Can't hear you. Speak up!

Ian who?

Jesus Christ!

It's a £69+ box for £15 where you do not even need to use their services!

If you want netflix, buy a Roku3.

Stop whining like a spoilt child.

Recap:

Available from 06/08 from Nowtv website for £14.99

Available instore at Argos from 07/08

Now TV Smart Box with 3 Months Sky Entertainment Pass - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4146678.htm

Now TV Smart Box and 2 Months Sky Movies Pass - - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4240251.htm

Now TV Smart Box and 2 Days Sky Sports Pass - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4441799.htm

It is based on the new Roku 2 but is crippled.

No Netflix now or ever.

No Kodi.

Previous NowTV box allowed sideloading of Emby Media Browser or Plex via the developer console. Confirmed that this is still the case.

New Box has USB and MicroSD slots for playing of MP4 and MK4 files. No word on what app/software this would be possible.

Box is capable of outputting 1080p. Sky's own NowTV streams are only 720p.

I will be dropping into Argos in the morning to pick one up. Need the ethernet connection to guarantee no stuttering on larger MKV streamed from Emby Server on HP Microserver to Emby.

I have recommended the original box to 4 people for use with Emby and we have bought 16 between us. We also ended up buying NowTV passes repeatedly so hopefully SKY see sideloading as a positive.

will this new box run iPlayer without all the stuttering between menus as since the last upgrade its been really bad.

Sky content will remain at 720p.Only iPlayer etc will be full HD

Be aware the Sky content isn't in Full HD only iplayer, All4 etc....

Plus you can connect USB stick and micro SD. Bargain of the century for converting to smart tv.

Can I reflash this back to a Roku 3 (e.g. to support Netflix)?

Better off with my Amazon fire tv stick most of the channels on Kodi are Full HD...

Ordered, just to see if I can still use plex.

Not being able to watch Netflix (or even side load the app) is a deal breaker for me.

Scared of the competition, NowTV ?

What exactly were you expecting with the original box being hacked?
Sideloading apps was about the most you could do..

the ethernet port is the key for me. my wifi is shocking (old house, thick walls). got power lines everywhere so might plump for this. Voucher wise Im sorted until november with ents and october with movies. Guess Movie pack is the best bet - takes me up til christmas

Does anyone know for sure whether it is possible to Sideload Plex onto these new boxes? Ordered anyway.

Yes Plex can be side loaded...

Would Itv player and Channel 4 still be in standard definition, or HD?

Ha ha, you remember the old ONdigital days as well then!?

any optical or coaxial out on these?


I'll just keep the previous ones then.

does this have the headphone jack in the remote like the roku 3?

I've got a chromecast but would I be right in thinking this would be better for playing all the iplayer and on demand services?

sticking with my original box's as sky will still be 720p and not really bothered about iplayer in full hd,, great buy if you haven't already got a box though. hot.

looks like they've dropped the headphone jack from the remote control that Roku 3 usually offers. Certainly no mention of it in the promo material or tech specs.

can u get kodi on new boxs ?

Be great if kodi could be side loaded

Really cant see the benefit of a microSD slot unless gaming. Assume no other apps (that can run on NOWTV 2015 Box) unless someone knows differently?.. Was also expecting some nee bundled Sky Packages but seems the same/ 1 Week Sports was added a while back but the promo seemed to suggest more coming. Thoughts?

Maybe the original NOWTV box will be able to be picked up cheaper soon?

Nice - can you side-load XBMC or anything else? Would jump on one if it does at least Netflix and network streaming (not DLNA, but NFS).

I UPGRADWED MINE KIDS WATCH IT WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PURCHASE TOO MUCH HAD A FIRE STICK BUT TOO EASY TO BUY PROGRAMMES.

SHOULD BE GOOD BARGAIN

Hi does anyone know if you can watch sky go on your tv using this?

Could somebody please tell me what exactly this box does, it is so you can watch Iplayer on your TV, sorry not tech educated.

hot

The options in the Iplayer settings on the OLD box are HD or SD or LOWER Quality. The best option looks better and more HD than the Sky 720p program offerings - maybe it streams direct from the beeb? And surely most folk have got another device that can do the Iplayer in best HD quality (for their connection speed) already?

will be interesting to see if Kodi can be loaded on this!!

Can anyone confirm if you can sideload RARflix 3.2.6 on this box? Also if you can does that mean it will playback in 1080p?

Thanks

ok thanks

Anyone know of any good offers for a Movie Pass that isn't new customers only? I wanna watch the Star Wars movies with my young cousin.

I have the original Now tv boxes. Once I get the Sky movies in HD I'll upgrade to this model ... that's if I haven't cancelled first.

Does this have lan

Calm down dear it's only a gadget. Have you been to anger management classes yet?

Tempted, but as nothing will actually be streamed at 1080p it's not really worth it on top of the 3 existing boxes I already have!

Lol didnt click till afetr i read it haha

just wondering, if i have a smart tv would this be useful to me?

Assuming NowTV have left the USB & SD slots enabled, you could plug in a card / stick / portable hard drive that has video files on it, and watch them on your TV. It's a brilliant feature. A bit like having a Plex setup, but with no need for a separate server. I guess you could use the SD slot to play stills off your camera's SD card? [edit: sorry, it's a microSD slot isn't it - so maybe no good for camera pics]

Along with the ethernet connection option (so you don't have to rely on wireless) this is a stunning spec for the money. It does pretty much everything that my WDTV media player box does, for 20% of the price.

I'm looking forward to Tesco trying to clear out old boxes with vouchers :smiley:.
And then hopefully find the new box with vouchers at the "normal" tenner prices!

Not sure if it allow videos or pics from sd.. anyone got a definative answer as that would be cool if possible...

Can anyone confirm for sure whether it's the NowTV app or the new box itself is limited to 720p? This link here seems to suggest the box is actually limited, not the app. If in the future it could display 1080 content with an app upgrade then I'd be happy but if not then its difficult to see much advantage over the current box, assuming you don't have wifi issues.

Cracking deal then.. This is going to get really hot..
Stop moaning trolls it's 15 notes

Yep I'd like to find out for sure what it can do through the USB & SD slots. I really hope they've been left intact. I don't need one of these, but am tempted to get one just to find out & for the joy of tinkering...

I think strictly speaking this new box is the equivalent of the new Roku 2 box (not the slightly higher-specced Roku 3 as it says in the OP), but either way it's a great price. I have a Roku 2 and it's a cracking gadget - but it retails at £60+!

But can you side load RARflix 3.2.6 on it, like you could with the white boxes?

Just bought an old one with a sports pass ready for the football at the weekend.

From what I've read it'll only stream in sd? Anyone know of the new one will be able to stream in 720p or above?

If this doesn't run android/Linux/openelec then I see now way how you would be able to install kodi on it.

It's a good price for what it is though but I agree that the kindle fire stick is probably a better option.

can you play video files over your network with these, I have a hp microserver

My advise rather wait for the Roku 4 when comes out reason the box contains lots of buffering issues.

I think its the other way around i.e. 3 month entertainment or 2 months movies. Im sure that's what you meant to say :-)

Same here. I hear people saying you can but i've seen no confirmed proof.

The method for side-loading previously involved using the developer menu. The Roku3 uses the same method to enable developer settings (http://sdkdocs.roku.com/display/sdkdoc/Developer+Guide#DeveloperGuide-71EnablingDevelopmentModeonyourbox), so presuming Sky hasn't managed to block developer mode it should be as easy as always to side-load apps.

