Sky Glass 4K QLED TV Review

Sky Glass 4K QLED TV Review THE BEST DEALS OF THE DAY

One minute review

Sky Glass represents a paradigm shift in the premium TV market. For the first time, a satellite offers a full broadcast alternative option to Sky Q, dispensing with a separate TV box and external satellite dish. For many, this will be just what they've been waiting for, especially if they've also been wanting a 4K TV upgrade. But to enjoy Sky Glass, you have to appreciate what it's not, and it's a direct replacement for Sky Q. It's not as channel-rich and suffers from not having a recording feature. But, in addition to this, it is something that we have never seen before, a premium TV service integrated into a custom flat screen. Sky Glass is available in 3 screen sizes, small, medium and large (5, 4 and 6 inches respectively) and XNUMX colors. The set is a XNUMXk QLED model with decent local backlighting, Dolby Vision HDR, and a powerful XNUMX-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system. Usability relies heavily on voice control, but you don't want to leave the traditional zapper too far out of reach. The most discussed aspect of Sky Glass is its ease of use in everyday life. Instead of "Record" content, it adds it to a "Playlist", which can be fed from multiple sources. You will have to be prepared for limited availability when it comes to watching, and possibly some content will not be transmitted again after the broadcast. All in all, the all-in-one Sky Glass premium TV package opens the door to a new era of streaming TV...but think about how you watch TV and what features you need before you start.

Price and availability of Sky lenses

One of the many notable aspects of Sky Glass is the cost plan. You don't need to think about buying your Sky Glass TV like a regular flat screen, as you get it as part of your monthly subscription, the payment depends on the length of your contract and the Sky services you subscribe to. The 3 different screen sizes cost €XNUMX, €XNUMX and €XNUMX per month, provided you opt for a XNUMX-month contract. Pick a shorter XNUMX-month contract and they'll get more expensive as a result, at $XNUMX, $XNUMX, and $XNUMX a month. This means that each and every one of the fifty-five inches examined here has a cost equivalent to €XNUMX retail. Other than that, add your chosen Sky subscription channel bundle (costs change depending on whether or not you want to enjoy movies and sports). There's an additional cost for the 'Ultra HDR and Dolby Atmos' package (we'd say this should be mandatory) and multiroom. Sky Glass does not require you to have Sky as a broadband provider. It will work with any ISP. This set was available in the month of November XNUMX and is free to order now.

Sky Glass TV in a living room

(Image credit: Steve May)

Integrated

Sky Glass doesn't look like an everyday flat screen. Sky made some bold design decisions: the body is deep with a flat back and the top, behind a metal grill, are 2 rising-height pilots. The spare speaker array faces forward behind a canvas panel, with the left and right outlets partially routed through the side grilles. The frame is aluminum, without the Sky logo. It is very minimalist, yet chic. The next 5 color combinations build on this personable approach to the interior: Ocean Blue, Ceramic White, Racing Green, Dusky Pink and Anthracite Black. As a result, our review sample was the Complete Edition, which to be fair is the least appealing, but surely going to be the most popular: Black in general still sells for much better than other color alternatives when it comes to electronics. Still, you can spice things up with a selection of customizable speaker fronts, to better match your interior decor or to show off a personality factor. At the rear there are 3 HDMI inputs, HDMI2 with eARC. There is no support for 4K 120fps or VRR video playback. Sky Glass still lacks a dedicated gaming mode with low input lag. We measured input lag at 1090 ms (60/XNUMX), which means the set has limited appeal for serious gamers. There is a terrestrial TNT antenna input, although it is provided as a backup when your broadband goes down, not for daily use. The TV comes with a heavy metal stand that significantly increases its height when viewed from the side. The Sky delivery team will take care of the build and then remove all packaging. If you want a wall mount, this is your resolution. It's a heavy model though, as our fifty-five-inch scale tips the scales at fifty-five pounds. The supplied controller is based on the basic layout of the Sky remote, but is a bit smaller and smoother in the hand than previous Sky remote controls.

