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Anonymous User
Not applicable

An embarrassing mess

First off, just to make clear I am a technically able user, with a very fast fibre optic to home connection,

 

none of my other devices or streaming services suffer any issues than the NOW TV app or web site on my Apple TV, iPad, phone or MacBook Pro.

 

first off - the app is terrible, on the Apple TV it's downright embarrassing, trying to watch the episodes of a series one after the other is possibly the worst user experiences I have ever come across. The developers of this app should be embarrassed and/or fired.

 

I'm on latest devices, running latest OS and software - every other app from amazon Prime to iPlayer works without a single issue.

 

On the MacBook I try to watch and am pushed to install an app. I install the app. After the end of an episode I'm pushed back to the web site to manually find and play the next episode, a horrible user experience but still slightly better than the Apple TV. Have you heard of HTML 5 and good user experience?

 

Were is my viewing history, where are recommended shows, series auto play, continue watching?

 

Absolutely dreadful.

 

The app decided to fail on startup on the Apple TV. I'd select the app, loading animation, black screens return to home page. No major issue, I thought I'd airplay the content from my iPad, except NO - that's blocked by the now tv app and web sites along with airplay mirroring. Ok, grab an HDMI cable. Sound is horribly out of sync. Soon gave up on that as unwatchable.

 

i uninstalled and reinstalled the app on my Apple TV, tried a software restart, hard reboot ( unplugged, waiting ten minutes, plug device back in)  then a full reset of the box, which was a complete pain in the rear. I even tried deactivating all of my devices on my account settings on the web site. lo and behold, this final step started the app working again.

 

Except.

 

I now have no devices activated and can't activate any more untIl thirty days have elapsed. So now I have the app back, but can't watch it.

 

This has been the worst streaming media experience and the worst customer service of my life.

 

The NOW TV app is an embarrassment, and the fault lies entirely with SKY and their developers. The licensing restrictions are insane, I have paid to watch this content legally and you prevent me from doing so. Finding and playing content is a mess, series link non-existent - it's easier to find pirate content onljne and stream to the Apple TV - the very thing I wanted to avoid, but you have given me no choice and have taken payment without providing a service.

 

SKY - you either need to sort out this mess or enjoy falling to the bottom of the heap when it comes to streaming media suppliers - this is a very bad joke and I'd like my money back please. I have paid for content that you are not delivering - this service is not as advertised and I will be seeking legal action.

4 REPLIES 4
Tony-D
NOW Team Member
NOW Team Member

 


@Anonymous User wrote:

First off, just to make clear I am a technically able user, with a very fast fibre optic to home connection,

 

none of my other devices or streaming services suffer any issues than the NOW TV app or web site on my Apple TV, iPad, phone or MacBook Pro.

 

first off - the app is terrible, on the Apple TV it's downright embarrassing, trying to watch the episodes of a series one after the other is possibly the worst user experiences I have ever come across. The developers of this app should be embarrassed and/or fired.

 

I'm on latest devices, running latest OS and software - every other app from amazon Prime to iPlayer works without a single issue.

 

On the MacBook I try to watch and am pushed to install an app. I install the app. After the end of an episode I'm pushed back to the web site to manually find and play the next episode, a horrible user experience but still slightly better than the Apple TV. Have you heard of HTML 5 and good user experience?

 

Were is my viewing history, where are recommended shows, series auto play, continue watching?

 

Absolutely dreadful.

 

The app decided to fail on startup on the Apple TV. I'd select the app, loading animation, black screens return to home page. No major issue, I thought I'd airplay the content from my iPad, except NO - that's blocked by the now tv app and web sites along with airplay mirroring. Ok, grab an HDMI cable. Sound is horribly out of sync. Soon gave up on that as unwatchable.

 

i uninstalled and reinstalled the app on my Apple TV, tried a software restart, hard reboot ( unplugged, waiting ten minutes, plug device back in)  then a full reset of the box, which was a complete pain in the rear. I even tried deactivating all of my devices on my account settings on the web site. lo and behold, this final step started the app working again.

 

Except.

 

I now have no devices activated and can't activate any more untIl thirty days have elapsed. So now I have the app back, but can't watch it.

 

This has been the worst streaming media experience and the worst customer service of my life.

 

The NOW TV app is an embarrassment, and the fault lies entirely with SKY and their developers. The licensing restrictions are insane, I have paid to watch this content legally and you prevent me from doing so. Finding and playing content is a mess, series link non-existent - it's easier to find pirate content onljne and stream to the Apple TV - the very thing I wanted to avoid, but you have given me no choice and have taken payment without providing a service.

 

SKY - you either need to sort out this mess or enjoy falling to the bottom of the heap when it comes to streaming media suppliers - this is a very bad joke and I'd like my money back please. I have paid for content that you are not delivering - this service is not as advertised and I will be seeking legal action.


@Anonymous User First of all, you seem to know what you're chatting about so i'm not gonna send you to a random troubleshooting page hoping it will fix ALL the problems you are having. Secondly, i'd like to thank you for taking your time to write this thread and explain (in great detail) what's exactly happening when you try to watch NOW TV via all your Apple products. 

 

I understand why your so frustrated and angry and think you've shown greta patience and dertermination to try and fix it yourself (right down to using a HDMI Cable) I'm hoping we can come to a point where we can at least come to some sort of resolution. Believe me, i've heard of HTML 5 and how much sense it would make to make the move from Silverlight. Unfortunately, that's out of my control but we can look at the other points you have made in this post. I'll be raising this to our developers by the way to see if something can actually be done as i myself feel this needs adressing ASAP. It's true, if you're paying for content then the user experience should be as seemless as possible, just like it is on our Box and Android apps. 

 

@Anonymous User I'll send you a PM now to see if we can get the last part of your post resolved then move on form there ok? 

Anonymous User
Not applicable
Thank you for your swift response - I’ve been able to have the device limit reset so I’m up and running again, however in spite of one or two of the team seeming very good indeed - including yourself - the app is an embarrassment on Apple TV and the web site and I’ll be cancelling my subscription at the end of this month. It seems SKY aren’t interested in this as a service, it’s a shame and I guess amazon and apple will continue to get all my hard earned pennies!

Thanks again for your time.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Spoke too soon, managed two episodes of modern family and now app refuses to launch again. Select app, loading progress icon, black screen, pushed back to home screen after ninety seconds or so - right back to square one. Pointless.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

When is this awful app going to be updated, auto watching of next episode, more responsive, easy landing page to see what you've been watching and suggestions, my list. It really is a horrible user experience nearly a year after I first used it. No sign of improvement and not really the unique content to justify the expense.

 

will definitely consider cancelling my packages unless the app improves.