Sky Glass quick review
Sky Glass is a decent quality, stylishly designed, mid-range television set with 4K resolution and an impressive integrated Dolby Atmos speaker system.
There is no need a satellite dish or a separate Sky Q box – all you need is a reliable internet connection.
It comes with all the perks of Sky such as access to heaps of on-demand entertainment as well as dozens of live TV channels.
Pros
Incredibly easy to set up and use
Powerful voice control searches across all your apps and Sky channels
Huge library of Sky content on demand
Cons
No way to connect headphones directly
TV set not as slim as those of competitors
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Sky Glass full review
What you get
One of the big selling points is that you don’t need a set-top box or satellite dish for Sky Q.
The Sky Glass TV is an all-in-one home entertainment system that comes in three sizes: Small (43in), Medium (55in) and Large (65in).
It costs €15, €20 and €26 per month respectively if you pay over four years, which when you do the sums works out slightly less than the €755, €999 and €1299 you would pay if you bought it outright.
The frame is constructed using anodised aluminium and you get the choice of five colours: ocean blue, ceramic white, racing green, dusky pink or anthracite black.
The panel of the TV is manufactured by TPV, one of the industry’s biggest panel makers. It combines the same quantum dot technology used in Samsung’s QLED TVs with a direct LED backlight.
Surrounding the screen are slim matte black aluminium bezels and there is a bar along the bottom that houses the audio system which is covered by woven acoustic mesh in the colour you choose.
The built-in Dolby Atmos soundbar has six speakers and up to 215 watts of power
There are two far-field microphones built into the frame which enable the hands-free voice control of the system.
How Sky Glass works
Sky Glass comes with the world of Sky entertainment built in, including on-demand shows, movies and dozens of live TV channels.
There is also quick access to streaming apps such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video and YouTube.
You can control it all using your voice or with the included remote which is simple to use with big buttons and has a backlight that makes it easy to see in the dark.
Having access to all your streaming libraries in one place makes finding something to watch easier than ever. The platform scores high marks for both presentation and content aggregation.
The user interface is wonderfully intuitive, from the location of the menus to the new layout of the TV Guide. It has the familiar blue background of Sky menus.
You don’t need to be tech-savvy to use and enjoy it. The UI is swift to respond whether you use the remote or your voice to control it.
You can use your voice to turn the TV off, tweak the volume, find a particular movie, TV show or genre and ask Sky Glass for some recommendations.
The home screen recommendations pull together options from all platforms that you are subscribed to, including Sky, Netflix and Disney+ as well as catch up services like RTE Player.
As you scroll down from the recently viewed items at the top of the menu you get rails for Now and Next (live TV broadcasts) and other groups of recommendations, while in the likes of the TV Shows, Movies and Sports sections, each of the sub menus has a degree of personalisation.
The traditional style EPG (TV Guide) is there too if you need it.
And the ability to Restart all live programmes and movies is so handy.
Set-up
Setting up Sky Glass is quick and easy, and you don’t have much to do at all.
The delivery company’s employees assemble everything, and it takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. They take the packaging away too.
You only use one cable and a wall socket to get it up and running.
You need a broadband connection with a minimum speed of 10Mbps (25Mbps for UHD content) and you can connect by Ethernet cable or WiFi.
Then switch on your TV and Sky Glass takes you through the rest of the set-up step by step which just involves connecting to your broadband and choosing default or enhanced settings.
The latter give you voice control through the wake words ‘Hello Sky’ and a motion sensor that wakes the TV from standby whenever you walk into the room.
The TV came with my account already set up. I just needed to enter a PIN number to start browsing through shows. It’s an easy PIN — the last four numbers of your phone number.
Other streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ are pre-installed on the TV and if you are a subscriber to any of them all you need to do is log in to them.
Sky has a handy Ultimate TV bundle that includes a sub to Netflix.
If you do have other devices to plug in, such as games consoles or an Apple TV box, there are three HDMI ports on the rear.
One of the HDMI ports is eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) which means you can connect to an AV receiver or an external soundbar if you wish.
By the way, you can turn off the motion sensor. This is fun and novel when you first use the TV but having the TV power up and suggest content every time you walk into the is unnecessary.
Playlist
There’s a handy button on the remote to quickly add shows to your playlist.
If it’s a TV series, every episode will be gathered in one place — even if they are not all available on the one service. It’s a neat feature.
And when you add a TV show to your Playlist that has yet to be broadcast it will display as the first item as soon as it has aired. That way you won’t forget all about it.
And when you do go to watch a saved show, the UI takes you directly to playback and not the description page.
You can add content to your Playlist from all your apps as well as from Sky channels.
For now, BBC shows can’t be added to Playlists, but this is the only broadcaster not supported (that I can see).
Sky told me that there will be BBC support soon.
I have little need to be able to record live TV shows as there is always something newer or better to watch than what I might record.
But I really like the simplicity and functionality of the Playlist system especially how easy it is to add and remove content from your Playlist.
