let it go

It is a bit of a faff but you need to put it on top of microwave while it's on for 8 minutes (800w) then straight in the fridge for 12-15 mins to get around the encryption.
After that you can install whatever you want.

If you're using this method, I would smother it in syrup first (ensures better contact with the Microwave casing)

I've broken mine I think doing this, however to be fair I didn't follow it to the letter - I was so excited I couldn't wait for 12-15 minutes in the fridge bit so put it in my freezer for 5 minutes, however now trying to watch Sky Movies the pictures frozen? Any suggestions?

Okay.

There good I have one better than the old type also on it have freeview too, so just blends in with movies and entertainment.. Heat

Can you put kodi on these still?

Read post and thought there was 4 months Cinema + 5 months entertainment. Both are on offer but the deal is for either on or the other. Hot if you can pick up in store, wouldn't trust them if ordering on-line.

Seems like a really good deal if you want the free view feature. Heat!

easy to sell the box for £30+ if you just want the codes

Why would you need freeview most if not all TVs have this included?

I've been looking around for a smart nowt box deal for ages. I'm not really fussed about the packages, it's just the box I'm looking for, I want something simple for my father to use

Thank you. Been wanting to upgrade to the new box for a while. Thanks

So i bought the previous box a couple of months ago for £19.95 with six months entertainment pass and it works great by the way, so the only difference is freeview is that correct? I wouldn't want to get rid of my tv aerial in case the broadband dropped out so how is this a good deal?

Which don't have freeview?

​Don't feed the troll!

Thanks OP. Wanted a new box for ages. I'll bite at this price.

Just a shame that NowTV doesn't have Netflix installed. Anyone know a way to install it?

I bought one for £40 about a month ago, it is great. Pause and rewind on freeview, has iPlayer etc and is more reliable than my Chromecast.

Ok so more than just freeview but I will not need to upgrade my black nowtv box then as I have a Humax that does all that - so happy with my £19.95 box and 6 month pass!

If you're using this method, I would smother it in syrup first (ensures better contact with the Microwave casing)

Ok, done ! Thanks..worked a treat

Thanks very much. 5 month entertainment pack bought.

​Im pretty sure that this one outputs at a higher resolution than the older boxes too.

I've broken mine I think doing this, however to be fair I didn't follow it to the letter - I was so excited I couldn't wait for 12-15 minutes in the fridge bit so put it in my freezer for 5 minutes, however now trying to watch Sky Movies the pictures frozen? Any suggestions?

The 2nd gen (black box) supports 1080p (I installed plex on it to playback HD movies form my NAS) - this latest box doesn't output a higher resolution AFAIK

Yes I agree the 720p is limited by sky with nowtv rather than the box.

Yeah, I would like to suggest this may not work for everyone, but in my impatience I attempted to use Liquid Nitrogen and now I can only use catch up services.

Try covering it in tomato sauce?

It needs an aerial.

You can't put Kodi on but you can use it for Plex. Message me if you want me to recommend a good one.

these are ****. get a fire tv box

OH YES THEY DO!!

Another as advantage this box has is higher res live streaming of the NowTV channels and pause/rewind of these channels too.

Sing along?

let it go

Freeview HD quality from this is much better than from my Freeview HD TV tuner. No need to have to faff around with two remotes either which is handy.

I do the same thing with my XBox One.

My thoughts exactly, and all on one remote.

Use the defrost function on the microwave, worked for me I know have fluid viewing just like sky Q.

Good price. Wonder if they will sell out before 9th March.

Or Amazon will price match? Better idea for me.

I think he's getting confused, probably still using a CRT monitor. Which will of course explain no built in freeview :wink:

You busy, want to build a snowman?.

What do you mean? Nowtv streams in 720p whichever box you use. My black previous model is 1080p ready so if if sky allows nowtv to stream at 1080p then I will get 1080p! What 15 hd channels do you get on freeview?

The on demand stuff is 720p on all nowtv boxes. The live streamed versions, of for example Fox, is only SD on most devices, on the smart box it's specified as 720p. At least it used to be checked he page and they only list the "highest" quality the box streams. I'm talking about the IP streamed channels rather than Freeview HD. None do 1080p unfortunately.