Off topic a little but what's the difference between Plex and Kodi? Don't they more or less look and work the same way?

Agree with your point but did you have to overreact. Okay the guy was having a slight moan that perhaps wasn't justified but neither was your over the top response to the

Had to stop going, the guy was really annoying.

Are you The Mum from my favorite twitter account? https://twitter.com/textsfrommum

cheers i used prime but switched to netflix

Cold. Can't flash it to emulate a Sinclair Spectrum.

It's hardly a £69 box

Decided to order one direct from Sky (Now TV) as I'd like to get hold of one ASAP. Was debating one with a pass but at a extra £10 it isn't really significantly better than you can get on eBay or selecting to cancel because too expensive at the end of my current pass, so I got the box only at £15.

Just hope I don't find that when it is released to the general retailers that it is available for £10 for the box or £20 with pass, though I would think demand would be enough to sell it at full RRP for a while...

Saw the spec on these and decided sky have messed up not making these 1080p streams so as a subsciber of both nowtv and netflix went and bought a Roku stick. Got to say theyre a lot faster than the old nowtv despite wifi direct remote and sure is good having a nice 1080 stream from netflix. Doesnt stop me having Nowtv as well as sky get newer movies and also got a 3 month entertainment pass for nowtv all for 39 quid. No sideloading plex required so for those that need Netflix and like 1080 serioisly recommend going Roku.

Who said these aren't 1080P capable? Now TVs own services aren't 1080P but they won't be on any system, that is a limitation of how Now TV encode the content (they are probably too cheap to invest in the infrastructure to support 1080P) not the box. I should think with a service that supports 1080P this box would play it.

Tech specs here (scroll to very bottom of screen): http://www.nowtv.com/box

You can play MK4 and MKV from the USB port:

USB media formats:
Video: MP4 (H.264), MKV (H.264)
Audio: AAC, MP3
Image: JPG, PNG

Can you hack this the same way you could on the previous model? I want to sideload the plex app. I got 4 of the previous model just to use as PLEX streamers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTXciw1LAaU

Could definitely be done on the original box. I did it without any issue, though you need a Plex Premium account in order to stream to it now. I never actually had a valid use for it as it was always easier just to copy the files onto a USB and play on the TV.

However, it's also possible that the latest firmware upgrade on the existing boxes prevents the side loading of it (I haven't tried since last update).

It was supposedly also possible to side load Netflix, but I never succeeded in doing so.

With regards to the USB and SD slots, you would think they are active, but they will also require some form of media player app and I've not seen anything to suggest that is available.

Never had any buffering or picture quality issues on any of the 3 boxes we have.

You right, the hardware does have 1080p output, its the stream from sky that currently isn't 1080p
1080p hardware out put is confirmed on the following sky page, scroll all the way to the bottom and click on "technical specification"
http://www.nowtv.com/box

Sky have never broadcast 1080p anyway. Best you can get with their HD box is 1080i, so this is no real surprise.
I'd be surprised if anyone gets a genuine 1080p file to work even through the USB port, seeing as a true Blu-ray rip would be best part of 30-40Gb.

The box allows 1080 content, its just Nowtv content that is streamed at 720p, iplayer etc is 1080. To the guy who said this is crap hardware, its a 5x improvement on raw processing power over the old white box...

Yeah, i've already got a couple of original Now TV boxes and have sideloaded Plex/Rarflix without issue. Also, people saying that it can be done on the Roku 3 is all very well and good, I just want confirmation that it can be done on the new Now TV box.

I guess we won't know until these get to us for sure.

bargain if they haven't stopped the side loading. I have a roku 2xs and that was £40 so this is a steal.

Just for information guys, Sky also owns Roku . So if they will give a full Roku 3 specs in this new box, where is the differentiator and why would they compete with their own Roku3 at £15?

Surely, they must have crippled some of the funcationalities/sideloading etc.

Someone prove me wrong, when they receive the boxes. Till then I am not buying , even to tinker.

It was originally reported as such but since corrected:

http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/05/sky-now-tv-full-hd/

never said the box is not capable it does do 1080p just not Now TV as you say the service isn't there and I expect that NowTV will up its game in the future and at that time Roku 4 with 4K will probably be out. Just said for those that want both the ability in the future to 1080 on Now TV and to 1080 on Netflix now then Roku Stick is a better alternative!!

You can also get channelpear app on plex which give you access to hd streams!.

Recap:

Available from 06/08 from Nowtv website for £14.99

Available instore at Argos from 07/08

Now TV Smart Box with 3 Months Sky Entertainment Pass - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4146678.htm

Now TV Smart Box and 2 Months Sky Movies Pass - - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4240251.htm

Now TV Smart Box and 2 Days Sky Sports Pass - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4441799.htm

It is based on the new Roku 2 but is crippled.

No Netflix now or ever.

No Kodi.

Previous NowTV box allowed sideloading of Emby Media Browser or Plex via the developer console. Confirmed that this is still the case.

New Box has USB and MicroSD slots for playing of MP4 and MK4 files. No word on what app/software this would be possible.

Box is capable of outputting 1080p. Sky's own NowTV streams are only 720p.

I will be dropping into Argos in the morning to pick one up. Need the ethernet connection to guarantee no stuttering on larger MKV streamed from Emby Server on HP Microserver to Emby.

I have recommended the original box to 4 people for use with Emby and we have bought 16 between us. We also ended up buying NowTV passes repeatedly so hopefully SKY see sideloading as a positive.

Comparison specs for the old and new Now TV boxes if anyone is interested

http://help.nowtv.com/article/NOW-TV-Box-Tech-Spec

USB port and MicroSD slot not active by the looks of things
http://help.nowtv.com/article/NOW-TV-Box-Tech-Spec

According to above link:
USB – Not currently for use Hardware for potential future functionality
MicroSD card slot Not currently for use Hardware for potential future functionality

I got the new Roku box... Bundled with Now TV , Netflix etc.. plus usb input. Better than Sky box IMO

I may have been interested in one of these but Sky's refusal to incorporate subtitles into the original box annoyed me. I would guess this box doesn't handle them either. Fortunately I stumbled across the Amazon Fire stick and I now have super fast iPlayer (in comparison to NowTV box), subtitles and access to just about any film or TV program I want.

Shall wait until sideloading is confirmed, seems a great buy with Ethernet that will enable 1080p streaming via Plex without buffering if you can load it on and a £15 box will be better than devices costing £40+

Can you send your PC desktop/display to your TV connected to this. The ROku 3 has a widi like feature too

would be great if there was a little notepad tool within the apps available even if sideloaded.. would be so useful

Best thing I've bought in ages was the Amazon fire TV box to replace my now TV box. Got it for £39 on prime day at discounted rate and used the prime now to take another £10 off. I then stuck Kodi on it and it's fantastic. Can do a lot with the fire TV box that I'm sure a lot more in the know can suggest on here. I'd recommend over this.

Good find, that's worth knowing. Pity...

Yeah. People lose the ability to communicate effectively when they shout. Just ask the oinks next door to me.

I saw on the roku forums that it can, some beta testers have had the boxes a month or so now:
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/987587/#Comment_987587
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/958597/#Comment_958597


IIRC Sky own a large stake in Roku, but not a controlling one.

Google is your friend. Was in the news too, last year. Sky already had a large stake in this company, which inspired them to offer NOW tv box. Now they own it,not under Sky brand, though.