Sound and vision
The screen boasts 4K Ultra HD resolution on a Quantum Dot display (QLED).
In other words, it is bright and colourful, crisp and clear — with plenty of detail.
By default, the display is set to Auto picture mode, which is designed to select the correct settings for whatever type of content is being watched.
I have tested out the various presets and found that leaving the screen on the Auto setting delivered the best results.
Picture quality is not as dazzling as high-end OLED TVs, but they can cost many multiples of the price of Sky Glass.
I personally like the colour tuning as it is nicely balanced and natural no matter what the source material is. Viewing angles are decent too.
I would suggest that you turn off the Auto Backlight Adjustment. This is on by default and inhibits the set's peak brightness.
Sky Glass supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG.
The display refresh rate is capped at 60Hz which means Sky Glass is not the perfect choice for ardent gamers looking for 120Hz refresh rates.
The integrated 215w sound system consists of six speakers — a forward-firing centre speaker, a forward-firing subwoofer, two side-firing speakers and two upward-firing speakers. Dolby Atmos support is built in.
Compared to most TVs, even higher end models, the audio quality and volume levels are much better.
I have a couple of €300 price range soundbars and Sky Glass sounds almost as great as they do.
There is a Night Mode to reduce the bass and compress the audio to limit extreme sounds for late night viewing. And you can enhance dialogue.
For now, at least, there is no way to connect headphones, wired or wirelessly.
However, the firm is exploring adding Bluetooth audio output in a future firmware upgrade.
Channels
There are some slight differences in the number of channels available on Sky Glass compared to Sky Q, but you are not missing out on anything major.
For example, the +1 channels are no longer needed as the Restart functionality on Sky Glass removes the need for those channels.
And the firm no longer offers channels that don’t broadcast in HD as standard, so some small minority interest stations such as QVC, Al Jazeera English, Euronews and France 24 are not on Sky Glass.
If such channels are a priority for you, Sky still offers them on Sky Q.
There are extras on the platform such as this season’s F1 season being broadcast in 4K HDR. This makes colours look richer and the contrast is more realistic.
Multi-room
To watch Sky Glass in other rooms, you can either buy more Sky Glass TVs or spend €60 on a Sky Stream puck which connects to any TV set and enables you to enjoy Sky Glass in any or every room in the house.
You need to subscribe to the Whole Home add-on package, which costs an extra €19 per month. But that is the price even if you have multiple pucks and TVs connected.
There is also a free mobile app Sky Go which allows you to enjoy your content on compatible tablets and smartphones.
Sky Stream puck
The Stream Puck is a compact device with rounded corners that looks and is sized a little like an Apple TV box.
It measures 108mm x 108mm across and is 18mm tall.
It has a status LED on the front while on the rear you will find a 10/100 Ethernet port, a single HDMI 2.1 output, a coaxial antenna connector and a DC input for mains power.
Setting up the Sky Stream puck is as straight-forward as the main system. It’s just a question of connecting to your WiFi.
The puck comes with its own backlit remote.
Other features
You can access Spotify directly through the Audio and Music Zone, so you can play all your favourite tunes through its six-speaker setup.
For now, there is no Apple Music, Tidal or Deezer support but this may change with demand.
But there is an option to turn on Party Mode or choose 'show lyrics' to transform your TV into a karaoke machine.
You cannot cast directly to the TV, but you can easily get around this by connecting a Google Chromecast.
If you don't like the idea of the TV always listening to you, you can switch the set’s built-in microphones off and use the button-operated microphone in the remote control instead.
Updates
One of the best parts about being a Sky subscriber with both Sky Q and Sky Glass is that the company is always improving the services with regular firmware and software updates that improve current features and add new ones.
Sky Glass verdict
Sky’s new complete home entertainment system is slick.
Sky Glass is the best TV you can buy for streaming as you don’t need any extra tech to access both Sky's premium library and all the most popular streaming apps.
The platform’s user interface is the best I’ve ever tested; so simple and intuitive whether you use voice control or the backlit remote.
Smarts such as the Glance Motion tech and the Playlist feature add to the enjoyment of the user experience.
Both the picture and sound quality are impressive and deliver a better value package than what you would get if you bought a separate 55in QLED TV and dedicated soundbar.
The convenience of the clutter-free, one cable, system is another plus.
And if you live in an apartment or development where satellite dishes were not allowed then Sky Glass is a dream come true.
Pricing
As well as the cost of the TV outlined above, you need a Sky Ultimate TV package which is currently €27 per month for 12 months including Netflix for anyone buying Sky Glass.
You need the Ultra HDR & Dolby Atmos pack to get the most from your new TV too.
Alternatives
Sky also offers the Sky Q service which needs a Sky Q box and satellite dish to work.
It has a fantastic UI that comes a close second to Sky Glass in terms of ease of use — and it also allows you to record programmes to your Sky Q box. You can get Ultimate TV including Netflix for Sky Q for €30 per month for 12 months.
Sky’s non-contract service NOW offers full HD resolution content without a satellite dish in packages that cost from as little as €14.99 per month.
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