Can confirm Fox is 720p on the Smart box. Also the 720p output from this looks considerably better than Freeview HD from tv.

I got one of these from John Lewis for £20, price error last August. Terrible Imo as has power saver that cannot be switched off, have a roku stick now and prefer it.

Do you eat this or plug it in?

Freeview HD channels are output at 1080p according to review here..
http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/138104-now-tv-smart-box-review-is-live-tv-and-sky-in-one-device-worth-the-price

To turn the power saver off, go to settings > system > power > auto power off > disable

I have one of these, and even if you disable auto-power off as above, it still turns itself off. I think its to do with hdmi control from my samsung TV (Anynet+). I tried turning off Anynet+ as well, but it still turns itself off.

Would be amazing if someone hacked this into a fully-fledged PVR

ok thanks

Brilliant

I just don't get these....I am missing something. I have four still boxed. If you have Sky, when would you use them? If you didn't have Sky then why would you buy them and not have Sky?

Because these run using a completely separate service from Sky Tv itself. Now Tv is a service like Netflix, but has whatever mix of Sky Cinema, Sky Sports and Sky Entertainment channels. It's basically the live and catch-up portion of the Sky service, but doesn't require a Sky Box. If you only want movies or the entertainment channels then it is also a lot cheaper than Sky itself too. So one of these boxes gives you freeview, plus Sky One etc, in the one box, for a pretty cheap monthly subscription.

Bought one of these last year and its started freezing all the time, spend over 3 hours on chat with Now TV and they would not replace it, they had me testing everything from internet connection speed, wifi, wired connection, factory resetting, resetting etc and every time I asked for a replacement they closed the chat (3 times), even if I questioned why I was testing things that id tested just an hour before they closed the chat, the guy was also getting shirty that I hadn't activated my Movies pass and kept asking me to activate it now, when I refused he closed the chat again, they used to replace the old boxes without much trouble but not these days, it was the worse customer service imaginable, could have picked another up at Asda about 3 weeks ago for £19 or £20 after it was posted on here, but after this experience I went back to using the basic box.

.
Cheers, still don't get it. Maybe it's because I have Sky and a Firestick :smiley:

If you want to pay for the football game by game you can just buy a 24 hour sky sports pass instead of subscribing to Sky TV, you can also do the same for movies and entertainment, but for me its the convenience of being able to get sky sports once in a while without having to have a Sky TV contract.

This outputs live Sky Entertainment and live Sky Cinema at 720p (compared to 480p on the other boxes)

*

This or Apple TV is the only way :man:

Guys can I install kodi on cromecast? any link pls?

Possibly. Though I don't personally use the Now tv boxes. I'd rather have a proper Roku box and get Amazon, Netflix and Sky tv tv all through that one box. Have very little interest in watching live terrestrial tv anymore. (Also have both an Apple TV 4, a Sky Box and a Fire Tv 4K under my tv, but it's the Roku that gets the most use.) :wink:

According to this, you can put Plex on it, which is equally cool:
https://recombu.com/digital/article/how-to-developer-mode-now-tv-box#

Plex has its origins in XMBC I think. It will allow you to stream content from a media server in your house. I think a lot of people have setups where their favourite shows automatically download and then are accessible via a progamme like Kodi or Plex. The media server function of Kodi gets ignored, which is a shame because it's very good.

Google "unofficial plex channels"..

Thanks for the post. Might get one of these to test Plex on...

Freeview HD at 1080p also, not sure if any others do this?

Is your telly that you use one of these boxes on a Panasonic Viera TX-L37G10 by any chance?

NEW ones do but TVs last for ever! My (2007) Sony LCD is still has a great picture and can display 1080p - but only has SD Freeview - so something like the Now TV is pretty useful!

I bought one of these last October from Saintsbury's cost me in the region of £30, it kept losing all the freeview channels and I had to keep switching off at the mains to reset it. I just had a new aerial fitted which didn't help, I googled the problem and it turned out to be a problem with the box. I think they where waiting for some sort of update anyway I returned it for a refund so before I bought another one of these this problem would have to be fixed and I'm not sure if it has been.

