My wife tried the Macbook route but subtitles only lasted a few minutes then disappeared. They all suddenly appeared at the end of the show. I assume the the roku box is pretty much the same as the nowtv stick with a couple of extra services(?) [lazy I know but losing the will with now]
The NowTV stick is made by Roku for Sky. it’s pretty much locked up to NowTV, with some extra NowTV-specific features, especially during setup where you have to sign up for NowTV, and you get virtual passes to any Entertainment, etc., offer bundled with the Stick. And only those other services that Sky authorise to be on it, which do not include Amazon Video, surprise, surprise.
The Roku Stick actually comes with many many other apps, and no subscription tie-ups to any of them unless you want this. Mostly of niche interest at best, but this is the only way to get NowTV plus Amazon Video on a single stick. And Disney+ and Apple, and of course Netflix and YouTube, but no Britbox (yet?)
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
@Roy I too am a great fan of Roku. But NOW TV and Amazon Prime Video are also available on Chromecast, as are most services including Britbox. Apple TV+ can be cast from the Chrome browser on a computer, but not from mobile devices.
I don’t understand ‘available on Chromecast’, stated as if it was equivalent to ‘available on a Roku Stick’.
While whatever you are streaming has to be supported (on, over, by or for, depending on how you look at it) Chromecast, don't you have to have anything you want to stream over Chromecast already available, somehow, on the device you are streaming it from?
So Chromecast is just a way of watching something you already have on another device, presumably with a smaller screen than your TV, on that larger screen?
i know Chromecast takes over the heavy lifting, thus relieving the source device of the job - but how do you then control it, if you want to pause while you nip to the fridge to get a beer say, or to deal with the after effects of doing that earlier - on the TV, or do you still need the source device for that?
Or did I miss the memo?
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Hey @Roy, of course they work differently, we all know that. My point remains about availability of services. Roku is great if you don't have a computer, or any mobile devices. Not so good if you want to watch BT Sport, the one remaining significant gap in it's otherwise comprehensive arsenal. And of course you can pause, rewind etc. on Chromecast from the casting device. Using it much like you would a separate remote control.
Anyone who put their now device out to pasture when youview acquired full fat now tv might want to reinstall it now that Disney + and Roku channel are recent additions to now devices.
Sky is owned by Comcast, publicly traded, symbol CMCSA on NASDAQ.
Disney is another, and quite separate, publicly traded company, symbol DIS on NASDAQ. There is no single owner. There are almost 1.5 billion shares of Disney Stock. Robert Iger, the President and Chairman of the company, and the largest single stockholder, owns over a million of those shares.
Or have I missed the thrust of your observation?
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Anyone who put their now device out to pasture when youview acquired full fat now tv might want to reinstall it now that Disney + and Roku channel are recent additions to now devices.
Full fat streaming services have subtitles, @kodikid
As we rather rely on them, in these mumblecore days of soft voices and loud music scores, our other NowTV devices are a long way from going out to pasture.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
I'm late to this topic. I'm looking for alternatives to Sky and have a few questions.
Is the full now tv feature available to non bt or talktalk customers (I'm on Virgin and not intending to change at the moment)?
Is it available on the Humax dvr t2000? Their site says no, but you only mention the t1000 and t1010. If not, is there a youview device I can get that will?
Hi Can't speak for talk talk but yes now tv is available to non bt customers. It's also available on the T2000. If I was you I would seriously consider the T4000 as in my opinion it is a superior device (4k). No youview devices have WiFi capabilities if that's important to you. Happy hunting.
I'm late to this topic. I'm looking for alternatives to Sky and have a few questions.
Is the full now tv feature available to non bt or talktalk customers (I'm on Virgin and not intending to change at the moment)?
Is it available on the Humax dvr t2000? Their site says no, but you only mention the t1000 and t1010. If not, is there a youview device I can get that will?
Yes, anyone with a NowTV subscription (or as we must now call it, a Now membership) can watch that on a YouView box.
I think you have the box availability backwards. The modern devices, the T2000, DN372, BT T2xxx and T4000 boxes can all get it; the mentioned T1000 and T1010, which are older devices , and the DN370T likewise, can’t.
You can’t buy YouView devices retail any more, though there are plenty on Amazon or eBay, both new and secondhand.
But unless you have other reasons for wanting to get a YouView box, the cheapest way to switch from Sky to Now is to buy a Roku device for around £30.
Four other things to note:-
Now on YouView doesn’t have subtitles. That is a dealbreaker for our ageing ears, so we always watch Now on a stick, even though we have several YouView boxes.
Now is only recordable for BT TV customers with their Now bought via BT, for whom the Now channels in the BT TV EPG open up.
We don’t give a toss about this; we have never wanted to record anything on Now, with most things readily available on demand, though Sport used to be a sticking point for other people here.
What everyone should do on Now bought from Now is to start the cancellation process almost as soon as you become a member; you will get an automated retention discount offer, which you can accept instead of cancelling; nobody need pay full price for Now after the first month.
Such deals are not available to those who subscribe via BT TV.
Now support for Now streaming consists only of a Community, an online chat service, Twitter, and email. There is no telephone support.
