Neon - same Sky, different clothes

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steve98

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#296012 14-May-2022 10:17

Out of sheer morbid curiosity, I recently begun a trial of Neon. Holy heck, what a mess. Despite its plethora of filmed-in-4K HBO content, it is capped at HD with no HDR. In the year 2022. And everything you play begins in SD quality that looks like you downloaded it from the Pirate Bay, eventually ramping up to a paltry 5.8Mbps stream. This on a gigabit fibre connection playing on a device connected with ethernet. I am half surprised there is no "HD ticket" price. And beyond its technological shortcomings, its catalog is quite poor for the price. Its selection of movies mostly overlap with titles already found on Disney+ (and you can bet as soon as that contractual obligation expires, Disney will pull the rug on that) and other than that, if you're not HBO crazy then... meh?

For a company that has seen its share price plummet in recent years, Sky sure doesn't seem like its capable of learning lessons. I cancelled a couple of days later having watched one or two titles but I couldn't bear to watch them in HD SDR any more so will go back to watching them via "other means".

Sky does not deserve success.

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#2913898 14-May-2022 10:58

“And everything you play begins in SD quality that looks like you downloaded it from the Pirate Bay,…”

Pirate Bay has way higher standards. I think they don’t want it to complete against their satellite product.

gzt

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#2913910 14-May-2022 11:54

It is what it is. At some point they will need to make a move or at least offer some content in 4K. Imo sport is the real driver for Sky and there's not much to lose if they go 4K for at least some other content.

The thing that bothers me - Neon does not provide integration with Google TV search and recommendation engine. This means search on Google TV will show search results from all other services except Neon. Same for recommendations. Google TV will never recommend anything on Neon. This is self defeating to say the least. Neon is used less than it could be

Even TVNZ provides this integration.

darthkram

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#2913936 14-May-2022 13:04

I can't comment too much on the quality as we watch on a Veon TV with basic 2.1 speakers but from a library point of view I find Neon has the best selection out of any of the streaming services we've tried so far. We're currently subbed to Netflix, Neon, and Disney but will be dropping Netflix soon as we never really watch it anymore. I've had Amazon in the past and was unimpressed also.

Movieman

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#2913952 14-May-2022 14:17

I read that a new "Sky Box" is coming in the middle of the year. Reportedly, it will be 4K HDR compatible, and provide a way to access all of your apps.

It will basically be an upgraded My Sky box with a 1Tb HDD on board. The difference is, users will have to buy it instead of renting it. Most recent smart TV's would give users the same options, except perhaps, the 1Tb hard drive.

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steve98

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#2914095 15-May-2022 09:09

Movieman:

I read that a new "Sky Box" is coming in the middle of the year. Reportedly, it will be 4K HDR compatible, and provide a way to access all of your apps.

It will basically be an upgraded My Sky box with a 1Tb HDD on board. The difference is, users will have to buy it instead of renting it. Most recent smart TV's would give users the same options, except perhaps, the 1Tb hard drive.

What is the 1TB HDD for, recording things? Good god, how out of date are they?

Edit: Did a google search and found that Sky UK have moved beyond boxes and are now supplying self-branded TVs (albeit the thickest TV I've seen since the demise of CRT): https://www.sky.com/glass

gzt

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#2914153 15-May-2022 10:04

UK Glass does not yet include a recording option apparently:

https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/sky/1414653/sky-glass-review

Available in five colours including pink. A separate box available provides a camera and social features.

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#2914159 15-May-2022 10:24

steve98:

[snip]

Edit: Did a google search and found that Sky UK have moved beyond boxes and are now supplying self-branded TVs (albeit the thickest TV I've seen since the demise of CRT)

Looks like it's thicker than expected because it has a built-in Atmos-compatible soundbar in the lower bezel and upward-firing Atmos speakers in the top.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

cyril7

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#2914161 15-May-2022 10:35

steve98:

Movieman:

I read that a new "Sky Box" is coming in the middle of the year. Reportedly, it will be 4K HDR compatible, and provide a way to access all of your apps.

It will basically be an upgraded My Sky box with a 1Tb HDD on board. The difference is, users will have to buy it instead of renting it. Most recent smart TV's would give users the same options, except perhaps, the 1Tb hard drive.

What is the 1TB HDD for, recording things? Good god, how out of date are they?

