Sky Stream & Sky Glass: How do they differ?

Jonathan Victoria • 08 Aug 2024 Guides

Two stellar stream-based TV options.

Today’s world is a lot more digital than it was even just 10 years ago. Everything seems to be online, with the use of physical cables becoming increasingly obsolete.

The same goes for your TV, where Sky is looking towards streaming-based to provide their TV services. That’s where Sky Stream and Sky Glass come in.

The pair offer the same thing - Sky TV via stream as opposed to via satellite cable like with the older Sky Q. But that doesn’t mean they are the same product. In fact, they are rather different in one major way.

Let us bring you the information you need to know about Sky Stream and Sky Glass, helping you to become more informed about both products so you can make a better decision as to which one is right for you.

Sky Glass

What is Sky Glass?

Sky Glass brings the box and the TV together, integrating traditional TV viewing with on-demand streaming services, removing the need for a separate satellite dish or set-top box. 

Glass aims to simplify the user experience by combining multiple entertainment sources into a single, sleek unit. It offers a seamless, plug-and-play setup, making it easy for users to access their favourite shows, movies, and live channels through a unified interface.

One of the key features of Sky Glass is its voice-controlled functionality, which allows users to do things like navigate channels, search for content, and control the volume using voice commands. You do this through the remote, which has a built-in microphone which you speak into.

You also have the standard features that make Sky TV so great, such as pausing and rewinding live shows and personalised recommendations. One thing that doesn’t feature, though, is recording shows. This feature has been removed and replaced with a playlist feature, so it will be available to you to watch once essentially on catchup.

Sky Glass supports various streaming apps, including Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, enabling users to switch effortlessly between live TV and streaming services. 

Additionally, it includes Sky's own content offerings, such as Sky Atlantic, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema*, as well as Sky’s deep catalogue of box sets and movies, further enhancing its appeal to a broad audience.

*Sky Sports and Sky Cinema are available only for customers who have purchased the relevant subscriptions.

Sky Glass specs

The 4K Ultra-HD Sky Glass TV uses Quantum Dot technology, which produces vibrant colours and an unrivalled picture quality, better than QLED. It also has 360° Dolby Atmos® which delivers thunderous bass and rich, crystal-clear sound.

It also has the standard HDMI ports on the back so you can connect other devices to it, such as games consoles. You can even navigate between ports using the voice activation so you never have to worry about remembering which one it is plugged into.

Sky Glass TV sizes & colours

Sky Glass comes in three sizes and five colours, so you have plenty of choice to make it your own.

Size

• 43-inch
• 55-inch
• 65-inch

Colour

• Ceramic White
• Dusky Pink
• Racing Green
• Ocean Blue
• Anthracite Black

Sky Glass price

There are three prices for the Sky Glass depending on which size you opt for, and you can also choose between paying for it upfront or through monthly payments of either 24 or 48 months. The colour of the TV does not change the cost.

43-inch: £699 upfront or £14 a month (48-monthly payments), £28 a month (24-monthly payments)

55-inch: £949 upfront or £19 a month (48-monthly payments), £38 a month (24-monthly payments)

65-inch: £1199 upfront or £24 a month (48-monthly payments), £48 a month (24-monthly payments)

These prices are for the Sky Glass TV only and will be added to your Sky deal alongside your TV subscription(s). You must have at the very least the base Sky Entertainment & Netflix package to access Sky TV.

Representative example: Total payment for 43" Sky Glass - £672; Upfront payment - £20 Total credit - £672; Length of agreement - 48 months; Interest rate fixed - 0%; APR representative - 0% Additional subscriptions are charged separately to the Sky Glass credit agreement.

Note: Prices may change during contract.

Sky Stream

What is Sky Stream?

Sky Stream is Sky, simplified. No dish is needed as, like with Sky Glass, Sky Stream is a streaming-based TV service.

In fact, Stream is similar to Glass in that it packs Sky’s brilliant HD TV service into one device, without the need for a new TV.

Stream is the replacement for Sky Q, the older satellite version of Sky. With Stream, you get a small puck that you simply plug into your TV, connect to the internet and away you go!

Essentially, take everything spoken about above for the Glass and transfer it over to the Stream. They are that similar, only one comes with a new TV and one is a plug-in puck.

Sky Stream puck

Rather than a full-on box like in the past, Sky Stream is a simple, sleek puck that plugs into one of your TV's HDMI ports. There is no need for a satellite dish installation or an engineer visit to set things up as it really is as easy as plug-in and play.

You do need a steady and capable broadband connection to make it work, ideally a minimum of 25Mbps download speed.

HD comes as standard and all the features listed with the Glass also apply to the Stream, including the replaced recording feature for playlists.

The remote is the same as Glass too, with the voice activation feature to make searching and manoeuvring through the Sky TV menu easier.

Sky Stream vs Sky Q

As mentioned, Sky Stream is the successor to Sky Q, becoming Sky’s new defacto flagship TV service offering.

While Sky Q is still available and is used primarily for people who may not experience the best broadband in their area, Sky encourages new and existing customers to choose Stream (or Glass, depending on their needs).

There are benefits to Stream that you can’t get with Q, such as HD as standard and the choice between a full contract or a monthly rolling contract.

As another positive to Stream, getting the device setup requires no visit from an engineer, meaning no need for any sort of dish installation or delay in getting your service up and running.

Sky Stream also works out cheaper to Sky Q, with the base service with no add-ons works out to be £3 cheaper for the standard price on a 24-month contract (Sky Q price = £31 a month).

Sky Stream price

Sky Stream is available on a 24-month contract or a 31-day rolling contract, with the 24-month contract working out cheaper while the rolling contract allows you the freedom to cancel any time you’d like.

24-month contract: £28 a month

31-day rolling contract: £31 a month

Note: Prices may change during contract.