New SKY streaming devices

Forums › Sky, Neon, Lightbox › New SKY streaming devices

1 | ... | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | ... | 129

342 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#3066051 20-Apr-2023 14:13

carlito1979:

clayton:

Thanks, I wonder if you could have 2 remotes, the other for my bedroom ?

You should be able to pair more than one remote via bluetooth as it's just another BT device as far as the android TV operating system is concerned, but I doubt Sky are planning to offer additional remotes at this stage.

Having said that, if your TV is recent then HDMI-CEC does work pretty well. I often pick up the TV remote instead of the Sky remote and most functions work just fine.

For those who have mentioned the sluggishness. I have had the Sky Pod for I guess a month now, and there's been considerable improvement in the interface responsiveness in that time. It's still not as responsive as the old Vodafone TV box, but it's clearly got further room for improvement. Sky have pushed through at least 3 updates that I'm aware of in the time we've had it, so I would expect similar frequent updates to happen across both the Pod and the Box going forward.

Lastly, for those talking about wanting to use IR extenders, hopefully the bluetooth range is acceptable so you don't have to go down that route. I was initially quite sceptical of using voice controls, but a recent update means using voice to search now includes sky programming as well as the apps, and this has made a huge difference to how we find on-demand content to watch.

Thanks for that, my bedroom is 20m away from the Sky box, so hopefully the remote will work from there without lag

invisibleman18

1362 posts

Uber Geek

#3066056 20-Apr-2023 14:26

tstone:

clayton:

Here's the breakdown of Tenure Customers Rewards Offer.

30 year's - FREE new Sky Box (Upfront Only)
15-29 year's - $150 off (Upfront Only)
10-14 year's - $100 off (Upfront Only)
5-9 year's - $50 off (Upfront Only)
5 year's below - No Discount
A friendly reminder, MyAccount allows you to submit an order.

I've been a customer since 1994 and at the same address for 24 years but only get the $50 off. What gives?

My parents have been customers a similar amount of time and got offered $100 off. Not sure of the exact date they signed up but we arrived in NZ in 1993 and they would have had it for most of that time so we think probably 1994 or 1995. Definitely 1995 when they bought their first NZ house, can't remember if we had it during the 2 years renting prior to that (do remember watching the 1995 Rugby World Cup in a rented house but can't remember whether that was on Sky or free to air). Certainly more than the 10-14 years in the above post but just under the 30 as we arrived in the second half of 1993. It's within the 10-14 years at the current address though so wonder if Sky have counted that rather than the full duration.

In any case, they are not getting it yet as no issues with the current box and they have a Smart TV and Chromecast which covers access to the streaming apps so no benefit to changing at present.

Fog

372 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3066059 20-Apr-2023 14:30

Started using the new box. Can someone advise, if left in the standby condition will it receive any software updates.? Also, can you check if any updates have been sent.?

carlito1979

15 posts

Geek

#3066073 20-Apr-2023 15:15

Fog:

Started using the new box. Can someone advise, if left in the standby condition will it receive any software updates.? Also, can you check if any updates have been sent.?

I've had three OS level updates that I'm aware of happen with the Sky Pod in the month that I've had it. I believe they may download while in standby state, but they don't install without your knowledge (though I also don't recall it giving you an option to skip the update, so I think they're mandatory).

Having said that, there may have been updates that happened without my knowledge, but that would be unlikely as OS level updates in Android TV should be notified. Updates to the core sky app apk may occur silently as that's pretty common for apps, but I'm pretty sure there's a setting that you can change to stop auto-updates from happening at app level.

Rushmere

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3066075 20-Apr-2023 15:19

carlito1979:

I've had three OS level updates that I'm aware of happen with the Sky Pod in the month that I've had it. I believe they may download while in standby state, but they don't install without your knowledge (though I also don't recall it giving you an option to skip the update, so I think they're mandatory).

Having said that, there may have been updates that happened without my knowledge, but that would be unlikely as OS level updates in Android TV should be notified. Updates to the core sky app apk may occur silently as that's pretty common for apps, but I'm pretty sure there's a setting that you can change to stop auto-updates from happening at app level.

Has the Sky Pod improved at all with the updates, particularly the speed?

My Pod has been unplugged for the last 3 weeks while I wait for the courier bag to return it, so I haven't been using it to see if they've sorted out any of the problems!

Fog

372 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3066077 20-Apr-2023 15:22

Thanks for that information. I thought I might have to leave the box switched on all the time for any updates.

clayton

342 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#3066078 20-Apr-2023 15:23

Rushmere:

carlito1979:

I've had three OS level updates that I'm aware of happen with the Sky Pod in the month that I've had it. I believe they may download while in standby state, but they don't install without your knowledge (though I also don't recall it giving you an option to skip the update, so I think they're mandatory).

Having said that, there may have been updates that happened without my knowledge, but that would be unlikely as OS level updates in Android TV should be notified. Updates to the core sky app apk may occur silently as that's pretty common for apps, but I'm pretty sure there's a setting that you can change to stop auto-updates from happening at app level.

Has the Sky Pod improved at all with the updates, particularly the speed?

