight we could have done without it, there are apps for everything.

My wife was adamant the UI on Sky was the only option but it's been more about learned ways of doing things - now we are in the mind-set of watching non-linear rather than recordings and the benefits of the Apple approach far outweighs Sky.

Cost saving massively outweighs the monthlies on Discovery+ / Apple+ / Disney / Prime

Only issue is now getting a Now TV subscription for F1 when it kicks off in 3 weeks...

[Smurfsarepeopletoo]

I work for Virgin if you have any questions, your physical box options is based on where you live, if your in a full fibre area, your limited to stream, but you can create a catch up of stuff you watch, so basically a series link without the physical recording.

Can also get you a better deal if interested for the first 18 months

Edited by Smurfsarepeopletoo on Wednesday 26th February 18:21

[dickymint]

Dan 80 said:

outnumbered said:

The Gauge said:

There really is no Sky alternative, just poor imitations. I’ve tried many different products over the years but always end up sticking with Sky.

Their OS is just brilliant and so user friendly, and so is the remote. We have 3 mini boxes around the house so it’s piped to where we need it. Basically I’m happy to pay whatever Sky ask.

Oh , and remember, every time someone leaves Sky a puppy dies. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience would you!

I agree, from the user experience point of view, Sky's offering is probably the best.

Question is, how much is that worth to the OP (or more likely his Mrs)

We moved from Virgin a couple of years ago, and now just have Fibre Broadband, freeview aerial, and various TV sticks (Roku, Fire, Google).

The user experience is a lot worse - for example, if anyone likes channel surfing, apart from Freeview channels, it's practically impossible. You end up having to watch ads on ITV/C4 etc because you can't record and skip over them. You're forever going in and out of various apps, telling them who you are, and whether you're Over 18.

That said, we're pleased we made the move, as it's saving about £60 a month and I had got fed up with the way VM treated us as a customer. I can live with the downsides for that.

Thanks for all the replies - I think the above 2 posts sum it up for me. Nothing is quite as good as the Sky UI and experience - ultimately this is about keeping the Mrs happy as she watches TV far more than I do, but I will be saving a decent amount of money though and as the above poster said, this is also about not giving Sky my hard-earned cash anymore as their customer service, especially around renewals, is terrible. I might suck it and see with a Firestick or equivalent for a few months and see how we get on....

Can't fault the EE Pro Box and the UI is every bit as good as Sky once you get used to it. Saved a load of money and would never go back to Sky! Good write up here..............

https://freepricecompare.com/broadband/tv/guides/e...

[Dolf Stoppard]

Nothing against the EE TV Box Pro but that article above is a little biased when comparing it to Sky Q. Far less simultaneous recordings and no access to recordings or starting recordings from Mini boxes were the things which really put me off. What the Mini boxes can and can’t do is actually one of those things which really seems to confuse EE staff. They’re basically streaming devices and nothing more.

[dickymint]

Dolf Stoppard said:

Nothing against the EE TV Box Pro but that article above is a little biased when comparing it to Sky Q. Far less simultaneous recordings and no access to recordings or starting recordings from Mini boxes were the things which really put me off. What the Mini boxes can and can’t do is actually one of those things which really seems to confuse EE staff. They’re basically streaming devices and nothing more.

yeh there are differences but minimal for our needs. But after nearly 30 years of loyalty to Sly and the money I'm now saving they can go whistle I'll never go back! I do still have their sports though but direct from EE that shows up on the EE EPG so no faffing around to use their ste app!

I did miss Sly's remote etc. but only took a couple of weeks to adapt to EE.

[Dan 80]

Smurfsarepeopletoo said:

I work for Virgin if you have any questions, your physical box options is based on where you live, if your in a full fibre area, your limited to stream, but you can create a catch up of stuff you watch, so basically a series link without the physical recording.

Can also get you a better deal if interested for the first 18 months

Edited by Smurfsarepeopletoo on Wednesday 26th February 18:21

Hey, thank you for this - have narrowed it down between the Virgin box and the EE one. Would be really interested in understanding what sort of deal you could get on this. Shall I PM you?

[Dan 80]

Dan 80 said:

Smurfsarepeopletoo said:

I work for Virgin if you have any questions, your physical box options is based on where you live, if your in a full fibre area, your limited to stream, but you can create a catch up of stuff you watch, so basically a series link without the physical recording.

Can also get you a better deal if interested for the first 18 months

Edited by Smurfsarepeopletoo on Wednesday 26th February 18:21

Hey, thank you for this - have narrowed it down between the Virgin box and the EE one. Would be really interested in understanding what sort of deal you could get on this. Shall I PM you?

Just tried to DM you and can't. What's the best way to contact you please? Thanks