Am I right in thinking the Amazon fire stick Is the best way to get kodi at the min? Thanks

they don't own it, they have invested in it though, pumping in over $12M over the past few years

Yeh get a fire stick and put kodi on yourself or buy a stick with it installed for £60 for all your sports and movies

they don't own roku at all
sky source: https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/our-blog/2015/roku-and-sky-a-partnership-in-action

CommentYeh get a fire stick and put kodi on yourself or buy a stick with it installed for £60 for all your sports and movies

Wow!!! They pumped in that much did they? I wonder what $12 + gets you these days? - and that was spread over a few years too!! That's where all my sky subscription went possibly...

lol edited my post, $12M obviously!

Now TV is the biggest pile of crap, dated at launch and no better now for anyone with a home cinema setup its stuck with 2 channel audio....how two years on it is still trying to compete with Netflix I do not know, at least from the content streaming aspect.

Yes, enabling developer option in the settings menu allows you to IP address inject the apk install file to the firesticks internal memory.

Good Lord, what have you done to the Queen's English?!!

Maybe should have waited till tomorrow and collected it from Argos?

Some people don't pirate, they pay for content from a provider they choose at a price they consider acceptable. Not everyone expects everything for free.

Ha ha, you remember the old ONdigital days as well then!?[/quote]
Oh yes they where great days especially if had the gadget to change the codes on the cards

I have had a few friends over the years, but not one of them has provided a series of blind algorithms and shown me pages of 'results', upon which, the word I typed into the search box doesn't even feature on the site it brought up.
My friends are a bit less hit and miss.

Elevation is ON FIRE!!!!

Some top notch posts my friend!

There's a name for those people....







...I think it's Jeff

Going a bit off topic, but I was wondering if someone could just advise me on what's the difference between Kodi on a fire TV stick v Fire box? I basically am just interested in streaming live premier league games and the adult content! ;-) Am looking at buying a pre loaded one from EBay but don't know whether to go for the stick or box...

OP thread is not quite true regarding 1080p.
Engadget........
"Like the old model, the new all-black Now TV box is basically a rebranded Roku. This time around, though, it's based on the Roku 3, but with one key difference: Sky's version doesn't support full HD (1080p) streams, meaning 720p is still as good as it gets. Nevertheless, with a redesigned Now TV app and a couple of improvements on the hardware side, it's looking like the new Now TV box will be just as good value for money as the last. Especially if you're up for making it more useful than Sky ever intended".

http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/04/sky-new-now-tv/

can anybody confirm through reading forums or their own use if the usb port is active and what media formats it will play through usb - thankyou in advance

I have reserved 2 of the old nowtv boxes from currys for £15 each, both with 3 months entertainment packs. I have the nowtv app on my smart tv, so after I set up an account with them, I will have 6 months now tv for £30, that will do for me.

Google is that creepy friend follows you around, looking at you through the bushes and stares at you through your bedroom window as you sleep.

I think people are getting confused between what the box can do and what the channels provide. If it is indeed a new breed roku 2 as it appears then the box is most definitely 1080p, nowtv channels are not though. You should be able to play full HD through plex without issue, but I'm not home for a week now so can't test mine when it arrives.

Just got the Amazon fire TV box with full side loads & Kodi. Got to admit well impressed

I have a Roku 1 (and about 147 Now TV boxes!), can anyone please recommend an app for either that allows DLNA - I want to be able to watch my WD My Cloud content on one of them if possible. It's only for a TV in my 'guest' bedroom, so don't want to buy yet another device...Thanks in advance.

So ... can you put Plex on these ?

Does anyone know if you can watch live regular TV , BBC 1, ITV, Channel 4 etc on this box via streaming? Also can you use it in Hong Kong or USA?

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes, I have, it's very ineffective, don't know if it only plays a very limited number of file types, but it doesn't 'see' very many of my files :disappointed:

For comparison, I use Vimu on my Fire TV's, and that plays everything.

i have a question. I bought nowtv (the white one) just last sunday. I asked them if it was the new hd but they couldn't tell so i bought it anyway. it's the one with the 3 months entertainment package for £19

this 1080p is the one i was after - where do i stand in getting a refund or exchange? i have opened the box already and activated the code unfortunately (because i was led to believe what i bought was the latest one)

That's funny I was quite happily watching the tour de france, live on ITV4 via a NowTV box (original white one), and I'm guessing it would be more than happy streaming any of the additional ITV channels, live as well.

I assume this new box is no different.

mike

So this is a Roku 3? Only difference is that there is not a Netflix App?

Considering this is a thread about a NowTV box, I would have thought most people are specifically wanting to run Plex, since that surely is the most widely used reason for buying the 'white' NowTV.

Personally I found Kodi to be resource intensive, unreliable and nowhere near as flexible as Plex, the fact I could replace a £200 PC client with a £10 box and £2 Quidco made the whole thing a bit of an easy decision, add to that, show me another box that will happily work with a CRT and run Kodi, then I may pay attention.

mike

does this have the same flaw as the original box that converts all uk 50hz content into juddery 60hz?

Wonder why sky don't have a sky go app installed . essentially multiroom for a one off fee I guess :/

Cold, not 4K.

Look up tvaddons.

Can someone explain in simple English what Now TV is. I have sky and 5 multi room hd boxes.

Sorry to appear so techno ignorant but am over 50 and only just mastered mobile phones.

Thankyou for taking the time to explain.
Can you buy monthly sports package that covers ALL of their main sports channels.
Ans secondly , what is chromecast?

I don't get it, £15 to watch a limited selection of media? Just get an android box for £35 and watch anything you like

It seems like an Apple TV is still the best way to watch NOW TV live sports because it's the only way to get 720p. http://help.nowtv.com/article/Streaming-Quality

Does anyone know the refresh rates of this new box please? I'm guessing still 60hz which produces awful juddering of the football as it moves across the screen :disappointed:

http://www.tvforum.co.uk/mediatech/now-tv-40391/page-4

Get yourself an amazon fire tv stick or box and look up youtube tutorials on how to install kodi and its add ons. You can watch free sky tv for all channels. Forget about getting this cheap box.

Thanks for this.
I also want to know.. some people on here have commented that the white one is better.
For what reason?
The new 1080 box is of interest to me because of the ethernet connection (and obviously the 1080 bit plus the fact it's new)

The white one is known to allow sideloading of a 'developer app', so it can be used for Plex or other apps not available in for nowtv. If this new one doesn't allow that it's pretty worthless to many.

I have an actual Roku 3 and love it, utilising ethernet and 1080p streaming is the main way I watch stuff so was worth the investment.

Guys can anyone please confirm if EMBY (Mediabrowser) can run of this device please and if it's true that the device is 'crippled' to only outputting a 720p resolution so you couldn't use EMBY/PLEX to stream at 1080p anyway?

Never had one of these sticks before...so could someone just give a quick rundown of the benefits of the Fire Stick (at £39) vs this Now TV stick.
Many thanks

Can I get Youtube App with this box?

Thought they would be coming to Argos today; not there yet, will check later!

At the risk of repeating previous posters, there seems to be a bit of a contradiction in Now's specs for this gadget. The glossy marketing page here refers to:

USB media formats: Video: MP4 (H.264), MKV (H.264); Audio: AAC, MP3; Image: JPG, PNG
Ports: ...microSD card slot, USB

whereas the rather harder-to-find page here (respect to shakerstevens for finding this) says:

USB – Not currently for use Hardware for potential future functionality
MicroSD card slot - Not currently for use Hardware for potential future functionality

I wonder which is right? If the latter is correct (which wouldn't surprise me), Now's marketing page is pretty misleading.

The ability to play from a local USB disk / card like a Roku 2 would be a terrific bit of functionality...

