Discussion
GrizzlyBear said:
Thanks for the reply, I see, so there are two black ones, hmm confused now.
The new black one is flatter and a better looking device, it has a digital TV tuner that requires an ariel connected to receive Freeview channels, spec wise I'm not sure how much better it is than the old one.http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/138104-now-tv-sm...
Old one is like a squared off hockey puck and doesn't have the tv tuner.
The small black box via the small white box:
Differences -
1. USB Port in theory allows you to watch content plugged into it - never tested it don't know if it works.
2. As poster above states has an Ethernet port (I think is 100mbps NOT gigabit) which is useful if you want a wired connection rather than a wifi one
3. Talking of WIFI its increased to dual band coverage (not AC wireless though) so again that can be better for some people
4. Its black not white and the remote is ever so slightly different. The unit is zippier than the older white one on a genuinely practical basis if you have good wirelesss coverage you will notice the zippiness when going through functions but it wont massively change your experience
Big Black one V small Black One
It just adds in a TV Tuner with access to the HD channels in your area. You will need another aerial connection to get that its physically larger and I think has a faster processor read somewhere its quad rather than dual core. You can pause live TV but NOT record it its worth considering if you wanted to add in the HD channels and were thinking of a NOW TV box anyway
Generally the boxes have good uses. I got the white ones second hand two or so years ago and just upgraded them over the last few months to the black ones. Its a great way to add catch up TV to TV's that don't have it built in. I don't actually use any of the NOW channels or one month subscriptions but might be tempted to pop the movies on over xmas etc. Main use is for catch up TV. I actually prefer to use catch up on a now box rather than on my Samsung which does have catch up built in
Differences -
1. USB Port in theory allows you to watch content plugged into it - never tested it don't know if it works.
2. As poster above states has an Ethernet port (I think is 100mbps NOT gigabit) which is useful if you want a wired connection rather than a wifi one
3. Talking of WIFI its increased to dual band coverage (not AC wireless though) so again that can be better for some people
4. Its black not white and the remote is ever so slightly different. The unit is zippier than the older white one on a genuinely practical basis if you have good wirelesss coverage you will notice the zippiness when going through functions but it wont massively change your experience
Big Black one V small Black One
It just adds in a TV Tuner with access to the HD channels in your area. You will need another aerial connection to get that its physically larger and I think has a faster processor read somewhere its quad rather than dual core. You can pause live TV but NOT record it its worth considering if you wanted to add in the HD channels and were thinking of a NOW TV box anyway
Generally the boxes have good uses. I got the white ones second hand two or so years ago and just upgraded them over the last few months to the black ones. Its a great way to add catch up TV to TV's that don't have it built in. I don't actually use any of the NOW channels or one month subscriptions but might be tempted to pop the movies on over xmas etc. Main use is for catch up TV. I actually prefer to use catch up on a now box rather than on my Samsung which does have catch up built in
Just looking at this as I'm fed up paying Sky £70+ a month for something I actually probably don't get value for.
So...I currently have SKYHD box in the lounge, but output via coax to a TV in another room so you can watch Sky in there. If I were to get 2 of these Now boxes, do you need 2 subscriptions etc to watch the payed content ? I guess alternative would be to get 1 box but watch via a PS4 that's already in the other room ? Is this easy ?
New to this so what are the pitfalls / pro'S of switching from std Sky monthly to a box like this (given I'd like option to watch the channels in 2 separate rooms) ? Any other options for me ?
I tend to watch Sky 1 & Atlantic for box set stuff, some football (if my team playing) & F1 during the season.
What kind of internet speeds do you need for seamless experience ? Checking from an ipad, my normal download speeds are 25-30Mbps wifi.
Thanks all.....
So...I currently have SKYHD box in the lounge, but output via coax to a TV in another room so you can watch Sky in there. If I were to get 2 of these Now boxes, do you need 2 subscriptions etc to watch the payed content ? I guess alternative would be to get 1 box but watch via a PS4 that's already in the other room ? Is this easy ?
New to this so what are the pitfalls / pro'S of switching from std Sky monthly to a box like this (given I'd like option to watch the channels in 2 separate rooms) ? Any other options for me ?
I tend to watch Sky 1 & Atlantic for box set stuff, some football (if my team playing) & F1 during the season.
What kind of internet speeds do you need for seamless experience ? Checking from an ipad, my normal download speeds are 25-30Mbps wifi.
Thanks all.....
Edited by Steve Campbell on Thursday 24th November 13:59
Steve Campbell said:
If I were to get 2 of these Now boxes, do you need 2 subscriptions etc to watch the payed content ?
Nope, you can have two devices active at the same time, and four registered on your account as per Now TV website:http://www.nowtv.com/devices
ETA - NOWTV has some Black Friday deals, the Smart TV box is only £35 and comes with either 5 mths of the Entertainment Pack or 4 mths of the Movies Pack.
Guess you could buy both and for £70 you've got two boxes and 4/5 mths of passes.
Edited by sgrimshaw on Thursday 24th November 15:06
If you don't want/need the Smart TV Box and would be happy with the one without FreeView then Amazon have some better deals than NowTV:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016WGF8FC/ref=twister...
