Introduction and setup
This is an update to the original Now TV review. It has been done to reflect the changes in the service since the initial review was written.
In a few short years the media landscape has changed from one where our television choices are dictated by channels, to services offering up a whole host of on-demand content of which a viewer can cherry pick.
Premium on-demand content is a burgeoning area that is so far being dominated by the likes of Amazon Prime Instant Video and Netflix – Sky's service has quite obviously been launched to counteract these non-contract, all-you-can-eat offerings.
Not content with Now TV just being online or an app on a TV or set-top box, Sky has decided to release its own hardware that costs less than the price of a Blu-ray.
Sky's Now TV Box is a serious statement of streaming intent from the broadcaster. The box's size may be tiny but it holds enormous potential for Sky to open up its premium movie bundle to customers who have yet to sign on to its wares.
At just £10 the Now TV Box is a bargain. It's cheap enough to buy on impulse and on mass if you have a variety of televisions in your house that aren't yet 'smart'.
For that money you get access to a host of catchup and streaming TV services, including the ever-popular BBC iPlayer, Sky News, BBC News and Demand 5, as well as the option of watching NOW TV services from Sky if you want to fork out for a day, weekly or month pass.
For those of you familiar with a Roku box, you may have some fun playing spot the difference. The Now TV Box brings the same design (although it is in white and blue) the same small size and even the Roku channel store.
That allows you to pick from 25 other available media channels, and to add them to your 'home' screen once you install them so you have easy access.
The tiny box and little remote arrive in a small box that also contains an HDMI cable and power cable. The box is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand (84mm x 84mm x 24mm), and the inclusion of an HDMI cable means that you can be up and running in a matter of minutes.
The box connects to your WiFi, so there's no need to have it next to your router.
The remote is small and shiny white plastic - just like the box itself - but is intuitive and simple. The buttons are a back and home button, an okay and arrow pad, rewind, fast forward and play/pause plus a star key, an apps key and a dedicated Now TV button
Before I could get started with the box, I did need to register for Now TV. I didn't need to pay for anything - just register for the service and type in a username and password.
As this Sky Now TV Box is all about pushing people to its on-demand service, you would think that this would be mandatory but there is a Continue without registering option.
For that money you get access to a host of catchup and streaming TV services, including the ever-popular BBC iPlayer, Sky News, BBC News and Demand 5, as well as the option of watching NOW TV services from Sky if you want to fork out for a day or month pass.
For those of you familiar with a Roku box, you may have some fun playing spot the difference. The Now TV Box brings the same design (although it is in white and blue) the same small size and even the Roku channel store.
That allows you to pick from a (relatively limited) number of other available media channels, and to add them to your 'home' screen once you install them so you have easy access.
The tiny box and cute little remote arrive in small box that also contains an HDMI cable and power cable. The box is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand (84mm x 84mm x 24mm), and the inclusion of an HDMI cable means that you can be up and running in a matter of minutes.
The box connects to your WiFi, so there's no need to have it next to your router. Given that Sky has only just announced that its boxes will come with Wi-Fi as standard, this is good to see.
The remote is small and shiny white plastic - just like the box itself - but is intuitive and simple. The buttons are a back and home button, an okay and arrow pad, rewind, fast forward and play/pause plus a star key, an apps key and a dedicated Now TV button
Before you can get started with the box, it does say that you need to register for Now TV. You do not need to pay for anything - just register for the service and type in your user name and password.
As this Sky Now TV Box is all about pushing people to its on-demand service, you would think that this would be mandatory but there is a Continue without registering option.
NOW TV UI and apps
Sky has opted for an app centric home screen. On the left-hand side of the screen are a number of default apps, including Now TV itself and BBC iPlayer. To add more to the home screen, I had to go into the Roku channel store.
Here there were will around 50 apps available, the pick of the bunch being: Sky Store, Sky Sports News HQ, BBC News, Demand 5, TED, Spotify, Sky News, BBC Sport, ITV and 4OD.
Anyone familiar with Roku's line-up will know that this is an extremely cut down version of what is available through the official channel store. Notable apps that are absent are Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Although I would have loved the Now TV box to come with this sort of choice, I can understand why Sky would want to protect ring fence its own box from direct rivals.
It is definitely a closed Roku box. There is no Plex on board, so media streaming isn't available through the box (although a quick Google shows you may be able to side-load the app) and gaming is also non existent, but the cut-down price does reflect this.
There is an option to get rid of modifying the apps selection. To do this I pressed the Star option on the Now TV remote and found I could remove as many apps as I wanted. There is also a choice move them around to suit preference. I could also rate content this way.
