DV
Via homepage at present. I understand that they are to be added to the 'TV Guide' soon.
EL
Running again for today’s Styrian GP (again, race only... hasn’t been live for the other sessions this weekend).
Looks to be maxed out at 720p25, even with HD Boost pass. Hard to say for certain, given the lack of info bar to show the bitrate.
I would have thought it would make a lot of sense to be able to use the up/down arrows to switch between streams, like you can on the regular NowTV channels.
As it is, having to go back to the main menu each time is far too cumbersome for F1 use. Probably fine for football if you only want to watch a particular match.
Looks to be maxed out at 720p25, even with HD Boost pass. Hard to say for certain, given the lack of info bar to show the bitrate.
I would have thought it would make a lot of sense to be able to use the up/down arrows to switch between streams, like you can on the regular NowTV channels.
As it is, having to go back to the main menu each time is far too cumbersome for F1 use. Probably fine for football if you only want to watch a particular match.
DV
Price Rises imminent .....
Entertainment from September 2020 £9.99 pm
Hayu from September 2020 £4.99 pm.
Retail Cards ....
Two month Cinema and Entertainment withdrawn
New single month versions launched
Entertainment - £8 (Was £10 for 2 months)
Cinema - £10 (Was £15 fror 2 months)
Expecting Sports increases shortly too.
Entertainment from September 2020 £9.99 pm
Hayu from September 2020 £4.99 pm.
Retail Cards ....
Two month Cinema and Entertainment withdrawn
New single month versions launched
Entertainment - £8 (Was £10 for 2 months)
Cinema - £10 (Was £15 fror 2 months)
Expecting Sports increases shortly too.
EL
Ouch. Will be interesting to see how BT react, given they lock their TV subscribers into a 24 month contract.
Their current base packages are:
Entertainment - £10pm (£1 more expensive than current NowTV pass)
Entertainment+Cinema - £20pm (£1 cheaper than current pass)
Sport - £40pm... £15 for BT Sport; £25 for Sky Sports (£9 cheaper than current month pass, ignoring BT Sport)
Entertainment+Cinema+Sport+HD - £60 (£13 cheaper than the current equivalent passes, ignoring BT Sport)
Some good value there already if one is willing to lock-in, but I suspect their Entertainment+Cinema pricing will need to increase. I suspect the £9 difference in Sport is them overpricing BT Sport rather than under-pricing Sky Sports.
Bolt-on passes are at the usual NowTV prices, so I expect these will rise to match the new prices.
Their current base packages are:
Entertainment - £10pm (£1 more expensive than current NowTV pass)
Entertainment+Cinema - £20pm (£1 cheaper than current pass)
Sport - £40pm... £15 for BT Sport; £25 for Sky Sports (£9 cheaper than current month pass, ignoring BT Sport)
Entertainment+Cinema+Sport+HD - £60 (£13 cheaper than the current equivalent passes, ignoring BT Sport)
Some good value there already if one is willing to lock-in, but I suspect their Entertainment+Cinema pricing will need to increase. I suspect the £9 difference in Sport is them overpricing BT Sport rather than under-pricing Sky Sports.
Bolt-on passes are at the usual NowTV prices, so I expect these will rise to match the new prices.
DV
Not strictly NOW TV but ROKU.
Interesting that DR - Danmarks Radio have now launched their player on the platform with all content in HD (or upscaled for Archive material) with minimal geoblocking too. A test version was in place for a few weeks prior to launch. They become the first major European Broadcaster I've spotted to use the platform.
Interesting that DR - Danmarks Radio have now launched their player on the platform with all content in HD (or upscaled for Archive material) with minimal geoblocking too. A test version was in place for a few weeks prior to launch. They become the first major European Broadcaster I've spotted to use the platform.
BR
Good job you mentioned that - I'd have been stung for "just £33.99" next week if I hadn't looked. Only deal on cancellation was £20/month for two months, which I don't think is worth it at the moment.
