It’s fair to say, no one was expecting Sky to release a dedicated streaming box for its Now TV service the same week Google entered the same market. But, it did, and with relative panache, too. Why? Well the hardware it’s using is based on Roku’s popular LT player, and it’s only charging £9.99 for it. That, in itself is a pretty good deal. There are, of course, some caveats. Most notably a custom version of the UI that denies access to certain channels — high profile ones at that. And, of course, it heavily pushes Sky’s own premium channels. Still, for such a low price, with no subscription to Sky’s own services actually needed, could this be the ultimate budget TV box for UK viewers? We compare it to the pure Roku experience to find out.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Well, what do we have here? Sky’s NOW TV has just debuted on the Xbox platform, offering instant access movies to the current generation game console from Microsoft, and this comes after it was introduced across different platforms such as the PC, Mac, iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, as well as selected Android smartphones in addition to YouView. Just what does NOW TV place on the table that might make you want to pick it up? This particular service will allow one to gain access to Sky Movies without the need for any contract, set-up fee or installation charge – with the added advantage of subscribers being able to access the program of their choice from a compatible platform.