This box is very good. I used to hate now tv for poor resolution but now get excellent picture at 1080p 60hz with no buffering and and works perfectly with my 4k tv.

Frozen, not seen it yet :wink:

My daughter is in student accommodation. With no aerial available. So this would be ideal in that case.

This is bizarre.... on release at £70 this was discounted to £35 almost everywhere... and yet now it's getting heat at more than this...?

I think her mum needs to read up on the specs of this

So we are clear, you are getting 1080p from the Freeview HD. You are not getting that from anything related to Now Tv itself. The best you are getting is 720p. I use the service too regularly, but it still annoys the hell outta me that we are t ring given 1080p, surround sound, or indeed enough basic bitrate at times.

Because not everyone has it on their TV???

Probably trying not to antagonise Sky satellite subscribers who pay £50+ a month for their 1080p & 4K.

You get Freeview HD at 1080p with this also. I have Freeview HD on my TV but the picture quality from this is much better than what the TV tuner is capable of. If you don't have a Freeview HD tv then this is a great way to add it. The Now TV Cinema & Entertainment is output at 720p.

Since the digital switch over every TVs must have a digital tuner, and any digital tuner gets freeview, it's free. So yes, every working tv can get freeview.

It was £24 at Tesco over Christmas (possibly a misprice) but, unless your Tardis is in good order, it isn't now! Even at £37 it's pretty good value

The NowTV box adds Freeview HD and 30 minutes "live rewind" which large numbers of TVs in people's homes don't have. There is a cheaper NowTV without Freeview if it annoys you!

Not necessarily Freeview HD though and probably unlikely it will be Freeview HD at 1080p. My tv only does Freeview HD at 1080i, it's a much better picture via the Smart box.

This item has been approximately this price continuously ever since release therefore it being the same price still is not a hot deal. It's actually a clever marketing strategy that more and more people on here are falling for: claim a high "RRP", almost always sell it for half the price, watch the heat roll in.

I maintain my original comment which is that since release this has always been available for around £35, often less. £35 is the normal price for this item, it is not a discount or deal no matter how it is being promoted.

Not sure the Smart box with 5 months Entertainment (or 4 months Sky Cinema) has been this price before. Looks like a good deal unless you have a link to the same deal cheaper elsewhere?

Got one of these the other day as I signed up for the NowTV combo package. Have to say it's a bit of a pain. Have had to explain it the other members of my household one at a time how to use it just to view standard Freeview, to bring up the TV Guide etc.

All it's missing is a TV Guide button on the remote and the problem would be solved. But right now to get the full now and next guide for all channels (not one at a time) while watching something takes a few button presses. But on any other Freeview box there is a button to simply press.

Unless I'm missing something here? Is there an easier way of doing this?

Nope you are wrong. On release day for example this box was at Sainsbury's for "Was £70 Now £35" with the 5 months pass etc. Use the search function to check.

PS why would it need to be this price elsewhere... they've had a rotation of each retailer having it for £35 ish since release - use the search!!

I stand corrected. However I don't think the 5/4 month bundles have been easily available at this price since launch though. Some people found them reduced in specific Asda stores and IIRC some specific Tesco stores. But not readily available to everyone as it is here

Please try this before buying it. I bought the new box and had to send it back as I HATED the new interface. The old one was much better :smiley:

It doesn't sound as if you stand corrected.

I've used the search function for you, here we are, on release was £35 reduced from £70 at Sainsbury's national and has been that price here there and everywhere since release - feel free to use the search...

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/now-tv-smart-box-with-5-months-entertainment-pass-35-store-sainsbury-s-ashton-under-2499118

I agree. It needs a better remote control.

I doubt we'll see 1080p or 4K or any Now TV capable box until sometime after the Internet only Sky Q TV service launching in 2018. Will that deliver 4K over the internet? Having said that youl'll most likely be tied into a 12 month contract, so NowTV is still the way to go for adhoc SkyTv viewing albeit @ 720p.