Still good on the entertainment / movies deal till the end of the year - and they've seriously crept up in price too if you're on a monthly fee. Doesn't seem that long ago Entertainment was £5.99/month, soon it'll be £9.99/month, and frankly those extra Sky channels are not worth the extra £4. Cinema also seems to have gone up a couple of quid over the last couple of years - just like all pay-TV they stick a quid on a year and hope people don't notice what a significant increase that actually is.
Still good on the entertainment / movies deal till the end of the year - and they've seriously crept up in price too if you're on a monthly fee. Doesn't seem that long ago Entertainment was £5.99/month, soon it'll be £9.99/month, and frankly those extra Sky channels are not worth the extra £4. Cinema also seems to have gone up a couple of quid over the last couple of years - just like all pay-TV they stick a quid on a year and hope people don't notice what a significant increase that actually is.
NJ
Neil Jones
Founding member
I had an update on the NowTV box the other night and there's an entire new homepage that's come up for the NowTV content which now launches by default. Previously you'd be stuck at the Roku style homepage with the settings and list of apps. This new NowTV app seems to have its own screensaver which is full screen images of forthcoming/other content separate from the bouncing NowTV logo one. Entire experience seems a bit more integrated. Very boxy, very reminiscent of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. Sideways scrolling must be a big thing these days.
LL
I tested the new interface before it was launched. It does look a lot more professional and I like how they have hotlinked to certain shows on other apps including iPlayer and My5. Luckily the Streaming Stick and the 4K Box remotes have the TV Guide button, so you can still get to the live streams as fast as possible.
The only negative is that because the new home page bypasses the old Roku style app page, it's slightly slower than before.
London Lite
Founding member
I had an update on the NowTV box the other night and there's an entire new homepage that's come up for the NowTV content which now launches by default. Previously you'd be stuck at the Roku style homepage with the settings and list of apps. This new NowTV app seems to have its own screensaver which is full screen images of forthcoming/other content separate from the bouncing NowTV logo one. Entire experience seems a bit more integrated. Very boxy, very reminiscent of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. Sideways scrolling must be a big thing these days.
I tested the new interface before it was launched. It does look a lot more professional and I like how they have hotlinked to certain shows on other apps including iPlayer and My5. Luckily the Streaming Stick and the 4K Box remotes have the TV Guide button, so you can still get to the live streams as fast as possible.
The only negative is that because the new home page bypasses the old Roku style app page, it's slightly slower than before.
NJ
Neil Jones
Founding member
Unfortunately I have the older black box so I don't get the luxury of a TV Guide button.
Which reminds me actually, is the stick any better remote wise? The black NowTV box is very direct line of sight and a bit temperamental in this area, at least in my experience.
Which reminds me actually, is the stick any better remote wise? The black NowTV box is very direct line of sight and a bit temperamental in this area, at least in my experience.
LL
The stick and 4K box remote are the same and don't use IR. You pair it with the device as part of the set-up process, it also has a microphone, but I prefer to use the buttons.
A tip for accessing menus faster with the older remotes is on the home page is to press the backspace button where a quick access menu pops up with the same features as the previous menu looked.
London Lite
Founding member
Unfortunately I have the older black box so I don't get the luxury of a TV Guide button.
Which reminds me actually, is the stick any better remote wise? The black NowTV box is very direct line of sight and a bit temperamental in this area, at least in my experience.
Which reminds me actually, is the stick any better remote wise? The black NowTV box is very direct line of sight and a bit temperamental in this area, at least in my experience.
The stick and 4K box remote are the same and don't use IR. You pair it with the device as part of the set-up process, it also has a microphone, but I prefer to use the buttons.
A tip for accessing menus faster with the older remotes is on the home page is to press the backspace button where a quick access menu pops up with the same features as the previous menu looked.
DV
I know it took ages to get to proper HD on NOW TV but have heard a reasonably credable comment today that indicates that SKY 4K content may be incoming in 2021.