Sky Glass TV in a living room

(Image credit: Steve May)

Features

There may be a multiverse, but you would never know it using Sky Glass. Unlike the viewing experience on an Android TV or webOS (to name just two), this is a Sky Locked environment and it's pretty comfortable. It is not necessary to venture out of this garden, because everything is planned. The interface is identifiable by Sky; think of it as a cousin to Sky Q. Selected highlights, for Sky Max, Sky Atlantic and Sky Cinema, can be found under a TV guide rail offering what's currently happening on selected channels. Tab face down and a rail of applications and inputs offer exactly that. Sky has assembled a solid variety of streaming services here, twenty-one at launch, including Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, All2, ITVhub, YouTube, discovery+ and STV player. There are also fitness apps Peloton and Fiit, a music streaming service from Spotify, and a variety of casual games. But without local storage, you don't have the ability to save shows to a hard drive, so you can play them on the go. This is the most essential setting when moving from Q Sky Sky Glass. On your site, you are adding to a playlist (there is only one, no profile is offered here). This can be done via an "Add Program" button on the program summary page, or via the "+" button on the remote control. For the most part, it works fine. Shows are free in your playlist and are streamed from a “cloud DVR”. However, they can also be from a standard update TV app, putting you at the mercy of the third-party player. There is also some content that simply cannot be added to the playlist, such as BT Sport channels; this essentially makes them "unrecordable". Another essential part of the TV is the headphone support, for listening late into the night or in private. Not only is there no Bluetooth headset alternative, but there's no 4mm jack output for wired headphones. It's just weird. The equipment has bluetooth, but that is only for remote control.

Sky Glass TV in a living room

(Image credit: Steve May) It is essential to note that the choice of channel between Sky Q and Sky Glass is not the same. We're a huge fan of NHK, but it's absent on Sky Glass. The device has a Wake using Motion mode, which can be activated in the menu. The idea is that it turns on automatically throughout the day and at night when movement is detected in the room. When no motion is detected for an hour, the device turns off. For some reason, our sample didn't want to wake up, even if you were dancing in front of it (we tried), but it automatically shuts off. It will light up with a voice command "Hello Sky". This wake word should be used before any voice command, so say "Hello honey. BBC News" if you want to switch hands-free mode to the news channel. The computer also recognizes "Hi Sky", but not "Yo Sky". If you want Sky Glass in extra rooms, you'll need to add a Sky Stream washer to your package (that's another dixner). Unlike the Sky Q Mini, this doesn't rely on a connection to the Sky Glass display and can deliver 4k UHD content. That is because it is a completely independent Sky transmitter. It offers exactly the same interface and functionality as the Sky Glass screen and you can connect it to any TV. You cannot purchase a Sky Stream Puck separately; it is only available as an accessory Sky Glass. A washing machine was not given for examination.

Image quality

In many ways, Sky Glass's audiovisual performance seems somewhat less essential than the overall user experience, but clearly essential to the package's overall package. After all, once inside, you can't move it after a year for something new. It has to deliver, and to some extent, Sky Glass does. But there are exceptions. The Sky Glass display has a number of attractive attributes (our test sample is the medium fifty-five-inch): QLED color, "Smart Zone" local dimming, and automatic image management. While it does offer options, there's no question that Sky isn't expecting users to go to the Settings menu and manually adjust the picture settings. The default display mode is Automatic. There are dedicated gifts: entertainment, movies, sports, etc. - but each of them is accompanied by a reminder to return to Auto. In truth, we had a really hard time telling the difference between these presets. Throughout most of this audition, we did what most Sky Glass owners will do: stay in self-driving.

Sky Glass TV in a living room

(Image credit: Steve May) There's a custom setting, too, with individual control of contrast, sharpness, brightness, and saturation. There are 2 Dolby Vision HDR settings, Bright and Dark. The first is our recommended option. An automatic backlight manages settings according to the ambient lighting in the room. The screen has a pleasant medium image brightness and the general local dimming system ensures a partially good screen uniformity. However, he is not the most active HDR artist. We measured the maximum HDR brightness at three hundred nits, with a measurement window of ten%. That's what you'd expect from a cheap HDR-capable 4K display. To get the best HDR performance, with content from the real world, we suggest turning off automatic backlight adjustment. The color intensity is high, with sweet colors that draw the crowd, and the performance of fine details is great.

Sound performance

The Sky Glass audio system dramatically outperforms competitive midrange led models in scale and power, with the 6 XNUMX speaker array creating a wall of sound...

You might also be interested ...