I don't run plex, I use XBMC usually on raspberry pi's. Can I not just play stuff over ntfs shares? cheers

Thank you. Ordered.

well to be fair - I don't mind - I paid £19 for the white with 3 months entertainment so that pays for the pass which essentially came with a free white box.
£15 for the new one is not much. I guess I could use the white one upstairs or in my son's bedroom but he has fire stick tv already in his bedroom.

Which is better in your opinion...Fire stick or NowTV?

I can't believe all the posts in here about discouraging use of a legitimate service in favour of using pirated streams.

This is supposed to be a DEALS site. If Netflix or Spotify had deals on, would they also be dismissed in favour of dodgy streams and getting your music off The Pirate Bay? Get a grip, people.

Even if you want to argue over the legality of the streams (I know it's a grey area) there are people who simply want to be able to access Sky content by simply plugging a box into their TV and using a remote (you know, like the 10 million+ Sky TV subscribers in the UK). The Now TV box achieves that for next to nothing and with minimal setup.

Kodi is a hobby, not a service, and you get what you pay for. It's a ballache to set up for anyone with limited technical knowledge (try explaining to the average person what a file repository is) and is even worse to maintain. The interface is a mess and involves hunting through endless submenus just to find the stream you want in the repo that has it. Streams go down, disappear, need to be reinstalled... and that's without having to use a VPN depending on how strict your ISP is.

Also, you can use your Now TV account on up to four devices. That could be a box in the living room, another in the bedroom (cheap multiroom), a laptop and a phone/tablet. It's also a decent way to watch Sky content on an iOS device or Apple TV - something Kodi can only do via jailbreaking (cue all the Apple-bashing nonsense).

Oh, and if you do have an Apple TV? All the content, including live streams of entertainment, movies and sport channels is in HD.

For what it is, Now TV is reasonably good value and easy to use. For the vast majority of people, that's a small cost worth paying.

Nah, plex needs the server to transcode it. Kodi transcodes at the client.
I run kodi as well on pis for tvs, but access to plex served stuff on tablets/phones is good.

I don't think anyone is discouraging anything, if this new box can use 3rd party apps to stream your media around your house for under fifteen quid then it's obviously going to appeal to us techies who DO have the technical knowledge on how to modify these things to get them to work how WE want them too work.

For the average person who just wants to use Now TV then it's a good deal too so everybody wins!

I've not really used the fire stick much. I bought it for my son.
It's tiny tho! and I like the simplicity of the remote and the fact it's just a dongle that you plug into your spare HDMI.

uhm - my son watches youtube on it mainly. That's why I got it for him (he's crazy into minecraft as most kids are right now)

If you can get the Fire stick for £19.. I would say go for it. it has support for games as well.
We got the NowTV as we've cancelled our SKY package simply because of the cost (£75 a month). I'm keeping their broadband tho but I've cancelled our tv package and will rely on freeview and nowtv. I also have netflix. I can't remember if firestick has netflix actually. It may do but I can't confirm it at the moment.

FYI, not all kodi users are illegal pirates/streamers. I use it just to stream DVDs and music j legally own, but have personally ripped to hard disk, to allow my kids to choose something to watch/listen to without breaking/scratching the originals:-)
For that, its perfect.

You do realise you are providing an example of "non-illegal" usage, which is in fact illegal? (see: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/21/govt_messed_up_home_taping_exception_so_badly_it_needs_to_start_again/?page=1 )

Paul.

Just FYI, it remains illegal to rip CD's and DVD's that you own. Sad that laws haven't updated to reflect the digital age.

Am a novice and totally lost with above terminology Plex/Kodi. I just want to know can I watch basicl sky channels such as Sky1, Sky Atlantic, Syfi etc in FHD? Thanks

Yes, yes, but I copied it while it was legal.... Where these copies now stand, I have no idea!

Argos dont seem to have the NOWTV 2915 Box online for reserving today (Friday)?.. Thoughts it was available from them today (via NOWTV it was yesterday).. Thoughts?

Thanks for reply. But is it 'YouTube' app or some channel with youtube linked stuff.

15 in tescos at the min.

Netflix seems to be one of the apps the NowTV stick does NOT have....which is pushing me towards the Fire Stick :smiley:. Unfortunately, it is currently £39.

(Just got superfast broadband...from a 0.9Mbp/s connection to 65!! So it would be useful to have one of these catch up TV sticks)

There's a really good deal to be had here. I was a sky customer for many years, paying £26 per month for entertainment and kids channels in SD, plus £7 per month for Netflix. Upon getting a Roku stick I received a 3 month trial of Now TV and decided to check the content of Now TV against what I watched on Sky. It turned out pretty much everything on the Sky planner was covered by either Now TV or Freeview/Free to air catch up. As an added bonus, Now TV delivered the content in HD on their catch up service. Although only 720p, this blows away Sky's SD picture quality! So I ended up with £26 of SD Sky content in HD for £7 per month via Now TV!
The only downside is the lack of alibi / watch / universal - but the decent shows on there (Resurrection, Castle, etc) seem to turn up Now TV's ABC catch up service, it just takes a fair old while for them to appear.

thanks

I have been testing the new Now TV box for a couple of months so I can answer most of the questions being asked.

The box is a rebranded Roku 3 (Model 4200) unit with a standard remote. It is not based on the new Roku 2 box. The model number of the Now TV box 2 is 4200SK.

USB port is fully active however Sky have NOT made the Roku Media Player app available. You need to sideload an app if you want to watch media from the USB. This is the app you need http://sourceforge.net/projects/rokusdkexamples/files/usbplayer.zip/download

The microSD slots on Roku devices are only used for channel storage and cannot be used for media playback. Pointless on the Now TV box since there aren't enough channels in the store to fill the internal storage anyway.

Sideloading apps is still possible and you can sideload the last version of Plex 3.1.4 before they went private channel only. I have no problem playing 1080p videos from my Plex server using direct play. No transcoding unlike the original Now TV box.

The box is a lot faster which is noticable in apps like Youtube which were very sluggish on the original box.

BBC News & BBC Sport apps are currently not functional. Waiting on the BBC apparently.

No Netflix. Heavily cut down app store which hasn't changed from the original Now TV box.

You can still only sideload one app to the box.

Just to be clear - I wasn't having a go at those people using Plex/Kodi etc to stream your own content around the house. But there are clear comments in this thread along the lines of "don't pay for this when you can watch Sky for free on Kodi". Legality aside, it's not a solution for many people who either wouldn't have a clue how to set it up (even with all the instructions in the world) and would be scratching their heads when a stream disappears/won't load.

For those wondering what Now TV offers, here are the channels available:

http://watch.nowtv.com/entertainment/channels
http://watch.nowtv.com/movies/livemovies
http://watch.nowtv.com/sports/listings

On the Now TV box you also get Sky Sports News HQ (this is free and in HD, even without a Sports Pass) plus BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, Demand 5, YouTube and Spotify. There are also apps for Sky News, BBC News, Facebook etc.

You also get access to Sky On Demand and Box Sets (on satellite, these are normally only available with a Sky Family Pack and above).

I ditched my Sky subscription a few months ago and switched to Now TV. As someone mentioned above, all the core channels are on Now TV and a Freesat box. This is substantially better value than a Sky subscription - remember, Sky charge subscribers extra for HD! Now TV has HD as standard for On Demand content (and for those with an Apple TV, live channels as well). Yes, it's "only" 720p but it looks fine and remember that Sky doesn't broadcast via satellite in 1080p either (I think it's 1080i max).