A small plus for BT TV is that they do give telephone support to their Now customers.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
@Roy, @kodikid, thanks both of you for the advice and the quick reply. Your caveats aren't a concern to me. What is a worry is that the boxes are not available by retail. In my experience, that happens when a service is being wound down. Is there a chance that the youview service will be stopped in the near future? I have a Roku stick. As a on-demand aggregator, it's not bad, although newly broadcast shows are not always found by the search, and the ui is clunky. It's no replacement for a good on-demand enabled pvr. I've bought a t4000 refurb on your advice. Many thanks again to you both.
@Roy, @kodikid, thanks both of you for the advice and the quick reply. Your caveats aren't a concern to me. What is a worry is that the boxes are not available by retail. In my experience, that happens when a service is being wound down. Is there a chance that the youview service will be stopped in the near future? I have a Roku stick. As a on-demand aggregator, it's not bad, although newly broadcast shows are not always found by the search, and the ui is clunky. It's no replacement for a good on-demand enabled pvr. I've bought a t4000 refurb on your advice. Many thanks again to you both.
Speculating here, but the lack of retail boxes could mean a hardware refresh is one the way at some point, or/and change of manufacturer.
The good thing about Youview boxes, is that they will continue to work even if you no longer subscribe to bt or talk talk. They’ll work much the same as a retail box with the same apps apart from Amazon which hasn’t turned up on retail bought boxes yet.
BT’s involvement is good indicator of the long term validity of the service I think. However I hope the retail side continues.
Comments
The Roku Stick actually comes with many many other apps, and no subscription tie-ups to any of them unless you want this. Mostly of niche interest at best, but this is the only way to get NowTV plus Amazon Video on a single stick. And Disney+ and Apple, and of course Netflix and YouTube, but no Britbox (yet?)
I don’t understand ‘available on Chromecast’, stated as if it was equivalent to ‘available on a Roku Stick’.
While whatever you are streaming has to be supported (on, over, by or for, depending on how you look at it) Chromecast, don't you have to have anything you want to stream over Chromecast already available, somehow, on the device you are streaming it from?
So Chromecast is just a way of watching something you already have on another device, presumably with a smaller screen than your TV, on that larger screen?
i know Chromecast takes over the heavy lifting, thus relieving the source device of the job - but how do you then control it, if you want to pause while you nip to the fridge to get a beer say, or to deal with the after effects of doing that earlier - on the TV, or do you still need the source device for that?
Or did I miss the memo?
Sky is owned by Comcast, publicly traded, symbol CMCSA on NASDAQ.
Disney is another, and quite separate, publicly traded company, symbol DIS on NASDAQ. There is no single owner. There are almost 1.5 billion shares of Disney Stock. Robert Iger, the President and Chairman of the company, and the largest single stockholder, owns over a million of those shares.
As we rather rely on them, in these mumblecore days of soft voices and loud music scores, our other NowTV devices are a long way from going out to pasture.
Some good content in my opinion.
[EDIT] Oh look! It did!
>BURP<
Is the full now tv feature available to non bt or talktalk customers (I'm on Virgin and not intending to change at the moment)?
Is it available on the Humax dvr t2000? Their site says no, but you only mention the t1000 and t1010. If not, is there a youview device I can get that will?
Thanks
Can't speak for talk talk but yes now tv is available to non bt customers.
It's also available on the T2000.
If I was you I would seriously consider the T4000 as in my opinion it is a superior device (4k).
No youview devices have WiFi capabilities if that's important to you.
Happy hunting.
Yes, anyone with a NowTV subscription (or as we must now call it, a Now membership) can watch that on a YouView box.
You can’t buy YouView devices retail any more, though there are plenty on Amazon or eBay, both new and secondhand.
But unless you have other reasons for wanting to get a YouView box, the cheapest way to switch from Sky to Now is to buy a Roku device for around £30.
Four other things to note:-
That is a dealbreaker for our ageing ears, so we always watch Now on a stick, even though we have several YouView boxes.
We don’t give a toss about this; we have never wanted to record anything on Now, with most things readily available on demand, though Sport used to be a sticking point for other people here.
What everyone should do on Now bought from Now is to start the cancellation process almost as soon as you become a member; you will get an automated retention discount offer, which you can accept instead of cancelling; nobody need pay full price for Now after the first month.
Such deals are not available to those who subscribe via BT TV.
Now support for Now streaming consists only of a Community, an online chat service, Twitter, and email. There is no telephone support.
A small plus for BT TV is that they do give telephone support to their Now customers.
Your caveats aren't a concern to me. What is a worry is that the boxes are not available by retail. In my experience, that happens when a service is being wound down. Is there a chance that the youview service will be stopped in the near future?
I have a Roku stick. As a on-demand aggregator, it's not bad, although newly broadcast shows are not always found by the search, and the ui is clunky. It's no replacement for a good on-demand enabled pvr.
I've bought a t4000 refurb on your advice.
Many thanks again to you both.
The good thing about Youview boxes, is that they will continue to work even if you no longer subscribe to bt or talk talk. They’ll work much the same as a retail box with the same apps apart from Amazon which hasn’t turned up on retail bought boxes yet.
BT’s involvement is good indicator of the long term validity of the service I think. However I hope the retail side continues.