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Opinion: Apple TV has nothing over Sky Q

I got a bit caught up on the Sky bashing earlier

Back to the topic, I can't really see why we're even comparing the two boxes and services. Sky Q is Sky's latest attempt to take over your house and now outside it, if they don't already with Sky Go, but ultimately you're still just watching the same cr*p repeats of CSI and Pawn Stars, but hey, they'll be even better in 4K right??

The Apple TV is a gateway to get the content that you want, whether that be music, movies, tv, games, shopping and whatever else the app devs push out. I'd love Apple to come up with a compelling TV package, but that's likely years away, if ever, in the UK.
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profmatt said:
I got rid of Sky TV last year. I found the interface pretty clunky (long, long lists of things) and there were waaay too many channels, most of which were garbage.

I saved myself about £40 a month, including ditching the TV licence.

I now survive on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Now TV and iTunes. I have an Amazon Fire TV and a new Apple TV.

I use the Amazon Fire TV more than the Apple TV mostly because BBC iPlayer is vastly better on it. Netflix is the same on both. Now TV is only available on the Apple TV.

I don't subscribe to everything every month: it depends if something new has come out that I want to see, e.g. House of Cards on Netflix.

I have, however, spent a tonne of money on iTunes: mostly buying up my favourite TV series.

I'm not persuaded I've actually saved any money doing all this. I love not having to watch adverts (though the Amazon Fire tries to sneak them in which annoys me). I miss not knowing what's on broadcast TV and missing stuff.
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If you think Sky is bad you should try Virgin! Jeez, you would literally wait 10-20-30 seconds for something load, Neftlix or YouTube would take minutes! Going back to Sky was a relief, and I still like there box but it's the content that's lacking now right? Sky Q won't change that one bit
 
Plus you have to have an ugly ass satellite on your house! I removed mine when we had the house rendered. Sometimes I'm tempted to go back but they do such messy installations it puts me off. I'm tempted to go back mainly for when our parents visit they can't figure out the apple tv lol
 
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Just got the boxes installed yesterday. Randomly it does have AirPlay for Music and I was streaming Apple Music playlists!

There's nothing about that in the sales blurb.
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Top movies available for Pre-Order. Sky send you the DVD in the post and the film digital content is stored on your 2TB hard drive on the day of release.
 

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Maybe some are missing the point...

Firstly it's a box to consume content, not everyone has the ability to consume content over the web. Second, the way i view Sky is its a simple collection of subscription offerings - no different to ATV. you "choose" to take amazon £9/month, $129/year for MLB, or $99/year for NFL, or $20/month for NHL.TV and so on. Sky has two big or expensive package Premier league football and Movies, but unlike netflix or amazon they are new releases not 3 years old. Where as ATV you have netflix, thats it's really - plus the lame ones. All the other content is "pay per view" which i don't want. The sky devices are also PVRs, 4k/UHD and you can download content too and watch the content on demand via tablets/xboxes etc...

All that said, i do think it's too much, i did look to get one but I'm sitting it out right now as i don't like the way things are going. It would be good to unify the offerings but apple/amazon/google are never going to play fair. I'm tempted to just use the xbox ones as the devices of choice now for this and screw them all.
 
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One cool new feature I like the most: Live feed Picture in Picture channel scrolling:

My video:

On the video you can see what is showing on the other channels. So you can check if adverts are playing on other channels before you change over. You also have an app bar on the right hand side which will be updated with apps that you can use at the same time as viewing live TV.

Apple say that the future of TV is apps. Well if that is the case, currently you can only view one app at a time with Apple TV and you have to exit one app to view another. That really doesn't make for a very fluid viewing experience. It's quite a dragged-out experience. I think Apple will need to create a better software environment to immerse people into the different content like you can see in the video above.
 
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I'll post another video tonight watching the big Premier League match between Man City and Liverpool showing how you can watch the game and see the other scores without changing channel. I'll show the remote actions as well. Its a touch pad bluetooth remote so you don't need to point it at the screen (similar to Apple).

P.S again I don't work for Sky and I love Apple. I love all tech and gadgets and I hope that Apple learn from all of this!
 
One of the reasons I ditched Sky was because there were way too many channels and setting up a favourites list was clunky and annoying. Have they made it any easier/better to identify the few channels you actually like and just use those ones?
 
You can do all the from your iPad.
You can just use the iPad as a remote if you want (or iPhone)
 
profmatt said:
One of the reasons I ditched Sky was because there were way too many channels and setting up a favourites list was clunky and annoying. Have they made it any easier/better to identify the few channels you actually like and just use those ones?
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What I've learned is that Sky Q remembers the shows you like and recommends. The channel guide has been replaced by a menu that allows you to view shows by catch up or box sets or genre.


