Sky Glass review
Slightly chunkier than the average flatscreen, Sky Glass is refreshingly chic and comes in a choice of five colour finishes: Ocean Blue, Ceramic White, Racing Green, Dusky Pink and Anthracite Black. The system is quite demanding on bandwidth, particularly if you opt for UHD and multiroom. The stylish remote control is colour matched to the TV and is backlit, and has a dedicated microphone. You can only buy Sky Glass from Sky direct.
Season 2 of Star Trek: Lower Decks is also available on Paramount Plus, a streaming platform with two tiers – $4.99 per month for ad-supported content and $9.99 per month for ad-free (along with offline downloads) as well as a seven-day free trial for both subscriptions. We also have a similar article for Star Trek: Discovery, and a guide on how to watch the Star Trek films and shows in order if you want to become a fully-fledged trekkie yourself. The firm also says it’s the world’s first TV to be certified CarbonNeutral.
The set has three HDMI inputs, one with eARC. From: Virgin Media If you’re a Prime Video subscriber in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan or India, then you can watch the second season of Lower Decks right now. Up top, a rooftop mesh grille protects its height speakers. There are also sports and music apps, plus casual games. You can sign up for either of these over on the Amazon website.
Now: £649 (£150 off) This adds shows to the Playlist rail; these play back from either Sky’s Cloud DVR, or a mainstream catch-up player such as BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub. Playlisted shows can disappear fast. There’s no limit to how many shows you can add, and there are no channel conflicts either. During testing, Sky dropped an update which specifically lifts the set’s performance with HLG, to help make its Sky Sports coverage pop a little better.
By Hannah Cowton, Senior Staff Writer | 07 Sep 2021 Sky’s installation team will deliver direct and assemble the set, and if you want, dispose of all the packaging. Now: $69.99 ($29.99 off) For more Star Trek news, you can also tune into Star Trek Day. Weirdly, there’s no headphone jack, and no option to connect wireless cans over Bluetooth either. A Halloween movie marathon I ‘plused’ from the Horror Channel disappeared after just a week, before I could watch them. They are version 2.1 but there’s no 4K/120fps high frame rate video playback, or VRR or ALLM support, as the screen is limited to 60Hz.
The UI looks superficially similar to Sky Q, but it’s fundamentally different to use, not least because there’s no local storage. There’s also support for HDR10 and HLG. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Now: $24.98 ($24 off off) For many viewers, it’ll tick the right boxes: a sophisticated premium TV streaming platform, distinctive design, colour-rich 4K pictures and a contract payment plan. With no local recording functionality, you ‘+’ content onto a Playlist to watch when time allows. Only the best deals on the best products handpicked by our expert editors It presents sharp, colour-rich images when left to its own devices. Sky has made a point of not branding the set – there’s no logo on the frame. It’s smart too.
When it encounters Dolby Vision content, it goes into either Bright and Dark modes (set in the menu). There’s no dish required, everything is delivered via your broadband connection. You can wake the set from standby with ‘Hello Sky’ and use the same wake word to select channels or search for content. Just like a mobile phone, the price you pay depends on your chosen TV, viewing package and length of contract with prices from £13, £17 and £21 per month for the three different screen sizes, if you take out a 48-month contract. If you Playlist a show, but the rights lapse and it moves from a broadcast channel to a streaming service, the Playlist will theoretically track it from one to the other.
For Sky Glass to work, the interface has to be solid, and for the most part, it is – although inevitably it’s a work in progress. The set doesn’t even list a low input Game mode amongst its presets. Now: £37 Clubcard Price (£13 off) You don’t ‘record’ shows to watch later, you simply stream them from a cloud DVR or catch-up service as and when. Console owners are clearly not a key Sky Glass demographic then.
Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. The QLED screen performs much as I’d expect a mid-range LED to do, but the sound system is a magnitude better than anything else in its range. If you’d like to watch it now, then we have everything you need to know.
Now: £1,499.97 (£400 off) However, you can get an account from another country through using a VPN. Learn more. Only the best deals on the best products handpicked by our expert editors While there are various image presets (Movie, Entertainment, Sport, etc), it’s evident that the set is designed to be left on Auto. Now: $59.95 ($40 off) The frame is aluminium, its forward-facing speaker array hidden by a customisable fascia covering.
The six-speaker 3.1.2 Dolby Atmos array presents a huge wall of sound. Now: £679 (£120 off) There is an Ethernet port, if you’d prefer that to streaming over Wi-Fi. Unlike the Sky Mini boxes which partner Sky Q, this runs autonomously.
Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide View more prices Total power output is rated at 215W and you can do without a dedicated soundbar here. Now: From £21 per month Sky Glass is a whole new way to watch Sky TV. When it comes to picture performance, I rate the Sky Glass panel a mid-range 4K QLED offering, with ‘Intelligent Zonal’ local dimming.