Edit: Did a google search and found that Sky UK have moved beyond boxes and are now supplying self-branded TVs (albeit the thickest TV I've seen since the demise of CRT): https://www.sky.com/glass

The HDD is for recording things, you may recall the issues rights holders had with cloud recording on the VTV, they dont like it, hence I guess they have included the HDD, but I agree if they just kept ondemand libraries stocked why bother with it.

Cyril

vexxxboy

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#2914177 15-May-2022 11:42

steve98:

Movieman:

I read that a new "Sky Box" is coming in the middle of the year. Reportedly, it will be 4K HDR compatible, and provide a way to access all of your apps.

It will basically be an upgraded My Sky box with a 1Tb HDD on board. The difference is, users will have to buy it instead of renting it. Most recent smart TV's would give users the same options, except perhaps, the 1Tb hard drive.

What is the 1TB HDD for, recording things? Good god, how out of date are they?

Edit: Did a google search and found that Sky UK have moved beyond boxes and are now supplying self-branded TVs (albeit the thickest TV I've seen since the demise of CRT): https://www.sky.com/glass

yes recording things , if you watch live sport that all start at the same time or early morning, then it is essential .

Common sense is not as common as you think.

eracode

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#2914194 15-May-2022 12:16

vexxxboy:

steve98:

What is the 1TB HDD for, recording things? Good god, how out of date are they?

yes recording things , if you watch live sport that all start at the same time or early morning, then it is essential .

…. and for watching things where you want to skip through ads and promos, again essential.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Ajkiwi001

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#2914198 15-May-2022 12:20

I will always tend to record news, sports, and NZ TV, rather than stream, simply for the ad-free experience.

Recording is a very long way from dead for many of my teenage students, as well. (Many, in this case, is not the majority, but is still more than "a few".)

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FineWine

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#2914205 15-May-2022 13:01

eracode:

steve98:

[snip]

Edit: Did a google search and found that Sky UK have moved beyond boxes and are now supplying self-branded TVs (albeit the thickest TV I've seen since the demise of CRT)

Looks like it's thicker than expected because it has a built-in Atmos-compatible soundbar in the lower bezel and upward-firing Atmos speakers in the top.

OK so it is not a one of the new 'Frame' TV's but, correct me if I'm wrong, those sets do not have Six powerful speakers. Epic subwoofer. All built-in for spine-tingling 360° Dolby Atmos® sound. Concert. Cinema. Stadium. experience. At least with Sky Glass you don't need a separate sound bar or AVR setup.

This would suit a lot of people who neither have the; money for HT equipment, tech savvy or want a cable nightmare. (Sky Glass keeps things simple. One TV. One plug. One remote. Easy.)

Though the UK service includes Netflix, it appears it does not have the ability to install competing streaming service app's, understandable, but if this current set takes off it just might push the ALL other manufactures to include as standard across ALL their ranges, far better sound outputs (Six powerful speakers. Epic subwoofer. All built-in for spine-tingling 360° Dolby Atmos® sound) than most of them currently do. At the moment TV's are bit like government medical relief. "Look after the whole systemic body EXCEPT for Dental". Each is an integral part of the whole.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

steve98

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#2914224 15-May-2022 13:47

FineWine:

Though the UK service includes Netflix, it appears it does not have the ability to install competing streaming service app's

From what I've seen it includes app for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Discovery+, BBC iPlayer, All4, ITVHub and YouTube, with Apple TV+ due to be added soon.

FineWine

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#2914225 15-May-2022 13:58

steve98:

FineWine:

Though the UK service includes Netflix, it appears it does not have the ability to install competing streaming service app's

From what I've seen it includes app for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Discovery+, BBC iPlayer, All4, ITVHub and YouTube, with Apple TV+ due to be added soon.

Thanks for that.

Well they just might be onto a winner here. This sort of device would suit NZ and if SkyNZ could get their A-into-G and stop mucking around with whatever box they now or will have and bring these in suitable for NZ then maybe they wont lose so many customers.

AND if you could hook it into your own home media digital database, even I might be interested. Na just kidding. I'll stick with my Yamaha AVR RX-V1085 [6.1 Surround Speaker System] and Apple TV 4k 64Gb (2nd gen).

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

gzt

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#2914234 15-May-2022 14:35

Neon search needs a lot of work. I watched Take Home Pay. Excellent movie.

Neon's search feature finds nothing for "Samoa" 🤦

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