To receive the core entertainment channels and movies would cost around £40+ per month on satellite. You'd need at least the Family Pack for HD (or it costs extra) and either multiroom or a Sky Go Extra subscription to watch on multiple devices.

Honestly, I don't know how Now TV isn't cannibalising Sky's own satellite service. It's much better value for money.

Thanks - answered all of the questions I had! Just one more thing, does the remote have a headphone jack as not to disturb anyone else whilst watching late night telly etc

Sadly not, they have just shipped a standard IR remote with the box.

Ah shame, still a cracking deal - thanks

Can you hack it to run plex like the old one?

Tempted to get this .... might finally replace my WDLX Live box with this and use Plex from my server.
Audio supports passthrough upto 7.1, so should ll be good.

Anyone know if the playback of medi files is as varied as my WD box?
Save my server doing a lot of transcoding

Just tried to buy one from the link buy they wanted my mobile phone number. I ignored it and a message kept pooping up saying they needed my mobile number.

I don't want to give them my mobile number as I don't want strange people calling me Willy-Nilly at all times of the day and night.

Nothing in Argos today. Staff as expected had never heard of it.

Bought, was going to buy new Chromecast for Kitchen but now will swap this over and have NowTV box in lounge and another remote control that my daughter can hide / vandalise.

Anyone found any stores selling these yet - Tesco and Argos just have the old boxes?

how do you side load that roku media app on this new now TV box please.

How do you side load the roku media app on this box as I've bought one and I'm stumped how to do it.

Just got one in Argos in Feltham :-) don't know how to upload pictures to show you. Sorry

I have a chromecast rotting away in the corner somewhere and Amazon fire stick tv still not used properly yet, so I'll pass on this despite been tempted. :P

Yes it's 424/0251 was £24.99 and come with 2 months movie pass. It's the black Now TV box works really well and loads movies fast via earthnet socket.

A goldmine of info there - thanks flibblesan!

Where do you get the last working version of Plex? Can't find it on the Plex site.

thanks

mike

How do you side load the roku media app on this box as I've bought one and I'm stumped how to do it. thanks

Does anyone know if there is a space bar on channel 5 search on the new now TV box
I have been in touch with channel 5 who tell me that my now TV boxes does not have a space bar (can't search without a space bar can only work if the title is one word!!!) but they inform me it should work with the new update that was last September

I am after three apps mainly Youtube, iPlayer and 'YuppTv' - Could you please check whether these application works on this box?

All three of these are on the Now TV box.

iPlayer and YouTube are preinstalled. Yupp TV can be installed free of charge from the Roku store that is built in.

These are all the available apps/channels: http://web.static.nowtv.com/email-marketing/assets/legals/NOW_TV_apps.pdf

How is performance on iPlayer on the new boxes? It was woeful on the old one

Can anyone confirm if this box is able to use cccam?

No you can't

As it is based upon the Roku 3, are we talking dual band WiFi and what is the maximum size USB storage device that it will support and does it also support NTFS?

Had never even heard of emby. Thanks for teaching me more things I will probably never need to know about :stuck_out_tongue:

the performance is fine just wish they would fix the chopped if bits & black bars :disappointed:

Can the FireTV or the Now TV box be used to watch BT Sport? (We have BT Infinity, and would like to be able to watch it on the main TV).

Some very useful info on the last 2 pages (11/12). Now that we hear that the SD Slot cant be used, BUT USB can; do we need the usbplayer.zip or is this an overkill just to play MP4 and JPG from the SD?. Assume that has to be a sideload?. Maybe a simpler approach?
I dont think Sky Sports News is free (it wasnt on old box ONCE once a month had passed since a Sports pass used). Thoughts?
Could a Roku remote be bought with headphone jack AND it would work with the new NOWTV box?
The Argos number 424/0251 doesnt seem to find anything online

Oh well, just decided I may as well get one, already have three of the white ones hanging around the house.

argos item number for this is 414/6678 (which includes the 3 month entertainment package). Its not available online to reserve yet, but I can promise you its available in store if you ask. Just picked up one myself, although they only seem to have the packages for £24.99 rather than just selling the box alone :/

Cheers for the info, I'll get one from Argos when its just the box

Just been into my store and they don't have the player by itself, only with a voucher for £24.99 :-(

http://help.nowtv.com/article/What-is-a-NOW-TV-Box
says on here that micro SD and uab don't work ?
any body confirm this please.

SimonB79 Posts: 7Members, Plex PassPlex Pass 2:44PM
The SD slot works as I've got an 8GB card in mine!

https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/175803/nowtv-2-box-out-thursday/p2

Thanks

Does the sports stream in 720p when using the new box?

No worries. I think the confusion is that there are 2 versions of the roku 2, the latest version is essentially a roku 3 without the more advanced remote control whereas the older version was more like a roku 1 but did have the better remote.

Got a dispatch confirmation from Now TV today so shouldn't be long now.

Anyone know if this box has the annoying borders on BBC iplayer problem that the actual Roku 3 does? Wondering if it using the same hardware has caused it to inherit this annoying bug. I know they were only small borders on the Roku 3 but still really annoyed me when the £10 old now tv box played it perfectly yet a RRP £100 box couldn't!

When I say the sports streams, I mean the sky sports streams, anyone know?

Is this the latest 4320 model please?

yes you are right now tv is a great idea, I have it and to think you can get sky without the hassle of getting a dish and having to pay stupid prices.
but if it wasn't for half these illegal sites , I think we would be at their mercy and the prices would be sky high (excuse the pun )

Got mine from Argos and had it out the box and running Plex in 10 minutes. I've been looking for a small, quiet 'Plex client' to plug into my telly for ages and this fits the bill.

Ahh **** ... was hoping the latest version of plex was sideloadable onto the NowTV2 box ... Seems like its still the old 3 year old version.

Ahh well, will keep looking ... Going to end up with a Roku 3 at this rate :disappointed:

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. :smiley:

Nothing wrong with tinkering with Kodi. I know my way around things from a technical standpoint, but sometimes you just want to call up a half-decent UI the kids and missus can use with a simple remote. Each has its place, but they are chalk and cheese to the average person. Now TV is pretty good for what it is.

I'm not condoning piracy but I'm not condemning it either. Some of these providers need to sharpen up. A good example is Eurosport - pretty much a must if you're into cycling coverage. Their own Eurosport Player service is a disgrace. Go and read all the one-star reviews on the iOS and Google app stores - the damn thing just doesn't work yet there's virtually no way to cancel payment and customer "service" doesn't give a toss.

No wonder people use dodgy streams. Sometimes people are just sick of getting ripped off.

fyi, they are now live on the argos site:

Now TV Smart Box with 3 Months Sky Entertainment Pass - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4146678.htm

Now TV Smart Box and 2 Months Sky Movies Pass - - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4240251.htm

Now TV Smart Box and 2 Days Sky Sports Pass - £24.99
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4441799.htm

Anyone been able to load images and video via sd card to new box?. Does it need an app also or auto loads?

So seems you have to buy it with a pass on Argos, sneaky, very sneaky. They obviously haven't updated the site properly yet either as if you just search now tv they don't even come up, just the old ones....

Wonder if other retailers will follow suit? I wouldn't be surprised, especially those that have a lot of the old ones to clear, make the new one look more expensive (not that £24.99 is bad with a pass) to sell of the old ones.

Why not just purchase 14.99 direct from nowTV, or am I missing something here?

I'm using a build from Christmas I believe, is there a newer one?

