After now using our new Sky Stream box for a few weeks, it seems a good time to update on how we are finding it. I really like the puck itself and find the software generally good. Hardware-wise, it is a pity that the puck is not more powerful, but I have generally had a good experience. Hopefully, Sky will continue to focus on updates to make the user experience more reliable and that they continue to enhance features. These are my thoughts and I have summarised pros and cons, and I have also listed some general tips that I have learnt.
Pros
- Excellent live streaming of channels which are all in HD. The music channel streams are also way better than all the as music channels I used to receive via Sky Q which were only SD.
- The ability to save programs of interest into playlists is very convenient. I am already building up a lot of possibilities to watch which is handy to view when deciding what to watch next. I find this to work better than the old Sky Q recordings.
- Sky ad skipping works really well most of the time. I had just the one occasion when it jumped too far forward but it works 99.9% of time without issue. Handy when watching Sky on demand programs.
- Loving the Sky History channels. Some really good content on these channel and quite a lot of documentary choices across all channels.
- The user interface of the Sky Stream has rails which appear to learn your viewing habits and make good recommendations. Easy then to add to your playlist.
- Voice control and search results appear to be more accurate and detailed compared to Sky Q.
Cons
- Fast forwarding or rewinding is slow though you can use voice control to define how far back or forward to jump.
- Box powers off when left alone for quite a short time. You cannot change this setting and it is annoying. Would rather that the screen saver continues to operate. The box powers down so quickly when not used for a short time that the screensaver is almost a waste of time.
- Same issue as Q, you get pin requests on some channels when browsing if content is deemed adult before the to watershed.
- On demand does work particularly well for Sky channels as play from Sky servers directly. It’s a shame that all shows did not play in this manner as those available via an app will of course playback by the dedicated channel app eg. BBC. This method is quite slow to load the app and programme.
- Pain that we can only have one remote connected. Or at least to support all functionality like voice.
- Continue playing rail functionality needs improving. If another family member watches the same show separately, it resets your progress where you pick up the show to watch next time.
- I cannot get Apple AirPlay to function. WiFi enabled and all is operating on the same network as my phone but no joy so far. All my other AirPlay options appear except Sky Stream. Most odd as I am sure it should work with a puck and not just Sky Glass.
- The sky stream hardware is quite slow at times compared to competing systems such as Apple 4K TV. Over time I noticed slower responses and more “please wait” notifications. A box reset appears to have resolved.
Overall though, I am enjoying the experience and prefer it to Sky Q. I appreciate many are divided on which system is better but I can live without recordings and I am happy to stream as I have reliable 1gb broadband. I prefer the playlist listings to a list of recordings.
I have found the operation of Sky Stream to be straightforward. Here are some not so obvious things that I have learnt.
- Do try the voice commands. Generally more accurate than Sky Q and handy to use to jump forward when watching a show e.g “fast forward 3 minutes” You can even search for shows by using an actors name.
- If you subscribe to Sky already and wish to switch to stream from Q, the only way to get the best deals is for another household member to create a new account.
- If you see a programme you like on a rail, you can just click the add to playlist button and do not need to go into the programme details first before adding.
Let me know your thoughts. Do you have any comments or your own hints and tips.
