The latest media player offered by the Sky subsidiary, which is very popular amongst those who like to have full control over what they pay to watch.
What is the difference between the NOW TV Stick and the NOW TV Box, you may be asking? Well in truth, there isn’t a glaring amount of difference (apart from the price). The stick is meant to be tucked away out of sight, but the box does have a few more features thanks to the boost in size and power. The ability to connect it straight to an Ethernet cable as opposed to having to rely on Wi-Fi will be a big factor that appeals to some.
Then there is the difference between the ordinary box and Smart box. Why is this Smart one better? Well, you get the Voice Control and 4K ability, supported up to 60p. There is also microSD storage, live pause technology and ‘Night Mode’. The latter reduces loud sounds so you can safely binge your favourite shows at night without waking everybody up. And, there is support for Netflix and Prime which was until recently omitted.
The older model is being phased out, so this is the one you want for future proofing your purchase. However, NOW TV still only operates in 720p itself which is disappointing. Although it has promised this will get to 1080p ASAP.
The box did use to have an inbuilt Freeview tuner so you could connect an aerial to it and use it to watch Freeview channels, but this feature has been discontinued unfortunately so beware before you buy as some of the other info out there is confusing depending on which model it refers to.
Apart from this though, it is still a strong option for anyone who likes a flexible choice. A couple of extras features compared to the stick may sway people, but whichever you plump for, welcome to the world of satellite TV without the hefty long-term subscription.
