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Anonymous User
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Sky Movies subscription vs Now TV Movies pass

I briefly tried Sky Movies TV package on Virgin for £7 a month (trial period) and cancelled as it was SD. Full price HD (720p) Sky Movies was going to be £27 a month full price.

As far as I can see the movie rotation matches the content on Now TV movies which is £10 for HD (1080p?) on which you can watch what you want, when you want.

Am I missing something? Is there more to the cable/satellite version of Sky Movies threat justifies nearly 3 times the cost of Now TV movies?
14 REPLIES 14
Anonymous User
Not applicable

The cable version IS HD the Box were you using on VM was restricted to SD...

Tivo is HD but the box just sucks every other way...

NowTV is only 720p and is restricted content not every broadcast live is on ondemand you also Can't view with out broadband...

 

So If you live on Dartmoor you get a dish... and a generator to watch TV you have no choice others have to work it out themselves...

 

Sky dish Vs NowTV IPTV content open spoiler.

 

Spoiler

The feature set is what people subscribe for as extra to the TV shows on the Dish...

 

Sky Dish users get Normal HDTV first (thats why people get a Dish primary) they want to watch boxsets and catch up and PVR live content from MORE channels and they have researched that the extra shows on Alibi and Watch and Scifi and Universal and so on and so on will be what they watch... All other content is an extra...   Films and sport are extra services and are added AFTER TV channels..

 

The Sky+HD Box is a PVR this means any content can be recorded to watch later same as Tivo... and it DOWNLOADs on demand content. No streaming, actualy downloads in 1080i... so you can watch with out putting load on your internet by downloading when your all a sleep then when others do some thing live on Broadband you don't use up the broadband...
The Dish also Downloads Pre selected anytime content from the DISH connection thats right... Those with BT 2Mb/s connection can watch 1080i content pre loaded from the dish feed... No internet required for anytime ondemand it preloaded before broadcasts to the box Smiley LOL...  This IS the core reason SKY dish became popular NO broadband required to watch HD content... 

 

Ondemand does not have every thing broadcast... thats why its a PVR still... Series link Every show of a series in 1080i... Like a show advertised, press green button and series link selection pop up... show returning advert hit the green button series link it...  

 

Thats what most sky dish users have, Many many many users do not have movies or sport... despite the continued pressure to buy people do not have movies or sport... This is still SkyUK core market...

 

Now adding Movies to a sky dish sub gets complex because there are bucket load of offers... which can be effected if you have BB or  phone with Sky... Many users bundle services and then the price drops like a stone...

Once again you get all the feature set of the Sky+HD box. 1080i, PVR, Dish downloads, ondemand movies...

 

You have to work out How many films you REALY REALY would watch... not the Ill watch because there on but mega films you were realy tempted to put up with even going to the cinema to watch... but then for some reason you never then watched Via BD or DVD or PPV rental...

 

If you realy do want to watch 4 films each month that you never rented on BD or saw in the cinema the subscription to movies  should be worth it for you... The next chioce is would you use it enough too be in a 12 month contract if the answers no then you can't realy sign up for a dish contract and IPTV is the only option... IF yes then your choice is how much content will I miss with out the PVR and requiring my broadband is not disconnected If nothing then you don't need a Dish and can use IPTV...


My cinema has put the price up to >£10 per film... so thats only ~3 films now... BD rental ~£5.= 6 films per month.. 

 

Sky dish users Allready have IPTV services run at no extra costs for when your out of your home... ( but is advert funded )....
The Feature set of the Sky +HD and not using BB is why people have a Dish...  

If your into sport every thing goes out the window in pricing for movies as the bundle adds movies for only £8...

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Ok, that's a lot of text, I need to read closely again, but I think you might have missed my question.

 

I have TiVo, with Virgin's XL package. That's all channels except Sky premiums. Most major channels are HD, but I assure you, the channel range Virgin gave me for the £7 per month trial of Sky movies on WAS SD. I know this because 1) I can see it, 2) the HD channels were greyed out and 3) the sales rep told me so when I was cancelling.

 

 

I have 150MB VM broadband, TV is via cable and I have no issues like living on broadmoor. PVR and broadcast TV is something we use less and less (the kids barely use it at all) but Virgin made the offer to me so I thought I'd compare it to Now TV.

 

So my question boils down to this:

- what is the difference in content between Sky movies channels and Now TV movies pass.

 

I'm only asking about movies, not PVR, entertainment packs, box sets, series links (my VM package already has all that), cinema costs etc. It may be that the Virgin offer is rubbish value, but that's not the question either, I just want to know the movies content difference. 

 

cheers

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User the movies on NOW TV match those from Sky and include the 4 premieres each week. You can also watch the movie channels live. The quality is up to 720p depending on the device you use to watch them.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
That's great thanks. Actually I think there's something on Sky movies that's not on Now TV "on demand" and that's the movies under the Sky Select channel. For instance Wolf of Wall Street was playing on that channel but isn't searchable in Now TV. But of course you can watch it live.

I just cannot for the life of me see the point of adding Sky Movies package to your cable/satellite subscription for £27 per month when Now TV has almost everything for £10.

I'm not complaining, just confused why people would pay that much.

Thanks for the answers.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User Wolf of Wall Street was available to watch on demand for a year from October 2014, it's since left that part of the service. But any new movie on Sky Movies Premier will be around for at least a year on demand and on some occasions a week earlier as a See it First.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

The other issues you have to deal with is VM charge MORE than SKYUK do for delivering it buy cable..

The movies is £17 extra with sky dish not £27 extra... even with out any discount... So the feature set of the dish service is only £7 more... 

Anonymous User
Not applicable
So Sky Movies HD is just £17 on top of other packages with Sky subscription. Interesting, cheers VM for overcharging us!

But I still don't see what benefit you get for the extra £7 over Now TV (assuming you have broadband and an Internet TV/device). The benefit of Now TV's on demand and live access makes normal TV subscription seem overpriced and antiquated. As long as the movies keep refreshing well, I think I'll stick with it.

I think Now TV plus Amazon Prime or Netflix plus all the free channel catchup apps means you really don't need a Sky or TiVo box anymore. The first provider that bundles all those apps into a single guide/concierge service can just take my money. That would be worth paying extra for and sounds like the Holy grail of TV for me.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

The android platform has allready got all in one place content services...

All UK TV  catch up apps are now on Android touch screen devices... 

 

but unifcation of catch is not going to happen ITV and CH4 continue to reject BBCs calls to use a single system and want to catch up their way ( just look how bad ITV player is on NowTV boxes... "shudders")... Strange as it was CH5 old owners did agree... but now Viacom may want there own System...

 

Spoiler

 

 

Screenshot_2016-01-10-21-59-55.png 

 

 

 

 

 

4268
Legend 5
Legend 5

Worst case price for movies here is £10. However, you can often get deals. I am currently averaging under £5 a month.
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