Got the new one this morning to replace an older roku lt. Have to say the speed increase is very noticeable and obviously is much quicker and faster than the old model. Installed plex via the same old method..dev mode etc.
Latest version of plex available is v3.1.0. I found it under Github releases. Piece of cake and working great.
Actually a great deal with 2 month movies for £25...thats basically a fiva for the box as i pay £10 a month as I've been on now tv for ages. So similar to a standard roku you cant really go wrong. Unless you want netflix but i have that running on the fire stick that i got for £15 on promo. No biggie.

does the USB port work at all?

the usb port doesn't work...

does anyone know if you can cast to the box seems like its been blocked

does side loaded plex play 1080p?

Does the playto app work on this new box? It was pretty good on the original box for streaming my media from my phone and laptop to the tv

​ This isn't a roku3, if I was sky I'd be disabling dev mode, unless they just don't care that I possibly have setup about 40 nowtv boxes that'll never be used for nowtv, and I'm sure there are many thousand more the same.

​ sky satellite still doesn't do 1080p

​ Interloper is right, although kodi is a very functional and clever bit of kit, it's now only really known for it's facilitating piracy which is completely dependent on the content providers keeping up the streams your watching.Not entirely within your control but it's the risk you take.

Hi
Will this be suitable to get yuppi TV which is an online subscription on an old Sony TV pls
Is this WiFi enabled?

Would you be able to check if the SD slot can play MP3/MP4/JPG if some loaded to the card. Not sure if an app needed unless it sees the extrnal media and brings upa simple player?.
Also are theBBC Iplayer and ITVplayer streaming live tv in HD?
THANKS SO MUCH

Not sure I've got an sd card that'll fit as don't really use them I'm afraid.

BBC iplayer does live streams in HD I think with a change of settings to the video quality. Doesn't look like ITV does live HD streams.

its not sneaky, now tv only let retailers sell there boxes as bundles. The 1st one was 9.99 on now tv website and £19.99 at retailers for a bundle.

As for offers i cant see why anywhere would sell for under £24.99 for a while to come

​ slight gain going from hd ready to full hd. hilarious.
https://skytv.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1503/~/why-doesnt-sky-broadcast-in-1080p%3F

can anyone tell me if the OLD now tv box ,has a usb connection for playing mkv or movies on,thanks

thanks for reply

Heat added thanks :smiley:

Hi can anyone tell if this will support yupp TV app pls

Here's something daft.
If you decide to go for the new black box, don't buy a pass from Sky direct as they are wanting £24.99 for 2 months Movies or 3 months Entertainment or 2 day Sports - value (?) packs http://www.nowtv.com/box#ib-section-section-6

Tesco's have the old box with a pass for the same periods (2m x Movies /3m Entert/2d Sports) for £15. Here http://www.tesco.com/direct/special-offer/save-5-on-selected-now-tv-hd-digital-media-streamers/promo33980057.promo


Also these online Special 'value' pack prices at 24.99 are more than their regular monthly subscriptions for Entertainment (£6.99/m) and 2 day Sports passes also £6.99/d or £10.99/wk

the £24.99 includes a new now tv box

Sure - if you follow the thread link it says "NOW TV Box £14.99. Get the NOW TV Box and choose the pass you want later." And then takes you to the Pass selection screen all at £24.99. I'll maybe clear my cookies and retry.

Yes you're right tried in another browser and entered at http://www.nowtv.com/

Just got my new box from argos.....much nicer than the white one and now matches my setup in the room. Was gonna order from nowtv website but was passing argos and got the 3 month entertainment pass with it so thought what the hell.

The UI is definitely more snappy. Youtube and vevo wiz along lovely. It also now utilises the 5ghz wifi so no buffering while watching 720p sky channels. Tested modern family and hd looked crisp and smooth.

I sideloaded the usbplayer (found on page 11 here) and it plays 720p mkv's fine. Not tried it with any other format but would assume if it can handle mkv then avi and mp4 will be a doddle. However.....most mkv's are coded at 24hz and the nowtv box works at 60hz so its not as smooth as my bluray player for mkv which sends out a true 24hz signal.

Overall im happy and the white one is now being used in the bedroom. Originally got it so i could used wired connection by its worked flawless with wifi so i dont think i'll bother messing with the wires.

I have the Filmon private channel on Roku. Was wondering if anyone has been able to sideload this as it gives live TV which is sadly missing from the NOWTV box.

yes plex works, use same plex install as before.

Am I the only one who finds the 4 device limit on NowTV a pain ?

Surely if I have paid for content, I should be able to watch it on all my devices ?

The problem is, I have my tablet, phone, multiple TVs in the house, games consoles - and that is without the other 3 phones and tablets in the household.

I find the 4 device limit is such a hindrance when wanting to watch on whatever device I want to watch on, rather than what NowTV restrict me to

Just ordered the box, without any packs, directly from the Now TV website for £14.99

My wife didn't like the look of the old white box anyway, so I had a good reason to go for a replacement! :smiley:

Hopefully it will be here by the end of the week.

Heat added.

Seems like a good deal

I'm not at all sure what is going on here...
My Mac (and presumably any PC) loads NowTV, Netflix, iPlayer, and (if I subscribed to them) countless other 1080p HD streaming TV/Film apps. I can watch them on my monitor or via HDMI to my receiver > TV > Stream around the house.

What does this little box do in addition to this? I don't watch any sports at all; never, ever. So, is the gain with this to do with sports or additional TV/Movies one can't get anywhere else?

I have what may be a dumb question so apologies in advance.

Sky use a Roku Box that is "Limited" to only what they want you to see. Can you get a normal Roku and download the NowTV app onto it and have an unrestricted box? I know it will cost more but still, is it possible?

I am slightly confused as the OP says that this is a Roku 3 box, but later posts imply that it is in fact (only?) a Roku 2... albeit the 2015 model.

Is there any significant difference between the two, and what are the pro's and con's of them?

Could someone please clarify the position as to what is actually on offer here?

Thanks! :smiley:

Edit: Actually I think I have just found a website which answers that very question... check out: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/134825-now-tv-box-2015-vs-now-tv-box-vs-roku-2-what-s-the-difference

Am I right in thinking that this deal is different from the one I saw last week in Sainsburys? The box showed a white unit, £15 including the Sky package.

Beale

Thanks.

When I use my phone to pair with it for youtube videos its called Roku3 so im assuming its definitely the Roku3 inside.

Its well worth £14.99. Even if you aren't bothered about Sky channels and just use it for the terrestrial Iplayers, Youtube and watching movies via USB its well worth the one off fee. We don't have a smart tv in our Room or Kitchen, we just use this. Its tiny and uses hardly any power.

Sky has more than a 39% stake in the company. Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox is also a large investor.
For Sky it is cheap to get 'crippled' Roku boxes to use as 'NowTV' boxes and if Roku really takes off and challenges SKY I am sure more money will solve that little problem. i.e. Buy a majority stake in the company. :smiley:

I placed an order for one on the NOW TV website just after 8 am this morning, and have just been advised that it is already on its way to me via. Royal Mail.

As they also included a tracking number it could possibly be delivered tomorrow.

Excellent service! :smiley:

Thanks. I thought with everyone getting so excited that I may have bought one. But as it adds nowt to my existing arrangement I'll pass on what looks like a great deal. The Mac Mini only consumes 1.75W in sleep mode (which I prefer as thermal cycling shortens the life of electronic goods) all the multimedia is handled by Plex, so no web interfaces, and anyone in the house can simultaneously watch anything they like with control handled by remote. With my set-up I can switch from Samsung Smart to Mac to Plex any which way and be totally overwhelmed by the countless TV channels available...All rather academic as I invariably end up watching BBC 3 or BBC 4. Others in the household have different tastes, so none of us have to watch what someone else wants. Still, that wee box looks convenient and the vouchers help with running costs.

