Sky Replacement

[Jensen]

The cost of sky is ridiculous, my bill before any discount will be going up to £124 per month from July. My package is movies and sport, also have broadband and sky unlimited talk.
Has anyone gone down the route of leaving Sky and getting an android box. If so what box did you get, where did you get it from, is it easy to set up /instal and maintain. Is the box reliable, quick to locate channels and good picture quality.
Any other info relevant
Thanks

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Get Now TV and then you can buy packages when you need them

 

[spongebob59]

The cost of sky is ridiculous, my bill before any discount will be going up to £124 per month from July. My package is movies and sport, also have broadband and sky unlimited talk.
Has anyone gone down the route of leaving Sky and getting an android box. If so what box did you get, where did you get it from, is it easy to set up /instal and maintain. Is the box reliable, quick to locate channels and good picture quality.
Any other info relevant
Thanks

Google droidbox.
A lot will depend on your internet speed.
Fairly easy to set up a 'wizard' to get you to all the right places.

 

[Sponge1980]

I have TV and Internet through talk talk. Although they don't get the best press I've never had an issue. I just have a standard internet not fibre and it's plenty quick enough. As with Now TV you can buy SKY packages as and when you want them. You do have to take the packages for a minimum of a month though and if you don't cancel them they stay in your account.

 

[Crow]

Just do without, it's all rubbish anyway.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Just do without, it's all rubbish anyway.

Yup, I cant stand telly.

Love watching stuff OD tho, what I want when I want.

Its cheaper to buy the download of the series that you want each month than spend 120 a month for content you dont watch.

Quite easy to spend 120 of apple vouchers and have loads of great stuff to watch!

 

[SteveJay]

I have an Android Box....with a fast (Virginmedia) internet connection. Worked fine for several months, once I knew what I was doing, and watched loads of the latest movies and live sport (albeit with poorer picture quality for sport at times). Then it gradually started to play up. Kodi apps stopped working and addresses changed. Now not that reliable although other threads on here suggest some have had no problems.

A few mates have fire sticks which seem better than the boxes and are more flexible (easily unplugged into different Tvs). Still need a bit of patience and keep up to date with Apps.

 

[spongebob59]

That's why I went with Droidbox, uk based.
Online support and active forum.
Can understand attraction of firestick if other TV's aren't smart.

 

[Maninblack4612]

I spent £10.99 with NowTV so I could watch the Masters on Thursday & Friday & I sometimes invest £6.99 to watch Newcastle United (never outstanding value) but there's no way I would fork out the £72 per month my mate pays for his Sky TV HD service.

 

[Beezerk]

Android boxes aren't a viable alternative to canceling Sky, they work well for certain things (films, TV series, some live tv channels) but be prepared for much frustration if you're after instant sport and stuff.

 

[chrisd]

Speak to Sky - I've got phone, broadband and all Sky tv for about £80 for 10 months of a 12 month contract

 

[Fish]

Love my NowTV, pay £6.99 for the entertainment package and just buy the very odd £10.99 sports package for a week when something like the Masters is on plus a few good footy matches. Also got a Fire Stick so watch loads of top stuff through Amazon and have the Kodi Beast loaded so watch loads of free live sports.

I'd say my total outlay plus occasional packages is costing me less than £20 a month to watch almost everything and anything 👍😎

 

[Slime]

I cancelled Sky TV just over a month ago and said I was looking into ditching their broadband & phone package. This was costing around £95 per month, (I don't have Sky Movies).
On the day it was due to finish I called them to remind them not to forget to turn my Sky off.
Then they realised I'd been with them for over 15 years.
About 10 mins later I had the same deal as I had before, but now it's costing £47.90 per month & their bunging me a £22.50 goodwill credit!
For that I get all Sky Sports & Entertainment packages, Broadband, Phone & their Sky Talk cheap phone call package!
50% discount for threatening to cancel!

 

[Simbo]

I got a firestick recently as I agree the price of sky/virgin is ridiculous, it's nowhere near the quality of sky for watching sport though, tried to watch the the masters on it, Thursday night was ok, found a watchable stream but it was poor in comparison to sky, Friday was a disaster, spent 30 mins checking all the streams, most were crap, picture quality was poor, buffering was evident a lot. Streams cutting out in the middle,of it etc. Couldn't wait for the BBC at the weekend.
Granted the movies and tv shows are ok but for live events I find its pretty rubbish.
Is the NOW tv box getting a better stream direct from sky or something ?? My dad said he tried the now tv box for the masters last year and the picture wasn't much better than the firestick

 

[road2ruin]

Android boxes aren't a viable alternative to canceling Sky, they work well for certain things (films, TV series, some live tv channels) but be prepared for much frustration if you're after instant sport and stuff.

They can be......Droidbox + Ruya = No Sky

 

[Matty6]

50% discount for threatening to cancel!

I had the same offer when I threatened to leave. Always worth speaking to Sky and telling them that you want to leave as the monthly bill is too high.

 

[Smiffy]

Broadband/phone with Plusnet.
Now TV box for my telly.
Just bought a £6.99 day sports pass for the Chinese GP at the week-end.
Much cheaper than Sky.

 

[Fish]

The novelty has worn off with my Fire-stick and fully loaded Kodi, I like some of the Prime shows but I could comfortably manage without them, my NowTV is simpler and easier to navigate also, think I'll be selling my Fire-stick very soon which has a year of Prime loaded also.

 

[AMcC]

A couple of friends have zgemma / open source boxes. These use the sky dish you already have and the cable from that plug in to the box. They seem to get really good picture quality with all channels including live sports. Just can't record anything on the one they have. I have heard the same comments about Firestick and android boxes. Great for most stuff except live sport and there is the hassle factor of site changing and looking for new feeds. Best for box sets etc

 

[Region3]

I got a firestick recently as I agree the price of sky/virgin is ridiculous, it's nowhere near the quality of sky for watching sport though, tried to watch the the masters on it, Thursday night was ok, found a watchable stream but it was poor in comparison to sky, Friday was a disaster, spent 30 mins checking all the streams, most were crap, picture quality was poor, buffering was evident a lot. Streams cutting out in the middle,of it etc. Couldn't wait for the BBC at the weekend.
Granted the movies and tv shows are ok but for live events I find its pretty rubbish.
Is the NOW tv box getting a better stream direct from sky or something ?? My dad said he tried the now tv box for the masters last year and the picture wasn't much better than the firestick

Sign up with Sportsmania, about £30 for 6 months. Live sports are way better streams and they look after making sure links don't break etc.