Can someone explain Sky Stream to me!
Discussion
Currently we have Sky Q. Which has been great but is getting very expensive.
We have Sky F1 (not the full sports package) Movies etc.
I appreciate that on Stream you do not download anything. But you have access to them once added to a playlist.
So if you had a movie you wanted to watch, can you fast forward the same as on Sky Q? Or will it force you to watch from the beginning?
On the F1, I can join a recorded race mid way through the race, is this possible? can I fast forward the rubbish at the beginning? Or do I have to wait for the race to have eneded to then watch the streamed version?
The final issue is we are fairly remote, so FTTC is the best we can get at 55mbs, and 10mbs upload. Will this cause issues?
We have Sky F1 (not the full sports package) Movies etc.
I appreciate that on Stream you do not download anything. But you have access to them once added to a playlist.
So if you had a movie you wanted to watch, can you fast forward the same as on Sky Q? Or will it force you to watch from the beginning?
On the F1, I can join a recorded race mid way through the race, is this possible? can I fast forward the rubbish at the beginning? Or do I have to wait for the race to have eneded to then watch the streamed version?
The final issue is we are fairly remote, so FTTC is the best we can get at 55mbs, and 10mbs upload. Will this cause issues?
Sky Stream is like Sky Q, but worse!
It's slow, clunky and prone to just stop working, requiring a mains power off to resolve.
Your specific questions, you can't fast forward through adverts, "recording" something just adds it to a list to stream later. So you can fast forward through things but it'll stop, play adverts, then continue.
It's slow, clunky and prone to just stop working, requiring a mains power off to resolve.
Your specific questions, you can't fast forward through adverts, "recording" something just adds it to a list to stream later. So you can fast forward through things but it'll stop, play adverts, then continue.
Edited by ManicMunky on Tuesday 30th June 10:36
Sky Q worked great in previous houses but here we had no end of problems with Sky Q Mini boxes disconnecting so I changed to Sky Stream.
Anything recorded using Sky Q is then available for evermore exactly as broadcast but it doesn't work the same with Sky Stream.
My main gripes with Sky Stream are...
The fast forward and rewind is very awkward and often fails completely.
When Sky Stream is turned on it won't just start on BBC 1 which is all I want in the morning for Breakfast TV and I have to pick up the remote to set the channel every time.
I can add stuff to my planner which is the equivalent to recording but when I come to watch what I have saved I can never find it and I have to use catch up.
Sky F1 UHD from CH407 is in saved in my planner but when I watch the actual recording it is Sky Main Event CH401 and on catch up the following programs are not the F1.
Sky Stream has all the apps like Netflix, HBO, Disney etc and these are now are included in my Sky Stream subscription but in every case I pay more for no adverts and for convenience I watch using my Smart TV and not using HDMI and my Sky Stream box.
I really resent paying for these extras
Whole Home £15.00
Sky Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos £6.00
Ad skipping £6.00
I know that paying £112.69 (with discount) per month for something I hardly use is utter madness (no Sky Broadband or Phone).
Anything recorded using Sky Q is then available for evermore exactly as broadcast but it doesn't work the same with Sky Stream.
My main gripes with Sky Stream are...
The fast forward and rewind is very awkward and often fails completely.
When Sky Stream is turned on it won't just start on BBC 1 which is all I want in the morning for Breakfast TV and I have to pick up the remote to set the channel every time.
I can add stuff to my planner which is the equivalent to recording but when I come to watch what I have saved I can never find it and I have to use catch up.
Sky F1 UHD from CH407 is in saved in my planner but when I watch the actual recording it is Sky Main Event CH401 and on catch up the following programs are not the F1.
Sky Stream has all the apps like Netflix, HBO, Disney etc and these are now are included in my Sky Stream subscription but in every case I pay more for no adverts and for convenience I watch using my Smart TV and not using HDMI and my Sky Stream box.
I really resent paying for these extras
Whole Home £15.00
Sky Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos £6.00
Ad skipping £6.00
I know that paying £112.69 (with discount) per month for something I hardly use is utter madness (no Sky Broadband or Phone).
ManicMunky said:
It's slow, clunky and prone to just stop working, requiring a mains power off to resolve.
Bit like SkyGo then! A company with the resources of Sky should have come up with viable streaming services by now. I've cancelled everything with Sky and now have the most basic Now TV subscription in order to watch F1 and it will stay that way until they come up with something that works with a decent UX. Edited by ManicMunky on Tuesday 30th June 10:36
We have recently moved from sky q to a sky glass which I assume is the same as sky stream just built into the TV
It isnt as robust as sky q and takes a little while to adjust to where things are located but so far finding it pretty much okay.
