Sky revealed rather a lot about Glass on-stage… but here’s five things that it didn’t mention (Image: SKY • GETTY • EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS) This text comprises affiliate links, we may receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
In case you missed the announcement last yr, Sky has designed its own 4K TV with every little thing needed to tune into its live channels, exclusive movies, sports fixtures and on-demand boxsets. Dubbed Sky Glass, this QLED panel not only has a Sky Q box built-in, nevertheless it also has a Dolby Atmos-certified sound system and a far-field microphone array for handsfree voice controls. Considering of upgrading to Sky Glass? Before you do, ensure that to read our in-depth Sky Glass review and take a look at the best Sky TV deals available within the UK today.
For many who do not know, Sky Glass ditches the requirement for a satellite dish. For the primary time, Sky TV subscribers will give you the option to benefit from the same experience as Sky Q – including the flexibility to pause and rewind live television – with only a Wi-Fi connection. As a substitute of a spaghetti-like tangle of cables for HDMI inputs, soundbars, and satellite dishes …you will only need a single cable into your Sky Glass: the ability cable. That is it.
The custom-designed television first became available to UK customers from October 18, 2021 with more European countries set to be added later this yr. Sky Glass is not a substitute for the older Sky Q, which requires a satellite dish affixed to the wall or roof outside to work appropriately, so you may still buy that set-top box from the Sky Store.
Throughout the keynote presentation, Sky CEO Dana Strong and her team revealed a few of the most enjoyable features in the corporate’s first telly …but they didn’t reveal every little thing. Now that the dust has settled, Express.co.uk has got the complete details on Sky Glass, including five details you didn’t hear from the presentation.
1/ Sky Glass was designed by Sonos veterans
When it got here to designing its first foray into Smart TVs, Sky turned to East London-based industrial design firm Map Project Office. While the name may not be familiar, you’ll need undoubtedly come across a few of their previous work. Map Project Office has collaborated with corporations including Sony, Google, and Transport for London – designing the interiors for the brand new Elizabeth Line tubes as a part of the Crossrail project.
Map Project Office has also worked with smart audio brand Sonos, designing the Sonos Amp, which lets you connect every little thing – from a turntable and stereo – to your wireless Sonos speaker system. The London studio was also put accountable for creating the packaging experience.
Every little thing it’s essential watch Sky TV is packed into Sky Glass’ 4K telly (Image: SKY)
2/ Sky Glass knows while you’re within the room
Sky has developed a recent system called Glance Motion Technology, which mechanically wakes the screen when it detects a presence within the room. So, in case you flop down onto the sofa after an extended day, Sky Glass will mechanically wake-up the screen and start cycling through a carousel of really helpful shows and flicks.
Each suggestion includes the title, channel, and beautiful fullscreen artwork. Suggestions can be based in your viewing history and can be tailored to your telly package, so you will not see a load of Premier League games really helpful in case you don’t pay for Sky Sports. In case you spot something you want, you may pick-up the distant and immediately jump into the listing for the boxset, blockbuster or sport fixture suggested on-screen.
Sky refreshes its recommendations six times a day and tailors the suggestions based on the time of day. So, families can expect to see more kid’s shows really helpful within the morning, with blood-thirsty horror movies relegated to the top of the day when younger viewers are in bed.
3/ Sky Glass knows what’s connected to your telly
It could possibly be tough to recollect what devices are plugged into each HDMI port in the back of your television. Juggling between inputs until you discover what you are in search of is an on a regular basis a part of the ritual of watching television. Nonetheless, Sky Glass wants to unravel that headache.
The 4K QLED TV has three HDMI 2.1 ports on the back of the set, which could be used to attach games consoles, Blu-ray players, and more. The engineers at Sky have ensured that Sky Glass can recognise these inputs – so you may request them using only a voice command. So, saying “PlayStation” or “Xbox” will swap to the right HDMI input without you ever having to recall which one which is.
4/ You possibly can’t record shows with Sky Glass
Since Sky+ launched in 2001, we have all turn out to be accustomed to recording our favourite shows and flicks to look at at a later time. Sky Q is offered with either a alternative of either 1TB or 2TB hard-drive to store your whole boxsets, movies and sport fixtures. The latter can store around 350 hours of High Definition recordings.
With Sky Glass, that every one changes. While there may be a small amount of memory inside Sky Glass, it isn’t used to back-up limitless episodes of your favourite show. In truth, there is not even a Record button on the handheld remote control. As a substitute, Sky Glass viewers will add every little thing they need to look at at a later date onto their Playlist. When it comes time to look at an episode, movie or match… Sky will stream the show from its servers over the web. Which means you will never should worry about deleting your favourite film to make room for a recent series.
As a substitute of recording shows to a harddrive, Sky Glass gathers on-demand content within the Playlist (Image: SKY)
It also implies that, unlike with Sky Q, multi-room devices across the house won’t connect with the fundamental set-top box. As a substitute, they connect with Wi-Fi and stream episodes from the identical servers. Likewise with Sky Go, you will not have to download the recordings saved on the hard-drive in your Sky Q box onto an iPad before you may take them with you …they’ll be available from the identical catalogue within the cloud. That is much closer to what we have seen from the likes of Netflix and Prime Video.
Unlike Series Link, which mechanically records all recent episodes of a show once they air, adding something to your Sky Glass Playlist will look back in time too. So, in case you determine so as to add Desperate Housewives to your telly, Sky will mechanically record recent episodes – identical to with Series Link on Sky Q and Sky+ HD – but may even scour its on-demand catalogue in addition to any streaming service that you just pay for to bring together all episodes. You possibly can then watch previous seasons from services like Disney+, and Prime Video… before switching to newer episodes on Sky seamlessly.
It is not just the QLED TV that is recent, Sky has redesigned the handheld remote control too (Image: SKY)
5/ Sky Glass sounds different at night
Sky has borrowed a clever feature from its Sky Soundbox, which was an all-in-one sound system co-engineered with high-end French audio brand Devialet, for the built-in speakers in Sky Glass. Dubbed Night Mode, this optional feature is designed to assist late-night movie fans. While it’s tempting to crank-up the quantity to listen to the dialogue – a sudden explosion or rattle of gunfire on-screen could be loud enough to wake-up younger members of the household who’re sleeping upstairs.
To unravel this, Night Mode mechanically boosts dialogue, especially if characters are whispering or the motion on-screen could be very quiet, and drops the bass and sound when people start shouting, automotive engines are screaming, and the motion film kicks into one other gear.
That is not the one night-time feature baked into Sky Glass. In case you determine to put this all-in-one telly in your bedroom, you is likely to be wondering how the Glance Motion Technology described above will work. Turning over in your sleep only to have the 55-inch QLED screen turn on and recommend the following episode of Succession doesn’t sound like a formula for a winning nights’ kip. Thankfully, the team that developed Sky Glass have considered that.
Out of the box, Sky Glass mechanically disables its Glance Motion Technology between 10.30pm and 6am. After all, in case you prefer a lie-in, you may disable the feature entirely within the settings menu.