With apps on the left on the right of the screen there was a constant reminder of the content that I could have. This is the beauty of Now TV, you only pay for what section you want: so if you just want movies, then that is all you pay for. If you want entertainment then you will get those channels. If you want sport, well there are a options but this is by far the most expensive part of the package.
It is worth noting, however, that you can watch Sky News Sports HQ with any of the Now TV passes that you choose - it doesn't have to be the sports one. This is a good move by Sky as it is a great channel and an essential addition to any package.
Regardless of the package you have, the UI is the same. At the bottom of the screen are the following options: Sports, Movies, Entertainment, My TV Search, Help and My Account.
Each of these categories create a sub category that sits on top of the main category. For Sports you have the channels (Sky Sports NewsHQ, Sky Sports 1-4), while Movies and Entertainment are broken down by genre and Sky's own pre-selected lists of content. These lists are updated regularly and editorialised. For example, Sky all of its war movies and put them into one collection.
To make sure that Now TV isn't just seen as an on-demand platform, Sky has also added a Live section to Movies and Entertainment.
On Movies, it doesn't really make much sense; all it does is give you a list of what movies are playing on Sky at this moment. Click into the one you want and if you missed the beginning then tough, you have to watch it from wherever it is at the live point at that moment. It makes much more sense to go and find that movie on-demand and watch it that way.
It makes more sense on the Entertainment side of things. Here you can channel hop between Sky 1, Living, Atlantic, Gold, Comedy Central, ITV Encore, Fox, MTV, Sky Arts 1, Discovery, Nickelodean, Disney Channel and Nick Jr.
Again, you have to watch from whatever the live point is but it does mean that you can watch things like the Simpsons on Sky 1 - something that isn't in Sky's on-demand catalogue.
Quality-wise, it all really depends on your internet connection. The Sky box can do surround sound which is a bonus buy video quality is capped at 720p. I tried the box with an 8Mbps connection and it worked great. There was very little buffering and startup was extremely quick. Another small niggle I did find, though, was sometimes I would leave a programme halfway through and come back to it later in the day.
Although the Now TV box does save your place, it sometimes reset back to the beginning for no reason.
The good things is that there are no adverts to sit through - as you would expect with paying a premium - but you still have to put up with the Sky indents that happen throughout programmes. I didn't find them that distracting but it's a little strange that these are still in place when they aren't actually followed by any advertising.
Now TV voucher and package deals
Given that there are three options for content, there are myriad packages you can choose from when it comes to accessing premium Sky content through the Now TV box.
Let's deal with the passes first. The Entertainment Pass is priced at £6.99 but comes with a 30-day trial for new viewers. The movies pass is currently more expensive at £9.99.
The price for Sports Pass fluctuates. At the time of writing, there is a deal on where you could get a 24-hour pass for just £6.99 and a weekly pass for £10.99. Although expensive, sport is the crown jewels for Sky so it is understandable that it is priced at a premium. The two options do make the sports package a more flexible option than when it was first announced.
Then there is the price of the box. Sky has priced the box at an unbelievable £9.99. It has bundles on its site too. They, unsurprisingly, are based around Movies, Sports and Entertainment. They all cost £19.99, with either a two-mont Movie Pass, a three-month Entertainment Pass or a two-day Sports Pass up for grabs. Buy the service this way and you will save between 17-29% off of the price.
Now TV verdict
The Now TV box is such a clever idea from Sky. It works twofold: for Sky it is a great way to get its pay as you go service into more homes. The box feels like it is being sold as a lost leader, with the thought that people will make up the price in the content they view.
For those people who want Sky but cannot get a dish the Now TV box is definitely a valid option, especially for those that want to dip in and out of premium film and sport content.
We Liked
The price - the box is just so cheap that I can see households buying multiple boxes for each TV in the house. There are a lot of options for trial content as well. The box is also small enough to fit into any existing television setup and really simple to use.
We Disliked
The Sports Pass is still expensive and Sky does have a habit of taking off premium content before a show's season ends. So if you aren't quick, you may find yourself missing episodes. It is not clear when your pass will run out either, and like most of these service once you are locked in Sky doesn't make it easy for you to get out.
There has been some reported problems with the Sports Day Pass due to the popularity of the service on big football matches but I didn't have any problems on the Man City Vs Chelsea match that I watched. Picture was clear and there was no dropout of the feed.
Verdict
At such a low low price, I have no hesitation in recommending the Now TV box to anyone who wants a smarter way to turn their current television into a Smart TV. Even if you don't opt for any of the Sky Pass packages, you will still get a decent amount of on-demand TV content.
And for those who want Sky content but don't want the hassle of a contract, then this is the service for you. It may not be as cheap as Amazon Prime Instant Video or Netflix, but the quality of shows and movies on offer simply can't be beaten.
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1AbdRXM
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