3.1.4 is the last free version. Newer Roku versions aren't available to sideload sadly. But 3.1.4 works fine with my videos.

Is it confirmed the usb & sd sockets won't allow playback?

Mine arrived yesterday and I'm impressed. I had smart functionality via my ps3 but for £15 decided to get a dedicated box (with just Netflix via the ps3). I've also got a roku stick in the bedroom.
The now tv box is on par with the performance of the ps3 smart tv applications. Now tv in particular has a much better interface than it's ps3 counterpart and iplayer can be set to maximum definition, rather than having to select hd or sd every time.
The box is much quicker than the roku stick and seems to playback flawlessly via Ethernet.

No unfortunately it doesnt. Its the same as the original nowtv remote but black.

Thanks for the info,i am new to this ,so if I buy this new box,how do I play movies I have on a usb stick throught this new box,you say you need to download something first,,so how do I get the download on to the now tv box ? I am a novice so go easy in easy to follow jargon,thanks for help

Has anyone managed to enable developer mode on this? I picked one up from argos today, but the "cheat code" doesn't seem to work. I principally bought the thing to play back from usb, but can't seem to get into developer mode. Bit of a waste of money otherwise, but I can't see Argos taking a retunr because it can't be hacked...

ok, panic over, the regular cheat code did work in the end!

Could someone confirm please if these will work overseas to play media files from the usb/computer?
Thanks

Regarding the USB port:
I managed to get it working easily using the links below - takes around 5 minutes. This new box seems to play all common video formats and doesn't stutter even at full HD. It even plays from my USB powered external hard drive (with just the one USB plugged in for power + data).

Sideloading works just like the old box. I used instructions here: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/08/sky-now-tv-plex/


Post 210 on this page provides the link to the USB player:

I presume someone has already said this but may be useful to some?

unable to hack or side load on these.
only able to sideload on old model due to a maintenance opening.

these are a very cut down roku Bix as components missing internally so never be able to get up to roku standard.

>> Since the boxes are connected to th einteret, it would be EASY for sky to lock the boxes wih a firmware update preventing 'developer' mode. They could do this at any time.

On the actual NowTV website, they specifically say this if you click the "tech specs" button at the bottom of the page:

USB media formats:
Video: MP4 (H.264), MKV (H.264)

Now I find out it's not enabled after all. Why the hell do they say it is then?? I shouldn't have to sideload in a feature that is supposed to be standard!

So before i make the order, can I stream movies from my pc AND watch from a USB drive ? or is it only one or the other?

Finally. Thanks for the info! :smiley:

Hi Joeann1

It's fairly easy to install Rarflix, which is the Plex client that I, and I think most other people use - follow the instructions on the first post on this page:

https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/79897/rarflix-modified-roku-channel

Anybody got this working in conjunction with a VPN for use abroad?

I can remember when the boffins used to say not sure about those plasma TVs mate, apparently they are only designed to last about X number of hours, which actually equated to about 10-20 years for most people :laughing:

Ok thanks for the link ,can anyone tell what kodi is and what it does I hear people mention it on here all the time,bit confused for someone with no technical knowledge,sorry,i just want to get this new box install plex or kodi or whatever is the easiest,to stream from my pc,in simple non technical explanation instructions to do it ,thanks.

Thermal cycling is not really an issue on a £15 box, even if you turn it off daily, you should easily exceed the cost with the savings in electricity.

But perhaps more to the point, thermal shock, is generally considered to be things like the box going from room temperature to operating temperature (often in excess of 80 degrees C) in a short space of time, well, show me a device that consumes 1.75W and is kept at a temperature where the sudden change won't happen the moment you start to use it.

In sleep mode all my tablets and laptops are cold to touch, so the thermal change is pretty much the same whether in standby or powered off fully.

I personally think thermal cycling is no longer relevant and certainly suggesting sleep mode as a good way to save electronic components from this shock, is seriously flawed.

My NowTV box is connected to my plasma, if the tv is turned on, the NowTV powers up, it's been running like this for months, no sign of failure yet.

mike

How did you get your NowTV to turn on automatically? Or does it do that by design simply by being plugged in via HDMI?

You can still only sideload one app to the box though, so usb or rarflix... both and I'd have jumped on this.

​You could just keep your old white box for plex & sideload the USB app on the new box. Not ideal but that's what i plan to do

If I seperately bought a Roku Handset thats go an Audio jack (for wireless sound etc).. would it work with this box?

I've got one of those computer gang sockets that uses a master socket that if it draws enough power, causes the remaining gang sockets to be powered up. It took a bit of trial and error finding one that worked, because the plasma seems to have some very power efficient modes when displaying credits for films, i.e. mostly black, which caused my first one of these adapters to power off, the one I currently use came free from NPower about 5 years ago it's a bit slower in turning off, which is perfect for the plasma.

Ironically I wasn't looking for a power efficient solution (the NowTV is used more than my telephone and burns less power, so isn't particularly useful to power down), but found the BBC apps, especially the News would freeze if the box had been powered up for several days, just because of the location, it was a pain rebooting, and I thought this would be the ideal solution, and it works great.

mike

When I finally get round to ordering, I reckon it should be relatively straight forward to merge both Rarflix and USB player as a single entity, bodged naturally, but well enough to work. Roku seem pretty good at providing developer information, and the size of both apps together is less than the max allowed, so it should be possible.

mike

​How could this be achieved? I didn't realize that you can merge apps together. Tell me more. I'm intrigued

what's the spec of the power adaptor on this? I don't suppose you get the option to swap the 3 pin plug for a 2 pin EU one?

Both apps are open source, but the zip files seem to contain the source anyway, so it shouldn't be that hard to add a button to load the USB or RARflix interface, on each application, I not thinking complicated programming, just a way to jump from one to the other.

I've no idea if this would work, but I don't see why not, so long as it's possible to get a build together with both sets of script files, might be more difficult if they have different files with the same name, but nothing's impossible.

Looking at the source for the USBPlayer, it shouldn't be that hard to add it into the RARFlix build, there's no a whole lot of stuff going on in there.

mike

An alternative may be to make a multi-app loader, so both or even other apps can be added to the file and then you launch the loader from Now TV, select the app using buttons which then launches the app and clears the loader from memory? This would mean no messing with the source for either app and potentially creating other issues.

If going down this route, you could make a compiler to add the apps to which then creates the new file to load onto the box containing the loader and apps. Options then for more than two custom apps as well, depending on maximum file size.

If you got yours today - Aug 14th - there's a problem activating them. If, like me, you are switching from an old style box to the new one, your user name and pw are not recognised. Sky are working on the problem. Overwhelmed by demand or just crap servers? Also worth double-checking Device Manager - you are only allowed four devices on any one account and that limit soon gets used up.

Just about to buy one from Argos now with the intention of using it only for plex .... Do people sell the passes on at all to get money back do you know?
I'm just to impatient to buy it directly from sky for £15 :S

I'd thought about doing that, but I want to be able to switch between them, otherwise it's barely more effort than sideloading the correct app on demand, in fact maybe that's the way I should do it to start with.

