04-02-2015 15:19 - edited 04-02-2015 15:24
04-02-2015 18:29
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.
04-02-2015 19:09 - edited 04-02-2015 19:11
Hi @Anonymous User @Andy and @Anonymous User and everyone else
@Anonymous User You have a realistic view on things as always .
In my book there are two requirements which need to be met with this new box.
I know people are going to hate me for saying this 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.
04-02-2015 19:59
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...
04-02-2015 20:51
05-02-2015 12:11
@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 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.
04-02-2015 19:13 - edited 04-02-2015 19:16
@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...
04-02-2015 19:37
Made typo above that should be 2GB memory size...
And 1 GB for R-PI 2 memory...
04-02-2015 19:54
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.
05-02-2015 8:16
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.
05-02-2015 11:03
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