My Pod has been unplugged for the last 3 weeks while I wait for the courier bag to return it, so I haven't been using it to see if they've sorted out any of the problems!

A bit premature returning it, you should have waited for the launch date when updates will start to come out a lot faster.

Fire it up and update it and have another play around

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

carlito1979

15 posts

Geek

#3066080 20-Apr-2023 15:27

Rushmere:

carlito1979:

I've had three OS level updates that I'm aware of happen with the Sky Pod in the month that I've had it. I believe they may download while in standby state, but they don't install without your knowledge (though I also don't recall it giving you an option to skip the update, so I think they're mandatory).

Having said that, there may have been updates that happened without my knowledge, but that would be unlikely as OS level updates in Android TV should be notified. Updates to the core sky app apk may occur silently as that's pretty common for apps, but I'm pretty sure there's a setting that you can change to stop auto-updates from happening at app level.

Has the Sky Pod improved at all with the updates, particularly the speed?

My Pod has been unplugged for the last 3 weeks while I wait for the courier bag to return it, so I haven't been using it to see if they've sorted out any of the problems!

Each update has seen an increase in responsiveness, but honestly some of that could be attributable to the fact the Pod has had to go through a reboot each time it has updated.

I remain optimistic that it will become more responsive, because the TVNZ and Netflix apps respond immediately to remote input. So it seems to be less of a hardware issue and more of a software optimisation issue.

Rushmere

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3066081 20-Apr-2023 15:28

clayton:

Rushmere:

Has the Sky Pod improved at all with the updates, particularly the speed?

My Pod has been unplugged for the last 3 weeks while I wait for the courier bag to return it, so I haven't been using it to see if they've sorted out any of the problems!

A bit premature returning it, you should have waited for the launch date when updates will start to come out a lot faster.

Fire it up and update it and have another play around

I would have personally stuck with it for at least another couple of months to give it a chance to improve, but it was firmly and decisively rejected by other members of the household.

The Sky subscription ends tomorrow, maybe I'll give it a quick try tonight when no one's looking!

carlito1979

15 posts

Geek

#3066082 20-Apr-2023 15:30

clayton:

Thanks for that, my bedroom is 20m away from the Sky box, so hopefully the remote will work from there without lag

Just had another thought - the Sky Box/Pod is just another Google Device, so you can add it to a Google Home and control it via the Home app. It brings up a virtual remote that operates over your home Wi-Fi when you do this.

Jiriteach

1119 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3066083 20-Apr-2023 15:31

robertsona:

My new Sky box was delivered earlier this morning, less than 24 hours after doing the upgrade request - which is bloody good for an AKL to CHC courier package of any sort.

So, a few first impressions:

Upgrade request, delivery, unboxing experience and set up have all been very good. It does look like Sky have been putting some effort into improving the customer experience (as they should).

The user interface, menu structure and remote control for watching and recording TV is a huge improvement (as it should be, the previous Sky box UI was a decade or two out-of-date).

Being able to add Android apps is great. I now have Kodi running on the box and can now ditch the separate Mi Box and extra remote.

Bluetooth remote means the box can now be hidden away in the cabinet.

However, for those so inclined, there will be plenty to snipe at... e.g. low-res icons, channel change slowness.

On the whole, it's not at all perfect, but I'm pleased with the improvements. (But as others have pointed out, it's now got to where it should have been years ago)

Did you recieve any tracking numbers etc? I ordered mine yesterday and havent heard anything.

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

pristle

158 posts

Master Geek

Subscriber

#3066087 20-Apr-2023 15:36

I'm in Rushmere's boat. I had to dig out an old Samsung phone and load the relevant streaming and NZ TV apps on there, connected to an old Chromecast. She doesn't want them on her phone and refuses to touch the white remote.

clayton

342 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#3066088 20-Apr-2023 15:38

carlito1979:

clayton:

Thanks for that, my bedroom is 20m away from the Sky box, so hopefully the remote will work from there without lag

Just had another thought - the Sky Box/Pod is just another Google Device, so you can add it to a Google Home and control it via the Home app. It brings up a virtual remote that operates over your home Wi-Fi when you do this.

That's amazing, I'm not familiar with Google Home, this will be my first Android device.

Virtual remote?

robertsona

168 posts

Master Geek

Subscriber

#3066090 20-Apr-2023 15:44

Jiriteach:

Did you recieve any tracking numbers etc? I ordered mine yesterday and havent heard anything.

Yes I did, and only about three hours after doing the upgrade request. I ordered just before 10am, a tracking number was assigned about an hour later, and it was uplifted less then two hours after that!

Rushmere

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3066091 20-Apr-2023 15:46

pristle:

I'm in Rushmere's boat. I had to dig out an old Samsung phone and load the relevant streaming and NZ TV apps on there, connected to an old Chromecast. She doesn't want them on her phone and refuses to touch the white remote.

Sounds very familiar. My partner has zero tolerance for sloppy design and/or poor performing technology.

A new Apple TV and alternative services have been installed very quickly!!

I'll take a sneaky look at the Sky Pod in about 6 months to see if things have improved to a level that may be deemed acceptable!

1 | ... | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | ... | 129