Football in Football and new remote demo:


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GadgetBen said:
Top movies available for Pre-Order. Sky send you the DVD in the post and the film digital content is stored on your 2TB hard drive on the day of release.
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They do this on the normal Sky HD boxes too, but for the price I think I prefer to stick with iTunes on ATV.
Ok you get a DVD, but for those with HD setups do they really want a DVD.
As others have said, if they provided a Blu-ray then yeah maybe more worthwhile but for a DVD no thanks.
Ok you may not get a physical copy but at least with the ATV purchase you get the special features included with your HD purchase whereas the Sky digital copy is just the film.
Also the price can sometimes be more expensive via Sky too, ie: on release The Martian was £9.99 on ATV but was £13.99 via Sky.
 
GadgetBen said:
What I've learned is that Sky Q remembers the shows you like and recommends. The channel guide has been replaced by a menu that allows you to view shows by catch up or box sets or genre.


Football in Football and new remote demo:


[doublepost=1456958349][/doublepost]
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Seeing that image from your Q Box just confirms that the picture I get from my VM box is so much poorer.

I'm probably going to move back to Sky at the end of the year when the UHD channel/s are sorted.
 
Medz1 said:
I've just ordered SkyQ. My new monthly cost will be £120.24. For this I'll get the whole package, TV, Movies, Sports, Fibre Broadband, Line rental and calls.

I'm more interested in getting ready for Ultra HD content.
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Have to wait for UHD compatible TVs to be on the market first. There are only TVs compatible with DCI standards, not those for EBU broadcast standards which is coming to transmitted TV.
 
GadgetBen said:
So tomorrow here in the UK we have the launch of Sky Q. A new set top box for Sky subscribers:

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2016/01/sk...eatures-and-more-everything-you-need-to-know/

12million subscribers have a Sky box in the UK and I don't see why we would switch to Apple TV or the need to have Apple TV as an additional device. Apple TV simply can't compete on channels and content with Sky.

I was really disappointed when Apple announced only that their new Apple TV would be a smaller box and not a flatscreen TV. The potential sales income from releasing a TV over a little box would have been immense. I would also like to think that Apple would have made something that could 'hands-down' beat any other TV on the market. Like they do with their phones, watches, TV's and Macs. Nothing comes close to Apple products for me.

But here we are in 2016 and there has been talk of an actual Apple TV for years. I don't know why they didn't follow through. So now, when faced with the competition and taking on the set-top box market - they are years away from having the TV channels that people will actually want to watch (and eventually be charged a subscription for).

Sky were lagging behind with their equipment but now they have introduced Sky Q, they have made quite some ground. Sure, the Apple TV has Siri but to have the capability to pause Premier League matches on your TV and then catch up later on your iPad is simply amazing (a feature called 'Fluid Viewing').

So how can Apple TV compete with this? Bring out a kick ass TV and let the subscription channels improve the set-top boxes!

Apple TV is one of the only products that Apple have released which has significantly disappointed for me.
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NBC in Apple TV competes very well every game compared to sky's 12% off games pause the game and rewind the game
 
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I would get Sky Q if it didn't require having sky internet. I've had sky internet in the past and it's awful. I'd rather just have regular sky HD and virgin internet. If they ever make it compatible with non sky ISPs then I'd get it.

In regards to this post I think Apple TV and Sky Q are completely different products. Sky does have a lot of content that I watch. However I can't play games or download apps through my Sky HD box. I also can't airplay what's on the screen of my iPhone or iPad to my sky box, or listen to music. Also sometimes I prefer to just buy what I want from iTunes and watch it on the Apple TV. With Sky you are somewhat limited to what Sky are showing, with the Apple TV I can pick and choose what content to buy accordingly.
 
Shanghaichica said:
I would get Sky Q if it didn't require having sky internet. I've had sky internet in the past and it's awful. I'd rather just have regular sky HD and virgin internet. If they ever make it compatible with non sky ISPs then I'd get it.

In regards to this post I think Apple TV and Sky Q are completely different products. Sky does have a lot of content that I watch. However I can't play games or download apps through my Sky HD box. I also can't airplay what's on the screen of my iPhone or iPad to my sky box, or listen to music. Also sometimes I prefer to just buy what I want from iTunes and watch it on the Apple TV. With Sky you are somewhat limited to what Sky are showing, with the Apple TV I can pick and choose what content to buy accordingly.
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1. You need internet but not specifically Sky internet. It is not a requirement for SKY Q.
2. You can airplay whats on your screen of iPhone or iPad with the SKY Q box, see post 53 on this thread.
3. You can buy movies and download.

I am neither a SKY Q or Apple TV user. I do have SKY but only for Sport and find the SKY Q prices too high at the moment. In 12 months time hopefully it will be a more attractive package. As far as Apple TV is concerned I did have version 3 but gave it to a Family member and now use a ROKU.
 
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