Box + 6 mths of Entertainment £19
Box + 4 mths of Movies £19
Same deals are available in Currys for £19.95
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016WGF8FC/ref=twister...
Box + 6 mths of Entertainment £19
Box + 4 mths of Movies £19
Same deals are available in Currys for £19.95
Hmmmm interesting.
So let me get this straight.
E.g.
If I buy the basic box for £19 with 6 months entertainment & another basic box with sky cinema, I could watch the entertainment & movies in either room (same if I got the smart box but add in standard tv on same machine) ?
From reading through, the only thing I'd be missing is ability to record ?
So let me get this straight.
E.g.
If I buy the basic box for £19 with 6 months entertainment & another basic box with sky cinema, I could watch the entertainment & movies in either room (same if I got the smart box but add in standard tv on same machine) ?
From reading through, the only thing I'd be missing is ability to record ?
Steve Campbell said:
Hmmmm interesting.
So let me get this straight.
E.g.
If I buy the basic box for £19 with 6 months entertainment & another basic box with sky cinema, I could watch the entertainment & movies in either room (same if I got the smart box but add in standard tv on same machine) ?
From reading through, the only thing I'd be missing is ability to record ?
Yup that's right.So let me get this straight.
E.g.
If I buy the basic box for £19 with 6 months entertainment & another basic box with sky cinema, I could watch the entertainment & movies in either room (same if I got the smart box but add in standard tv on same machine) ?
From reading through, the only thing I'd be missing is ability to record ?
In case you didn't know, you can add apps as well, such as All4, BBCiPlayer, ITVhub, Demand 5, Spotify, Tunein Radio ....
http://help.nowtv.com/article/Available-apps-NOW-T...
If you've a mind to, you can also install Plex
I've had a Roku 3 for a while now, excellent piece of simple kit. Using WiFi it's fine for Amazon Prime, I have it linked to an Emby Server and my 5 and 7 year olds can work it no problem. Also can screencast from Windows 10 really easily. Never had a single problem with it, just works.
Got one of the NowTV versions from Sainsbury's for my mother-in-law, so if a 70 year old can work it for Sky entertainment AND renting movies, it must be good.
Got one of the NowTV versions from Sainsbury's for my mother-in-law, so if a 70 year old can work it for Sky entertainment AND renting movies, it must be good.
sgrimshaw said:
Nope, you can have two devices active at the same time, and four registered on your account as per Now TV website:
http://www.nowtv.com/devices
ETA - NOWTV has some Black Friday deals, the Smart TV box is only £35 and comes with either 5 mths of the Entertainment Pack or 4 mths of the Movies Pack.
Guess you could buy both and for £70 you've got two boxes and 4/5 mths of passes.
ive just bought this deal - 4 months of movies + the new smart box for £35 inc delivery. Currys maplin etc don't offer it as 4 months, only 2 months for £25, so I thin the extra 2 months for a tenner is good.http://www.nowtv.com/devices
ETA - NOWTV has some Black Friday deals, the Smart TV box is only £35 and comes with either 5 mths of the Entertainment Pack or 4 mths of the Movies Pack.
Guess you could buy both and for £70 you've got two boxes and 4/5 mths of passes.
Edited by sgrimshaw on Thursday 24th November 15:06
Cheers all. Only annoying thing is I've bought 3 or 4 recent movies for my daughter for Christmas (I've been saving them up as they are released) which are probably on this sky movie package.
Just to update on this thread. I eventually bought 2 SMART NOW TV boxes for 2 different rooms, neither of which have smart TV's. £35 each and one with 4 months movies, the other with 5 months entertainment.
Very pleased with them.
Only downsides :
When you fast forward you can't see the picture, which is unlikely to be a problem but just something I'm used to be able to do with normal sky.
TV guide doesn't have numbered channels so you have to surf through them to find what you want. Again, not a real problem but just something different to get used to.
Pretty easy to set up and no problems with streaming or functionality. So far, so good !
Very pleased with them.
Only downsides :
When you fast forward you can't see the picture, which is unlikely to be a problem but just something I'm used to be able to do with normal sky.
TV guide doesn't have numbered channels so you have to surf through them to find what you want. Again, not a real problem but just something different to get used to.
Pretty easy to set up and no problems with streaming or functionality. So far, so good !
steve, can you watch 'movies' on the box that came with entertainment, and vice-versa? I have bought one box with movies and would like to be able to watch them in another room also, so was considering buying a second box. But I don't want to if the second box can't access the first box content if you see what I mean?
CoolHands said:
steve, can you watch 'movies' on the box that came with entertainment, and vice-versa? I have bought one box with movies and would like to be able to watch them in another room also, so was considering buying a second box. But I don't want to if the second box can't access the first box content if you see what I mean?
You will be able to watch everything on both boxes as the packages are attached to your account, not each individual box.If you want to get the best deal when the initial code runs out, remember to log in online and cancel it otherwise you will pay the monthly subscription charges which work out quite a bit more expensive than buying the longer packages.
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