Anything you want to watch later (not live) needs to be added to your playlist using a red button like a record button but its just an add button
once watching stuff you can fast forward and backwards as you please if it is sky content IE sports
if its through a 3rd party like itv then you have to watch adverts even if you fast forward
It isnt as robust as sky q and takes a little while to adjust to where things are located but so far finding it pretty much okay.
Anything you want to watch later (not live) needs to be added to your playlist using a red button like a record button but its just an add button
once watching stuff you can fast forward and backwards as you please if it is sky content IE sports
if its through a 3rd party like itv then you have to watch adverts even if you fast forward
joestifff said:
Really doesn't sound ideal, but I am not sure I want to keep on paying Sky Q prices!
if your in a Virgin area, you could switch to them, depending on the network, you might be able to get a traditional TV box that allows you to record, If not, you could go for a stream box, which is similar to SKY Stream. If you want me to have a check for you, let me know.joestifff said:
Really doesn't sound ideal, but I am not sure I want to keep on paying Sky Q prices!
Have you done the cancel and haggle routine?Last time I played the game their best offer on stream was only marginally cheaper than Q so based on all the reviews it was a no brainer to stick with Q.
It's a very expensive way to watch F1, and for the money they charge they can't manage the basics right like making sessions available on catchup until a random time in the future. Next time my subscription is up will be very tempted to use one of the VPN loopholes to get F1TV.
Sky Stream is a huge step backwards from a 'recording box' from the likes of Sky or Virgin (or even Freeview).
You can't record any live TV, and can only pause it for a few minutes before it starts to play again. If you set something in your 'planner' and don't watch it live, then the only way you can watch it is if it happens to fall within the scope of one of the streaming platforms (Iplayer, STV Player, Discovery plus etc.). Some things, such as cycling highlights for the Grand Tours, are on channels with no catch-up, so if you don't see them live you can't watch them at all.
As mentioned, any adverts need to be watched because you're getting shows from a streaming platform rather than saved on a box.
It can take an age to load any listings, despite us having 500mb internet, and the box having been on for a pretty long time (hours sometimes) you'll often get 'waiting for listings' for each page of 10-12 channels for about 30 seconds instead of being able to see what's on immediately.
Netflix on our box NEVER loads first time and we have to go into it and come out at least twice before we can get it to work. Amazon and Disney can be flaky as well. BBC iplayer is about the only app that works consistently.
I think I read somewhere that Sky allocate insufficient bandwith to the service which causes a lot of the slowness.
I'm not sure why we can't have 'Sky Stream with a hard drive' although my cynical guess would be that it costs them far less in licensing to provide no facility to record programmes, but then sell it as if it has the ability to watch any program any time (it categorically does not do this).
Would definitely not reccommend it to anyone!
You can't record any live TV, and can only pause it for a few minutes before it starts to play again. If you set something in your 'planner' and don't watch it live, then the only way you can watch it is if it happens to fall within the scope of one of the streaming platforms (Iplayer, STV Player, Discovery plus etc.). Some things, such as cycling highlights for the Grand Tours, are on channels with no catch-up, so if you don't see them live you can't watch them at all.
As mentioned, any adverts need to be watched because you're getting shows from a streaming platform rather than saved on a box.
It can take an age to load any listings, despite us having 500mb internet, and the box having been on for a pretty long time (hours sometimes) you'll often get 'waiting for listings' for each page of 10-12 channels for about 30 seconds instead of being able to see what's on immediately.
Netflix on our box NEVER loads first time and we have to go into it and come out at least twice before we can get it to work. Amazon and Disney can be flaky as well. BBC iplayer is about the only app that works consistently.
I think I read somewhere that Sky allocate insufficient bandwith to the service which causes a lot of the slowness.
I'm not sure why we can't have 'Sky Stream with a hard drive' although my cynical guess would be that it costs them far less in licensing to provide no facility to record programmes, but then sell it as if it has the ability to watch any program any time (it categorically does not do this).
Would definitely not reccommend it to anyone!
Gin and Ultrasonic said:
You can't record any live TV, and can only pause it for a few minutes before it starts to play again.
Yes, is another problem with Sky Stream and very annoying to come back and have to rewind back over the stuff you missed except it has thrown a hissy fit and won't rewind today.Gin and Ultrasonic said:
It can take an age to load any listings
Netflix on our box NEVER loads first time
Don't have this problem.Netflix on our box NEVER loads first time
Yes, catch up outside of Sky Channels is native BBC iPlayer or ITVX etc and invariably involves another sign in delay and adverts were served.
joestifff said:
Currently we have Sky Q. Which has been great but is getting very expensive.