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/sky-q-dish

A little word of warning - NowTV service is likely to close within 2 years

Sky have found NowTV successful and want to easily challenge Amazon Prime and go after Netflix and not just Virgin, so all sky services will be going online. Recently they have done trials with NowTV and offering broadband to see how viable it is to change the service and make a bigger profit. Plan now is to offer sky both on satellite and online, if they get the numbers they will reduce prices and be very competitive across the whole of europe.

You could never put Kodi onto a NowTV box!

How are you watching Freeview on a Fire TV.....

Not with 5 months Entertainment included it hasn't!

I'm desperate to watch the oscars live on Sunday and don't have an sky subscription.

Would this box/service allow me to watch the oscars live on Sunday as it seems to be broadcast on Sky?
(I know sky has a lot of different service packages and I don't know what is included in each package?)

this is online advice I've found so far

Thanks for your help


FROM OK ONLINE
"If you're staying up to watch the event, tune in at 11:30PM on the Sunday to see presenter Alex Zane and guests host a preview Oscars show "covering everything from the red carpet arrivals to award predictions for the night ahead."
Sky Cinema Oscars will also celebrate over 100 past Oscar winning films by airing them 24/7 on the channel for an exclusive two week period from February 20.
NOW TV user? Then you can also catch the Oscars through the Sky Cinema channel on that.
Sadly there's no Freeview channel hosting the awards just yet."

FROM PC ADVISOR
"How to watch the Oscars | How to watch the Oscars online
If you don’t have a Sky account, or would simply rather stream the Oscars ceremony than watch it on TV, all of Sky’s coverage will be streamed online through Now TV.

That might sound like bad news if you’re not already a Now TV subscriber, but don’t worry - you can still watch the Oscars for free. Now TV offers a 14-day free trial for its Sky Cinema Pass, which is normally £9.99 a month. That means that as long as you sign up for the trial any time between 13 February 2017 and the Oscars ceremony, you can watch it live and entirely free."

Seeing as you are clearly so keen to prove you are correct about this, perhaps you care to link any of the 'here there and everywhere' deals you mention? Which were of course readily and easily available to all like this deal is. And not 'blink and you miss it' fleetingly expired deals either of course :man: I look forward to your response

Use the search function. It was £35 at Sainsbury's for over a month, also at ASDA for the same duration after the Sainsbury's deal. Must be over 1000 ASDA and Sainsbury's in the U.K. so I'd call that available to all and not fleeting. Hope you're happy with the response you were looking forward to.

What's your problem here... why won't you just accept that this item has been cheaper than this regularly at nations retailers since release... if you are so interested in it surely you would have been monitoring the price / bought in on release in the multiple national deals at £35ish which is so regular it should be regarded as the normal price.

Good lord what on Earth is going on in this thread, what is wrong with you, just because someone points out it is just the normal price that the item is regularly sold for, you simply respond by stating No it hasn't been! YES IT HAS. On release was £35 at Sains with that, has been at ASDA too, use the search function, accept that people are posting to try and help out other HUKDers who might mistakenly think this is a bargain (as clearly lots have been caught out by the "RRP" of £70 when they sell them on regular rotation at £35).

Presumably you are the sort of person who voted hot on Kettle chips for £1 despite them being £1 on rotation at at least 2 major retailers at all times. This is Hot UK Deals not Pay the price it is always is deals.

You'll see this for sub £30 regularly soon, now that will be a deal because that's cheaper than the £35 at which it is always available from one retailer or another. Accept it.

PS did you even follow the HUKD deal I provided, the title of which includes the words "£35" and "5 months Entertainment"?????? - a national deal that was on for over a month and has carried on at multiple retailers ever since.

NO IT WASN'T! I was a good month after the launch, and then the offer stopped! I purchased one of these at launch and nobody was doing deals, I've been looking this year as I'm down to my last voucher now and this is the 1st time it's been nationwide n not a wild goose chase for the past month or so for a deal so to say it's on all the time at some retailer or other means you are talking out of your backside...