Sound and Vision: I want Sky Glass, just without the TV

OPINION: Our in-depth review of Heaven Glass went upwards this week, with our resident TV expert Kob Monney giving his final verdict on Heaven'southward showtime Boob tube set.

I've been intrigued, rather than necessarily excited, most Glass since it was unveiled. I liked the unique style and the arroyo to software, while having an in-built Atmos-capable 'soundbar' couldn't exist a bad thing.

Merely after reading Kob'southward review, and spending some fourth dimension with our Sky Glass review unit at Trusted Reviews HQ over the past few weeks, one thing sticks out for me – can nosotros just have a Sky Glass streaming stick?

Read the review and y'all'll observe virtually of Kob's issues with the product revolve around the bodily Television receiver aspect. He criticises it for defective a 120Hz refresh rate (something more than than achievable at this price), calls the HDR performance 'underwhelming' and condemns the 'lacklustre' viewing angles. These aren't the sort of things I want to exist hearing before I brand a hefty TV purchase.

I also take a adequately ok TV at abode and while it'due south non a fancy OLED or anything like that, it does the task and I don't actually desire to become rid of it. What I do want though, is the software side of Sky Glass that sounds similar information technology works very well.

Streaming sticks and boxes are all the rage at present, with Amazon, Roku, Apple, Google and more than all vying for an HDMI slot. If Sky offered this dishless Glass experience without needing to accept the Telly, I'd sign up for it in a heartbeat.

Where I feel Sky Glass beats out other streaming boxes is that information technology fantastically combines traditional television set (BBC One, ITV, Dave etc) with the more modernistic streaming services (Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime). No other United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland box does this in the manner of Heaven Glass and it genuinely feels great to combine the two.

Sky also has the content in the best quality, something you tin't become with its Now streaming service. I pay through the olfactory organ every month for a NOW Sports Pass, only for information technology to be streamed at 1080p. With Heaven Glass, I could stream football in 4K HDR, and F1 in 4K. The same goes for Sky Original shows – many of these are available in 4K HDR through Heaven Glass, only top-out at 1080p on NOW.

I also actually like the whole Playlist feature, which lets y'all pull shows from multiple platforms, both streaming and traditional TV, and have them all show up together in a watch list. Granted, there's no actual recording going on – merely information technology sounds like a good style to keep my lookout man list in good society.

I have tried just about all the current streaming boxes and while many are good, nothing is perfect. Fire Telly is likewise jammed with ads and has an awful UI, while Roku has the apps but in an ugly shell with a cheap-feeling remote. The Apple TV 4K is great (if very expensive) but the Apple tree Television set app doesn't integrate Netflix – the streaming service I utilize the about. Then there'due south Google Tv, which is great aside from the lack of support for many UK-specific take hold of-up services. And, of class, none of these gives me what I really desire by combining TV and streaming services into one package.

Dishless Heaven has been a dream for years, and with Sky Glass we can see that dream condign reality. The next step is for Sky to untether this seemingly excellent software experience from a Television that doesn't quite match it. I'll be outset in line when that day finally arrives.

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Source: https://www.trustedreviews.com/opinion/i-want-sky-glass-just-without-the-tv-4180601

Posted by: blakeondowde.blogspot.com

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