[Studio7]

Sky Glass is genuinely a good proof of concept for streaming, but honestly, people will find it more convenient to have a couple of Sky Stream pucks plugged into their existing sets. Really, had they waited a year, and launched the Stream first, then a Sky Glass, I think it would work out a lot better

But then why would anyone buy Sky Glass? Launching that a year before Sky Stream made sense because it forced a load of people who wanted Sky without a dish to buy it, probably entering lengthy contracts to boot.

[aaron_scotland]

Stream is what consumers really wanted.  The ability to have Sky via a home internet connection without the need for drilling a hole in your house to get the dish up while using an existing television and self-install which cuts costs considerably for Sky.

To be fair though any future internet via fibre will require drilling a hole too

[cable]

If Sky do start pushing satellite out of the picture in favour of IPTV, I really hope they incorporate recording into the service. One of my biggest gripes with Glass/Stream is how you're expected to watch whatever you wanted to record on catch up/on demand, regardless if you've subscribed to the service hosting it, if it's being hosted at all. I recall seeing a review on YouTube where reviewer tried to "record" a Nat Geo programme, only to be directed to Disney+, which they didn't subscribe to.

I know streaming is the more popular route nowadays, but I really hate the idea of not being able to record what I want after having the ability to do so for about 20 years.

The Glass/Stream recording functionality is surprisingly good when you get used to it. Take the Simpsons on sky showcase for example, it's seamlessly added to the content rails alongside disney+ episodes. I have gotten used to watching most things on-demand and I quite like the watch from start on every channel if I do want to watch linear channels. I probably don't bother with the playlist feature and find the voice search gets me to what I need. The "recording" you see if not necessarily the recording of the programme that has recently been on, if you watch from start, and taking the Simpsons as an example again, the start of another episode appears at the end which the next programme scheduled on showcase is Will and grace. its not perfect however, I note the wrong episode can played back even if the metadata is correct e.g. with the latest new series 34 episode.

Yes there is a "limited" time to watch compared to recording but I think in the future content providers will be licensing and tightly controlling the length of time recordings can be kept for dictated within the broadcast EPG data. I believe there is a mechanism built into SkyQ and virgin media, I wouldn't be surprised if the functionality existed on Freeview too. Back in the day with Push VOD Sky Anytime and Top Up TV had programmes that aged out. Things seem to be moving away from PVRs with the likes of Sky and Virgin Stream, Freeview Play etc

HDDs in PVRs are the components most likely to fail, as they have moving parts, getting rid of this should mean the device has a longer life and cheaper to maintain. HDDs will be phased out in the nearish future, the cost of flash memory will dictate whether or not devices can host a recording feature or just be used as a live buffer. if the IT industry fully moves to SSDs, the costs to manufacture HDDs will increase for other consumer electronics, SSDs are not exactly the ideal replacement for a HDD in a DVR device so server side video will eventually become the defacto standard.

[CCFG]

With most people in the UK having internet (about 97.8%), a VOD service is extremely accessible, and PVRs seem like they could be on their way out in a few years. I'm not speaking for everyone, but I switched to Virgin Media in January of last year and I have genuinely recorded about 4 things since then.

The Sky Glass/Stream "recording" functionality does seem pretty good, the personalised playlist feature would probably do me well in the long run.

[Stuart]

With most people in the UK having internet (about 97.8%), a VOD service is extremely accessible, and PVRs seem like they could be on their way out in a few years. I'm not speaking for everyone, but I switched to Virgin Media in January of last year and I have genuinely recorded about 4 things since then.

The Sky Glass/Stream "recording" functionality does seem pretty good, the personalised playlist feature would probably do me well in the long run.

I use my Sky+HD PVR to download from catch-up services. So I would certainly miss it. I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon.

Often I will see a promo, a decent review or a comment on here, so search and download it at the time for later viewing. It's then already there when I decide I want to sit and watch TV. As my brain is now mainly sawdust, I would have little chance of remembering something weeks later that I wanted to stream.

[Rdd]

The big issue with Sky Stream/Glass is the restrictions put on PVR features, which are a source of frustration for many. In Ireland the lack of a real satellite tuner and consequential loss of FTA channels not on the EPG may also be a dissauder (and Sky haven’t launched stand-alone Stream here yet). It also doesn’t have the big advantage Now as a streaming service has, which is the quite frankly ridiculously cheap price over other providers - Stream/Glass is marketed and treated as a premium service.

[Keith]

I suspect in time for Sky products it'll be a simple choice of Sky Stream or a Sky Q box.

I can see in time Stream becoming the primary product, with the Q box becoming secondary, as an option for those with limited or no Internet access.

Steam also explained the reason why Now (TV) became app only, instead of also being available as a device.

[Brekkie]

Could Sky St(r)eam become app only too - does it really need additional hardware?

[LargelyALurker]

Could Sky St(r)eam become app only too - does it really need additional hardware?

I suspect it’s partly to have a clear boundary with Now? Sky can have total control over the user experience and ensure it’s a premium product - admittedly, from the reviews it seems like that it isn’t quite up to the mark, but it’s in Sky’s power to fix!

[Josh]

Steam also explained the reason why Now (TV) became app only, instead of also being available as a device.

Am I right in thinking the Smart Stick was just a glorified Roku streaming stick though?