Sky has announced the Now TV Box, a sleek Apple TV-style device that gives you access to the likes of Sky Sports and Sky Movies without the need for a Sky TV contract.
If you’re a Now TV subscriber you’ll be able to access things like Sky Movies which is free for the first month, £8.99/month for the three months after that and £15 thereafter, and Sky Sports which costs £9.99 for a 24 hour pass.
You also get access to BBC iPlayer, Sky News, Demand 5, Flickr and Facebook and a host of other free apps and services. While these services are free to use you’ll need to have an active Now TV account to access them.
Read Recombu Digital’s guide to Now TVMusic streaming service Spotify is also present, but it’s unclear whether this is restricted to paying subscribers or not. Sky says that new apps and services are in the pipeline, so we’ll update as and when we hear about things like 4oD and ITV Player coming to the platform.
Sky is aiming this at people who want a bit of smart TV in their lives but can’t perhaps stump up the readies for the likes of LG’s Smart TV range.
Gidon Katz, director of Now TV says: “Millions of people are switching on to the convenience and flexibility of on demand TV, choosing when and how they want to watch. Now there’s an easy and extremely affordable way to make every TV a ‘smart TV’. For under a tenner, the Now TV Box offers the best terrestrial catch-up, plus pay-as-you-go access to must-see sport and the option to enjoy latest blockbuster movies on demand – all on the big screen. It’s also easy for anyone to use – simply plug in to your TV, connect to your WiFi and you’re away.”
Costing just £9.99 for the box and the remote, the Now TV Box delivers content over the internet instead of a satellite dish. Sky says it will work on broadband connections with a minimum speed of 2.5Mbps, meaning the majority of people can use it.
NOW TV Box Specifications
- Size: 84mm x 84mm x 23mm
- Weight: 85 grams
- Networking: 802.11n Wi-Fi (b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA and WPA2 support
- Video outputs: 480i (NTSC over composite video) 480p (over HDMI) 720p (over HDMI)
- Video modes: 720p 16:9 anamorphic 4:3 standard
- Audio output: Analogue Stereo (mini-jack to left/right/composite video RCA), Digital over HDMI
- Remote: Infra Red, Compatible with various universal remotes
- Ports: HDMI (cable included)
- Power consumption: Less than 2W (typical) when streaming video
- Power input: 5.2V – 1.0A power adapter
We’ll be bringing some hands-on pictures and a short video soon.
Update: Our hands-on video is now live.
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