Sky Glass review: streaming TV not quite ready for prime time

Following an update the HDR performance is reasonable, but lacks a bit of peak brightness to really make the picture pop. Overall the screen rivals lower mid-range TVs costing about ?500.

There are ethernet and three HDMI 2.1 ports on the back. But all you need is power and wifi to get up and running, making it a one-cable solution, which is extremely rare in the world of televisions.

Everything Glass does can be delivered via any broadband provider; no satellite connection or Sky broadband is required.

Recommendations are pulled from all the services and apps including Sky, BBC iPlayer ITV Hub, All4, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and others. The unified voice or text search makes finding shows across multiple services quick and easy.

You are at the mercy of content rights and availability too. Not everything is available for on-demand viewing and some things only for a short period if they are, with no way to tell up front from the TV guide. It is not as good as having the content recorded and ready to watch, even weeks later.

Most major on-demand video services are supported, as well as Spotify and YouTube, with Britbox being the only notable exception. But Glass does not support Chromecast or AirPlay from your phone.

The television is generally repairable by Sky in the UK. Repair tools and parts will be made available to third parties within the next two years. It is designed to last a minimum of seven years. The company does not operate trade-in schemes. It will recycle old Sky equipment but not third-party devices.

Sky Glass costs ?649 for the 43in version, ?849 for the 55in and ?1,049 for the 65in when bought outright. It can bought via 24- or 48-month interest-free credit costing from ?13 a month.

The Sky Ultimate TV service (Sky Entertainment and Netflix) costs ?26 a month in HD. The UltraHD HDR and Dolby Atmos package costs an additional ?5 a month. For additional channels, Sky Kids costs ?5, Cinema costs ?11, Sports costs ?25 and BT Sport costs ?30. After 12 months the ability to skip ads in on-demand content will cost ?5 per month.

The TV can be used in limited capacity without a Sky subscription with third-party on-demand apps and the backup Freeview tuner.

Sky Glass is all about convenience. Its streaming system and built-in soundbar removes bundles of cables, boxes and the dish. But while its software and service show lots of promise, it is has bugs and small annoyances, most on-demand apps are slow and clunky, and there are extra hoops that must be jumped through to get to content that make it less convenient to use.

The screen is decent but not spectacular, competing best with lower priced mid-range sets. The sound is great unless you want a real cinema experience, and the remote is great too. The price is tempting when bought monthly, although you must add the cost of the Sky service on top.

Glass is a work in progress with an enormous potential yet to be realised.