In this period of forced quarantine, online streaming – especially video – is among the services that have increased their market the most: the need to stay at home has given more free time to people, who can take advantage of their sofas to enjoy entertainment content. that previously would have consumed precious hours, usually dedicated to other activities.
Cyberlayman took the opportunity to try NOW TV, Sky's streaming service. Here are our impressions.
NOW TV Offer
As anticipated, NOW TV is Sky's streaming video service, a direct rival of other competitors among which we can certainly mention Apple TV, Netflix, Infinity, DAZN and Prime Video from Amazon.
NOW TV therefore allows you to subscribe and access on demand all the content available on Sky satellite channels without having to use the decoder, but simply using an online connection and a compatible device.
In addition to the on-demand contents, it is also possible to observe the broadcasts on air, following the programming of the Sky schedule.
The offer is divided into different packages, 6 at the time of writing:
In all cases, the subscription can be canceled at any time and up to 4 devices can be associated; cinema and entertainment content can be enjoyed on 2 devices at the same time, while sports content can only be enjoyed on one device at a time.
Unfortunately, the possibility of watching TV series and cinema in 4K is missing, an option not present among those available.
NOW TV offers can be enjoyed on a computer with the appropriate player for Mac and PC, via app on iOS and Android devices, on compatible smart TVs, via Chromecast, on Xbox One and One S consoles, and PlayStation 4, Vodafone TV, Tim Box and through the appropriate Smart Stick NOW TV.
Unfortunately the application for the Amazon Fire Stick is not available, while the apps for iOS and Android allow you to download the contents on the device to be able to view them even offline.
The prices are quite in line with the competition, while it is worth noting how the entrance price (9.99 euros per month) is lower than the price of a subscription to the Sky satellite service, which at the time of writing starts from 19.99 euros per month. month.
Contents
We tested the service through Google Chromecast, the Android application and trying the TV Series In HD and Entertainment package for 9.99 euros per month.
The strength of NOW TV is probably linked to the exclusivity of its contents. Some of the most popular series of recent years are in fact available exclusively on Sky and therefore accessible through NOW TV.
Among these we cannot fail to mention the acclaimed Game of Thrones series, re-launched on the platform since last March 26, the sci-fi series Westworld, Chernobyl, True Detective, Walking Dead and many others, to which a large number is added. of movies reaching the platform earlier than other streaming services.
The original exclusive entertainment content on Sky is interesting, such as the 4 Restaurants series, MasterChef Italia or Italia's Got Talent.
In addition, the sports packages (currently suspended due to the COVID-19 emergency) also offer many sporting events and in this case the competition is very limited, with only the DAZN representing a “threat” for NOW TV.
From the point of view of contents, therefore, nothing to complain: probably that of Sky is one of the most interesting catalogs for any fan of TV series, cinema or sports.
NOW TV App
The NOW TV application is unfortunately mediocre: it has a complete menu that allows you to browse through all the available contents (even those not included in your subscription), offering intuitive navigation menus, an effective search function and options suggestion of interesting content for users.
As mentioned, it is possible to download the contents locally, to be able to use them when an online connection is not available.
The application natively integrates with Google's Chromecast, the device with which we tested its performance on TV. In real use, the NOW TV application highlights all its limitations and proves to be much less convincing than competing services, especially compared to Netflix.
Using a nominal 30 Mb / s connection for the Game of Thrones series, as well as prolonged loading times, we have noticed that the app struggles on most occasions to maintain constant HD video quality, with noticeable drops in resolution – something that happens much more rarely (almost never) for Netflix contents – to which are added not rare application crashes.
In all likelihood, the algorithms that regulate data delivery along the Netflix bandwidth are able to better optimize bandwidth availability, which makes Netflix playback qualitatively superior to NOW TV.
Another problem we encountered is the carelessness in the translation of the series (always The Throne of Swords) viewing the content in the original language with subtitles: some sentences are skipped and are not available, even if the reason is not clear.
Many other competing features are missing, such as the ability to skip the opening theme, skip to the next episode, and the lack of a multi-user option.
These limits undoubtedly affect the pleasure of using the contents.
Conclusions
After having tried it, our opinion on NOW TV can only be twofold.
On the one hand, the service offers a list of contents of great quality and popularity: some of the most famous and acclaimed series in the world are only available on the Sky platform.
The Sky catalog is certainly 10 and praise and subscribing to NOW TV is the only way to enjoy all available content (from sports to TV series) without having to go through the most expensive satellite offer.
Unfortunately, the downside concerns the application itself, absolutely inadequate to make the experience pleasant, penalized by obvious gaps (absent options and lack of 4K for cinema and TV series) and by performance at the limit of acceptable.
The discriminant therefore exclusively concerns the interest that a user can have for the contents available on NOW TV: if most of the contents in the Sky catalog leave you indifferent, given the mediocrity of the application in our opinion you can also avoid NOW TV.
If, on the other hand, you have always dreamed of a marathon in front of the TV enjoying all seasons of Game of Thrones, then you can only do it on NOW TV. At that point you just have to hold your nose and be satisfied with their service.
To visit the NOW TV official website you can click this direct link.
