Television is going through a period of transition that’s greater than nearly anything that’s been seen up to this point. One update includes a new section called “My Q”, which pulls together content like movies that you’ve paused or new episodes of shows you’ve been watching.
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It also helps you to discover new content, and changes what’s displayed based on things like time of day, as well as your own preferences.
The launch is the biggest for the company since the introduction of the Sky Now service, which provides on-demand viewing from a selection of channels for a flat monthly fee. It will later next year also add Ultra HD 4K video quality, which United Kingdom telecom giant BT and Roku already offer in Britain, and voice search.
Sky Q lets you watch different programmes simultaneously on up to five screens around the home while recording up to four other channels – a first in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
As the box now uses a Bluetooth connection for the remote, the device also supports streaming music directly from your phone or computer to your TV via the Sky Q box. The Mini is capable of pulling down live TV from the Silver’s leftover tuners, and you can have up to two running on the same network. And there is a Wi-Fi router that rounds off the new collection. It is calling this feature “My Q”.
Sky is waving goodbye to the muscular menu-style remote control that’s been so ubiquitous on all of its devices for the last decade.
Alongside the new satellite box is a completely redesigned bluetooth-powered remote and a mini, internet-connected multi-room player, dubbed the Sky Q Mini.
Interactive apps including YouTube and Vevo will also be available through the system.
David Mercer, from Strategy Analytics, commented: “Sky customers watch 20% of programmes on connected devices and Sky Q is squarely targeted at the most demanding of this on-demand generation”.
The platform aims to deliver a “fluid” TV viewing experience, allowing you to watch recorded programmes and Sky content across multiple devices, in the home and in the go, including your recording programmes on a tablet.
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The new menu shares little in common with the existing text-heavy Sky TV user interface. The firm has mentioned that the product will make its way onto smartphones as well, but neglected to mention the specifics. Naturally, when we asked representatives here, they could only respond with a wan smile and a shake of the head.