We have Sky F1 (not the full sports package) Movies etc.
I appreciate that on Stream you do not download anything. But you have access to them once added to a playlist.
So if you had a movie you wanted to watch, can you fast forward the same as on Sky Q? Or will it force you to watch from the beginning?
On the F1, I can join a recorded race mid way through the race, is this possible? can I fast forward the rubbish at the beginning? Or do I have to wait for the race to have eneded to then watch the streamed version?
The final issue is we are fairly remote, so FTTC is the best we can get at 55mbs, and 10mbs upload. Will this cause issues?
I’ll go against the grain here and say- I quite like sky stream. while it’s not perfect or as good as the old solid ‘sky HD’ boxes, I really don’t mind it. We have Sky F1 (not the full sports package) Movies etc.
I appreciate that on Stream you do not download anything. But you have access to them once added to a playlist.
So if you had a movie you wanted to watch, can you fast forward the same as on Sky Q? Or will it force you to watch from the beginning?
On the F1, I can join a recorded race mid way through the race, is this possible? can I fast forward the rubbish at the beginning? Or do I have to wait for the race to have eneded to then watch the streamed version?
The final issue is we are fairly remote, so FTTC is the best we can get at 55mbs, and 10mbs upload. Will this cause issues?
I will add, I’m not a heavy tv watcher/ streamer, so I maybe don’t find as many issues as others or it just doesn’t bother me as much. we got sky stream when we moved to a new house because it was simple, no drilling new dish to the roof/ house and was the cheapest option when we signed up 3 years ago.
the stream box is a glorified amazon ‘fire stick’ device. it has a reasonable sky interface/ system for clicking around/ find your stuff. but instead of ‘downloading’ a programme to a hard drive, you add stuff to your ‘playlist’, where it basically creates a marker/ link and you can go direct to a stream of that show.
the only sport we really watch is F1, and during a race you always have the option to join the race ‘live’ or to ‘watch from the beginning’. I will say I’ve still have had a few glitches when I joined a race halfway through (say i join on lap 20) and then during there’s an incident (safety car) and I’ve fast forwarded (but the race/ programme has finished in real time) and then it kind gets stuck in a loop. and sometimes takes a few minutes to sort itself out. now this is a fairly minor issue and seems a fairly specific set of circumstances to cause and issue.
but for me i’d rank it a solid 7/10 overall. not perfect, but happy enough!
malks222 said:
the only sport we really watch is F1
Same.I have great difficulty in finding the actual F1 show that has most recently been broadcast that I now want to watch.
The F1 show links appear on multiple pages and I can find last years Canadian GP Q1 but I cant find the current Britch GP Grand Prix Sunday.
Very frustrating.
Actual said:
malks222 said:
the only sport we really watch is F1
Same.I have great difficulty in finding the actual F1 show that has most recently been broadcast that I now want to watch.
The F1 show links appear on multiple pages and I can find last years Canadian GP Q1 but I cant find the current Britch GP Grand Prix Sunday.
Very frustrating.
I think sky call the pre race build up/ pre race show- ‘formula 1’. where the actual live race is called ‘live formula 1’ or something like that, that only picks up the last 5/10mins of the show, then shows the grid line up, then formation lap…… so i think it just depends on how sky carve up/ divvy up the actual programme.
best thing to do is on the next race weekend- go into the programme planner and then series link/ add to play list every show that they list for the race weekend (from press conference/ free practice/ qualifying/ race/ post race/ teds notebook……. because it doesn’t download/ record the full show, you don’t have to worry about using up space on a hard drive. you can add as much to the play list as you want
malks222 said:
best thing to do is on the next race weekend- go into the programme planner and then series link/ add to play list every show
Everything is added to play list using the [+] button but the challenge is finding the show I want to watch amongst all the dross and stuff from last month and last year.Compounded because some shows are found under 407 Sky Sport F1 and others under 401 Sky Sports Main Event and I'm often watching a show from the start but hasn't finished yet.
When I find want I want the next challenge is getting off HD to UHD but that is rarely worth the effort.
I think my 407 channel used to use UHD but now I have to use 902 for Sky Sports F1 UHD.
Last night I was watching CH5 Tour de France highlights with a pause so I could skip adverts so I was a few minutes behind but at the scheduled end time at 8pm the playback flipped to a Motorway Cop show and I missed the ending of the TdF show and there was no way to get back to it.
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