I could set it so my Plex server sideloads RARFlix on boot up, but on shut down sideloads USB loader, then the NowTV box would always be in the correct mode for use.

mike

That would then require you to be turning your Plex server on and off all the time. Most people keep their Plex server on all the time. For instance the benefit of both would be where you have your Plex server on all the time with your media, someone comes round with some music or films on USB, rather than put on your server, copy to Plex folders, rescan and then use, or shut down the server when someone else in the house may be using it. Just plug the USB into the Now TV box, switch it on, or exit Plex if it is running, open the 'Custom App Launcher', select the USB loader and away you go.

This is bad. Almost twelve hours after the online activation fault popped up, Sky have still not fixed it.

I either use Plex server or it's turned off, I don't leave it on burning electricity all the time, just in case I want to watch something, so for me a simple switching algorithm is all I need, would probably take no more than 30 minutes to code and would solve 99% of my requirements.

mike

Ah, ok then that makes sense. I generally only need Plex myself. Would be cool to have a setup with both options either way.

Does it make you a cuppa tea?:stuck_out_tongue:

Yep truly sheeite .... And i still cant register my box ... Even though the status page says its fixed... Great comms and service from sky.

http://community.nowtv.com/t5/NOW-TV-Service-Status/Customers-currently-unable-to-activate-a-NOW-TV-Box/m-p/320445#M148

Concern for me though is the remote is really bad ... sluggish, some double presses, and a load of no responses at all.... wondering if I got a bad 1 as the old white box remote was 10 times better.... Anyone else? ... Or just a faulty one I managed to win?

You're not alone - our box doesn't register all the clicks....and one annoying bug is that if you go on to the network settings and then refresh the wifi connection, then the box will get stuck on the network diagnosis page (the one with the three ticks to show you are connected fully). Requires powering off at the wall.

On balance though, we're happy with it. The video connections are v.good quality and reliable - and it was only £15. Hopefully it'll get a software update to improve things further.

Yes, thinks sports is £6.99 day pass, really want to see Sunday even without Eva ;
I know this is a slight reach but is there an existing box similar to 'open box' using Ethernet not dishes?

Has anyone who was unable to register their box yesterday been able to do so this morning?

Despite Sky telling us that the problem has now been resolved, and carrying out a 'hard reset on my new black box,' it is still telling me that "An unknown error has occurred."

I can log in OK on my PC, so I know that my details are correct.

Surely Sky can do better than this.... I am not happy! :disappointed:

You could subscribe to Sky and just use the Sky Go app not have the dish, but seems a lot of money for the occasional watch...

Yes Gavin, I was thinking about sky TV min package (12 month) keep Virgin BB and get open box unit £40 ish and gift. Don't think there's anyway round the 12 mnth dish contract but think they were offering £100 off til end of month.

While im waiting for Sky to fix the problem ... anyone know if the side loaded plex can connect to a remote server?
My mate is interested in picking up a gen 1 box, just to connect to my home servers media.

Looking around I dont think its possible from what I can see?

Could I connect the nowtv av/out to my headphones. Even though its Audio and Video would it maybe not damage my headphones?

What is OpenBox and what would it offer?

Thanks, found it on github and installed it last night.

I think you have to scroll right down to the bottom of the T & C page before you can accept them, and then continue on.

Still haven't been able to activate my box though!

Yeah, the first 2 times I skipped past it and it still rebooted, but dev mode wasn't enabled regardless. The last time I scrolled using the FFWD button and it worked.


Have you tried the 30 second reboot thing? I couldn't register at first but that worked, as odd as it rebooted as soon as you pressed it but if you hold it on long enough it reboots again and then it seemed OK. I streamed a 9Gb copy of Blade Runner in MKV format through wifi last night and it was fine, didn't skip once.

Thanks for your comments 'tek-monkey'. I thought that I had tried most variants, but will certainly try again later!

Can anyone confirm that this will work will a 2tb hard drive plugged into the USB socket via the sideloaded USB app or will it only play files from a USB stick? Thanks in advance to anyone with the answer

It still won't recognise my username and/or password. If this is still the case tomorrow night, then it'll be going back and I'll be demanding a refund.

I've got better things to do with my time than be messed about by Sky, and I don't have this hassle with the HDMI lead between my laptop and tv.

For anyone else looking round for 3.1.4 i found it here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_kqbnihtqDoT0ZxanNNdGowVGs/view

took me like 4 times to get the box to ask me to setup developer password, once set it was fine

Funnily enough it was the other way round for me... I couldn't get anywhere with a 'hard wired' Ethernet connection, (well not past the user name/password screens) but did so straight away when I changed to wireless... all very strange!

It would be interesting to hear from others experiencing user/pass issues and then trying alternate connectivity - as above if ethernet then switch to wifi

Also if you setup with wifi then just plugin ethernet and see if it works

In theory it should not be as you would expect the box just to check for any active connection but you never know

Open box uses sky dish and offers sports movies and loads of other channels, although you need a sub to access server also known as a 'gift'. Usually around £40.

Well, at least two of us have finally been able to connect our boxes!

Just to clarify though I did a full reset first and then went through the complete set up procedure again, but selected Wi-Fi (rather than wired) as my chosen connection method.

When I entered my username & password they were both accepted, and it finally started to update 13 channels etc.

Congrats, glad you got your boxes up and running. I suspect the full reset might be the fix over the connection method like

That's the one I uploaded, just in case anyone thinks it might be dodgy :smiley:

Kudos matey, i been using it for about 3 days and no problems

Tried to read whole thread but may have missed this.

What do you get for free on Nowtv as I dont want a subscription. We have just got unlimited fibre here in the sticks. All I want is iPlayer/on demand for ALL main channels BBC, itv, 4 & 5.

Am I right to say the Chromcast and Firestick won't give me this (but just BBC) but Nowtv will give me all and with no subscription?

Thanks.

Thanks for that. Just wanted to make sure they were still available with no subscription. Cheers!

New version of plex out to sideload (v1.3.5)... working fine on mine .... Still looking for a changelog to see what has been changed though.

https://github.com/plexinc/roku-client-public/releases/download/v3.1.5/PlexClassic.v3.1.5.zip

Might go for one of these nearer Crimbo as a Plexer
Fyi ​sleep mode still thermal cycles your components .. all it does is lessen the boot time or allows the device to respond to commands to wake up. low wattage as most of device is unpowered. Most computers become obsolete long b4 they wear out (thru thermal cycling or other breakage)

Got major buffering issues with fire stick, I used to have now TV first version and had no issue but upgraded due to kodi.

Does anyone know if this version of nowtv can hide the box behind TV and remote will work (if Bluetooth) also is it thicker than the old nowtv box?

fnar

OrangeAgent - The remote is standard infrared and needs to see the ir receiver on the front of the box

Yes, wifi apps also available for iOS, including RMote.

Has anyone found an app that will play USB files AND do DNLA access to a NAS Box ?

I have 3 V1 boxes all running plex like a dream - got the new one, plex works OK but want to be able to play video off the USB without sideloading a new app ?

Any ideas ?

rarflix and usb player would be perfect!

Has anyone tried playing avi/divx/xvid formats through the usb port??

Does it support subtitles?

Hahahahaha .. Ps. NOT according to Jeremy Clarkson .....

Just to resurrect this thread, Sainsburys currently have the new NowTV boxes with either 2 Sky Sports day passes, 2 months Sky Movies or 3 months Sky Entertainment for just £15

Argos £24.99
NOW TV Box with 6 Month Entertainment Pass 459/0602
Or £24.99 for NOW TV Box with 4 Month Movie Pass 453/6886
You can't complain about that :smiley:

Is there a DLNA/uPNP app that can be sideloaded on the V1 box - eg: a zip file version of 'Roku Media Player'. This is for use with a Serviio server. Thanks