There’s also the stickler of payment information which requires a card tied to the US – but if you don’t have this you can use a gift card instead. From: Laptops Direct With a 24-month contract, this rises to £26, £34 and https://jiji.ug/bags/susen £42 monthly. But if you’re a PVR user who parks shows on their hard drive for years (hands up), you’ll need to pull your finger out. If you don’t know already, VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and is a piece of software that reroutes your IP address to allow you to browse the internet securely and anonymously.
There are also channels that have yet to sign any Cloud DVR rights agreement, most obviously BT Sport, so you can’t stream any of its content after broadcast. You can also use it to appear as if you’re based in another country – so for watching Paramount+ this would be America. This doesn’t tell the whole story though. A veteran of the VHS vs Betamax format wars, Steve has been writing about home AV since the early days of Dolby surround sound. Sky Glass is the first opportunity to subscribe to Sky’s premium TV services over broadband, all neatly delivered into a bespoke TV environment.
That’s double so the total cost over the course of the contract is the same. Currently, Paramount+ is only available in the US, Canada, the Nordics and Latin America. Audio is best in class.
Sky Glass comes in three screen sizes, 43-, 55- and 65in (small, medium and large) and while you can buy the Sky Glass like any other TV at £649, £849 or £1,049, contracts are also an option. I measured input lag at 115.4ms (1080/60), which is hardly conducive to eSports. Check out more TV options in our best TV and best budget TV charts. The hardware is chic and the software ground-breaking, but there are caveats. The lack of proper gaming support, not to mention that AWOL headphone jack, could be a deal-breaker for some though.
Average Picture Level is good, although the set isn’t the brightest HDR performer. You can sign up for a Amazon Prime Video subscription for £5.99 per month for the standalone steaming service, or £7.99 per month for a full Prime subscription which offers next-day delivery, e-books, music and access to flash sales such as Prime Day. Star Trek: Lower Decks – the latest adult animated show set in the Star Trek universe – is now back for a second season on Paramount Plus and Amazon Prime Video. The minimum requirement is 10Mbps, for SD, and 25Mbps for UHD so you might want to test the speed of your connection before ordering Glass. You’ll then need to add in your subscription package cost (Sky Ultimate TV with Netflix is £26 per month), with additional premiums for Ultra HDR and Dolby Atmos sound and multiroom – the latter comes via a streaming puck.
Now: $99.99 ($50 off) I measured peak HDR brightness just over 425 nits, with a 10 per cent measurement window, and Auto Backlight Adjustment off. Many of its current inconsistencies are down to licensing (cloud streaming rights, Watch from Start rights, you name it), which will doubtless be resolved in time. The all-streaming environment takes some getting used to, but it’s actually pretty cool. Sky has pushed the boat out when it comes to design.
For Animal Crossing and casual games though, it’ll do. A home entertainment specialist with a passion for immersive audio and 4K, Steve covers TVs, soundbars, home cinema systems and Hi-Fi. Now: $499.99 ($50 off) The Cloud DVR system plays your Sky channel episodes and movies immediately. Sky Glass has Auto Backlight Adjustment, which manages settings based on ambient room lighting, but for the most effective HDR performance, I would suggest switching this off.
Was: £596.33 upfront or £49.94 p/m This is not just, as you might have been thinking, the same as Sky Q. While most comparable flatscreens sound woefully thin, this system has towering clout. Sky Glass is unique, which makes it a challenge to judge. Our verdict? Sky Glass is one to watch. In addition there’s a 30-day free trial available for new subscribers.
Bright is better when not viewing in a fully dark room. There’s clearly a lot to consider, so let’s break it down. There is also a far-field mic in the set itself for voice commands. Plans are slightly cheaper if you commit to a 12-month subscription.
Sky Glass works with any ISP (internet service provider). Only the best deals on the best products handpicked by our expert editors You even get the 4K telly as part of your monthly subscription. Find out more details on how to buy Sky Glass as Diamond & Platinum tier customers who’ve been with Sky for over eight years get priority. This Playlist system is both extremely clever, but occasionally frustrating to use – at least until you come to terms with it.
Episodes are rolling out now, and will run until 14 October 2021. It’s well built too. You can upgrade the fascia cover to better match your interior decor, or provide designer contrast. Now: £899.90 (£100 off) Now: Up to $550 off (With free Galaxy Buds 2)
Sky Glass review
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p>By Steve May, Contributor | 10 Nov 2021 Now: $599 ($360 off) App support is good, with Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, AppleTV+, BBC iPlayer, ITVhub, YouTube, discovery+ and STV player leading the pack. Sky Glass is both a service and the TV itself – specifically a 4K QLED model, with Dolby Vision HDR and a formidable six-speaker sound system. Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide View more prices Sky Glass is Wi-Fi 6 compliant, which is good news if you have a compatible router.
Sky Glass responds well to voice control. Now: £362.21 upfront or £30.34 p/m (Up to £234.12 off) There is a terrestrial Freeview aerial input, but it’s only provided for back-up, should your broadband go down.