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Anonymous User
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New NOW TV Box

With the reveal that a new NOW TV Box is coming this year, together with a refreshed UI, I though it would be a good idea to share some of our requests. So, with this in mind, here are a few of my own:

1. Roku 3 - The new box needs at least comparable power to a Roku 3. The current box performs less than satisfactory when using iPlayer or YouTube. Roku 3 components would ensure smooth running apps for at least a couple of years.

2. Reasonable price - I don't expect the new box to retail for the same price but at the same time, I wouldn't be prepared to pay more than £40. For a Roku 3 powered device that would represent good value.

3. New UI Features - The ability to flag favourite shows and easily access these ala iPlayer would be extremely welcome.

4. Better access to free channels - If you are going to give us sky news / sports for free with certain subscriptions, then why not just build them into the app. Either under a News & Sports section to complement the entertainment / sport packs or within the entertainment pack itself. Don't make me leave the app to catch the news bulletin and then have to load it again.

5. Refreshed News / Sports apps - If not the above, then how about some decent news / sport apps with access to on demand interviews etc for the latter.

6. No more glitches - I want all pictures to load in a decent resolution, the current UI leaves blank screens which looks ######.

7. HD - Enough said, give us the option to stream channels in at least 720p

So, there's mine for now, how about yours?
49 REPLIES 49
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Engadget and others are just wildly guessing. I can't see Sky subsiding a £100 box to a price point which made the first NowTV box so appealing. 

It's needs to be around the Chromecast price, which makes me think either the Roku Stick or a hybrid box, say Roku 3 minus the features in the remote.

commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @Anonymous User @Andy and @Anonymous User and everyone else

 

@Anonymous User  You have a realistic view on things as always Smiley Happy.

 

In my book there are two requirements which need to be met with this new box.

 

  1. It needs to be powerful enough to run the new HTML 5 apps without struggling (BBC iPlayer and youtube)
  2. If people want HD live channels the box needs to have an ethernet port. It doesn't even need to be 1000 Base T port 100 base T would do. But it needs this to provide connection stability. And possibly support for five gig Wi-Fi, depending on the costs involved.

I know people are going to hate me for saying this Smiley Sad but Wi-Fi may need to take a back seat. If you want to stream HD live channels As Wi-Fi is not designed for constant high speed. It's okay at speed in bursts, though, but you need constant high speed for live content.


I do not work for Now . I am simply a Now customer trying to help I am a Community Contributor This means that I know a lot about the service. But just like you I am still a customer. This means I cannot help you with issues that would involve looking into your account directly. A member of the now TV forum team or live chat will need to assist you with these issues.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hi @commanda6 

 

I certainly feel the box should have an ethernet option, however, for the vast majority of customers, a wired connection is just not practical (though I accept wired connections are superior).  If the box had reliable and not temperamental wireless connectivity which the current box certainly doesn't, I feel that would be quite sufficient for even 1080p streams at the necessary bitrate. 

 

I say this purely based on Apple TV &  Chromecast - they can both deliver perfectly acceptable 1080p images via the Netfix app.  I realise neither of these devices match the spec of Amazon's Fire TV & for me Chromecast has the edge as it offers DD 5.1+ which for me sounds a lot better than DD 5.1 offered by ATV.  Regarding live content, I've also not had any problems via the Apple TV NOW TV app with a wireless connection, the picture quality to me is actually very good.  I appreciate we're coming from different perspectives here, I'm just going by my experience as an end user.

 

So many post on the forum are about connectivity problems, though I've never experienced any, it gives an unfair impression of the overall service.  Then again, we're getting the box for a tenner...

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable
@Anonymous User
I have an LG smart tv. Netflix streams at an excellent picture quality and that's on a 5mbps connection with another user on the network streaming now tv. I do however have a now tv box connected to the LG smart tv as I feel the picture quality from the box is much better than the LG app
commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User wrote:

Hi @commanda6 

 

I certainly feel the box should have an ethernet option, however, for the vast majority of customers, a wired connection is just not practical (though I accept wired connections are superior).  If the box had reliable and not temperamental wireless connectivity which the current box certainly doesn't, I feel that would be quite sufficient for even 1080p streams at the necessary bitrate. 

 

I say this purely based on Apple TV &  Chromecast - they can both deliver perfectly acceptable 1080p images via the Netfix app.  I realise neither of these devices match the spec of Amazon's Fire TV & for me Chromecast has the edge as it offers DD 5.1+ which for me sounds a lot better than DD 5.1 offered by ATV.  Regarding live content, I've also not had any problems via the Apple TV NOW TV app with a wireless connection, the picture quality to me is actually very good.  I appreciate we're coming from different perspectives here, I'm just going by my experience as an end user.

 

So many post on the forum are about connectivity problems, though I've never experienced any, it gives an unfair impression of the overall service.  Then again, we're getting the box for a tenner...

 

 


Hi @Anonymous User 

 

I'm not saying Wi-Fi won't work for HD live channels in fact I think I said "Wi-Fi might have to take a back seat". What I'm saying is, people need to be prepared the fact that it might not work well. You are proof that it in fact can indeed work Smiley Happy But I bet you're the only person using the Wi-Fi and that's just one of the factors involved. 

You would be surprised at the performance difference between different Wi-Fi adapters. In my personal experience, Intel and brordcom (hopefully I spelt that right) are amongst the best and Realtek are amongst the worst. I think in order to successfully stream HD live channels you would need to use the kind of adapter that you would find in a decent laptop or tablet. This is only going to increase the cost. So again, it comes down to what people are willing to pay.

 

I think that due to the easy availability of home plugs using ethernet connections is now practical in the majority of cases. Especially since you can get home plugs which have mains sockets on them (mains pass through) This is one serious connected world we now live in. People should do all they can to take full advantage of it. Smiley Happy


I do not work for Now . I am simply a Now customer trying to help I am a Community Contributor This means that I know a lot about the service. But just like you I am still a customer. This means I cannot help you with issues that would involve looking into your account directly. A member of the now TV forum team or live chat will need to assist you with these issues.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User wrote:

 I can't see Sky subsiding a £100 box to a price point which made the first NowTV box so appealing. 


 

The roku 3 is no longer worth £100... the design is to OLD now and low spec..

 

You can produce a box with higher specs and sell it for lower...

 

4 core cpu

2MB memory

8GB storage space for apps

Wifi N 

Ethernet 100Mb/s

USB 2 port

 

For retail sale price of ~£69...

 

Even the rasberry PI 2 is now runnning a 4 core CPU.. with 1MB memory... and it will run windows 10 for Free for $35... You must provide the USB storage space and your own box/case...   

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Made typo above that should be 2GB memory size... 

And 1 GB for R-PI 2 memory...

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

GraphiteGB wrote
Even the rasberry PI 2 is now runnning a 4 core CPU.. with 1MB memory... and it will run windows 10 for Free for $35... You must provide the USB storage space and your own box/case...   

It will run the Internet of Things version of Windows 10, and even then a sub version of that.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I think a hybrid box is most likely, probably a Roku 3 minus the remote features and maybe even the SD card reader and USB port.

 

A TV guide, either in the NOW TV app or as a seperate app, would also be good. 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

As Roku LT ( on which NOWTV box was based) was dropped in favour of HDMI Streaming Stick could the new box be based on the Stick.

 

Must say that I'm very pleased with my Stick Smiley Happy