Despite Sky Q boxes being equipped with Ethernet ports, many Sky engineers set boxes up to use Wi-Fi even when Ethernet is available. Using Wi-Fi to transport bandwidth-intensive media to fixed devices makes absolutely no sense. Your Sky Q boxes can interfere with your own Wi-Fi network or take away valuable spectrum that your Wi-Fi … Read more
The start of 2021 provided a great demonstration of ‘the art of the possible’ with the Ultra HD (4k) High Dynamic Range (HDR) format with some exciting new programmes becoming available as part of the BBC’s iPlayer Ultra HD ‘trial’. These are still available through the iPlayer. Two standouts are the incredible ‘A Perfect Planet’ … Read more
For set-up help, please visit our Set Up Guide For Sky Q Ultra HD (4k) and HDR. The evolution to Ultra HD programming with High Dynamic Range (HDR) is gathering pace. HDR dramatically improves the picture quality of Ultra HD 4k content. To many viewers, HDR makes more difference than increasing resolution from HD to 4k, by … Read more
Figure 1: Forecast for Average Monthly Home Internet Use (2013-2025) Over the next five years, average home monthly Internet usage in the UK will triple from its 2019 level, surpassing 1 TB per month by 2025, as shown in our forecast shown above. This growth, which is in line with usage growth predicted for the … Read more
The exciting launch of Disney Plus in the UK in March 2020 was sadly hampered by the widespread reduction in bit rates among streamed TV providers requested by the European Commissioner Thierry Breton due to the coronavirus pandemic. This resulted in 4k content not being delivered in true 3840 x 2160 resolution and the removal … Read more
New! A 4k HDR Christmas Present from Sky: movies go HDR with Dolby Atmos It’s finally here – High Dynamic Range (HDR) on Sky – but not for everyone with a Sky Q box! Finally, Sky offers a ‘full-fat’ 4k service. While Sky has offered Ultra HD 4k programming for several years via its Sky … Read more
Updated: As of 29th June 2020, Disney bit rates have improved and Dolby Atmos is now available. Here is our latest review: Finally Disney Plus in the UK Matches Bit Rates Used in the USA. After launching in the USA in November 2019, Disney Plus has finally arrived in the UK at one of the … Read more
Apple launched its new TV streaming service in the UK on 1st November 2019, to compete with rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Pricing is certainly aggressive. Apple TV+ currently costs £4.99 per month although there is a cheaper way to subscribe for buyers of Apple products. Apple offers a year-long trial for buying a … Read more
You may also be interested in: ‘A Perfect Planet’ and ‘Dr Who’ Demonstrate 4k HDR at Its Best in BBC iPlayer (Jan 2021). What a pleasure it was this Christmas and New Year period being able to watch the complete series of ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ and ‘Dracula’ on BBC iPlayer in Ultra HD … Read more
We enjoyed a fantastic Christmas period making the most of the large amount of Ultra HD 4k content that is now available across the streaming platforms in the UK, including ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ from the BBC (shown above). High-speed broadband has been making a dramatic impact on television production and consumption. It is allowing a … Read more
Car enthusiasts have warmly greeted Amazon’s spectacular launch of its The Grand Tour series, starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May (who originally presented the BBC’s Top Gear). According to Amazon, the first episode of The Grand Tour has become “the biggest premiere on Amazon Prime”, with millions of streams in the USA, UK, … Read more
2021 update: Read our latest blog posts about Sky Q and other TV services Last year, we reviewed the BT Ultra HD (4k) TV service on its launch. We were very impressed with the image quality achieved with BT’s flagship Ultra HD football content. We now review Sky’s own Ultra HD service, which is delivered … Read more
Update: View our latest articles on TV by visiting our Blog Articles Related to Streamed TV. At 2.45pm on Sunday 2nd August 2015, BT made history by launching the first broadcast channel in Ultra HD format in the UK. On its new BT Sport Ultra HD channel, delivered by fibre broadband, BT screened the 2015 … Read more
For all our up-to-date articles on streamed TV services visit Blog Articles on Streamed TV. As described in our previous article HD and 4k Delivered by Fibre Broadband, Ultra HD content is developing nicely and BT has now arrived on the scene! BT has made a very promising start with the launch of the UK’s … Read more
Read our latest articles: Blog articles related to streamed TV In this blog, we look at the delivery of TV services, including the very latest Ultra HD (sometimes termed ‘4k’) services from Netflix, Amazon and BT. Superfast broadband brings consumers the opportunity of enhancing TV delivered by traditional satellite (e.g. Sky HD and Freesat) and … Read more
When we try to explain to people why they should subscribe to a fibre broadband service if fibre is available, the discussion tends to move quickly to TV and video services. One of the reasons is that many people using conventional ADSL and ADSL2+ services seem perfectly happy with the speeds they get for services … Read more