4242 AUGUST 2019AUGUST 2019||COMPUTER SHOPPERCOMPUT |ISSUE 378
SPECIFICATIONS
VIDEOOUTPUTS1xHDMI•NETWORÃING802.11acWi-Fi
- DIMENSIONS125x125x21mm•STREAMINGFORMATS
None•INTERNETSTREAMINGSERVICESNowTV, BBC
iPlayer, ITVHub,All4,My5,Netflix,YouTube•WARRANTY
OneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.nowtv.com•PARTCODE
NowTVSmartBoxwith4KandVoiceSearch
NOWTVBOXEShave long been agreat way
to watch Sky’s exclusive TV shows and sport
content without having to commit to
expensive,long-term contracts. And, because
theyalso act as media streamers from other
third-party sources, they’re acheap tool for
adding smart functionality to an older TV.
This latest model retains the voice control
feature from the previous Smart Box, while
finally adding support for4Kplayback at up to
60fps. Weirdly,this doesn’t cover Sky’s own
content: only the Netflix and ŴouTube apps
can use this higher resolution. ForSky Sports,
SkyMovies and the like,you’re stuck with the
same old (and disappointingly low) 720p
resolution of older Smart Boxes, while other
non-Skystreamed content goes up to 1080p.
It’s fitting, then, that the Smart Box with
4K and Voice Search is similar on the outside,
too. Its design is elegant enough to sit in a
living room, but the glossy black plastic isn’t
particularly exciting. The box measures 125mm
in length and width, is 21mm tall and is
lightweight at 222g. There’s asmall whiteLLD
at the front, which remains lit when used and
turns off when the device is in standby.
At the back is an HDMI 2.0 port, an
Lthernet socket, amicroSD card slot and aDC
power connector.The microSD card slot is a
nice inclusion: it opens the potential of having
farmore space to store downloaded apps.
QUICKWITTED
Although you get HDĚ10 support, the Smart
Box doesn’t support DolbyVision, HLG or
HDĚ10̽. On the audio front, there’s Dolby
Digital Plus and DTS surround but not Dolby
Atmos or DTS:Ů. It works with both 5.1and 7.1
pass-through, so if you’ve got the appropriate
sound system or soundbar,you’ll enjoyyour
movies and shows in superior surround sound.
NOWTVSmartBox
with4KandVoiceSearch
★★★★★
£50•From http://www.argos.com
VERDICT
SʵycontentisstillonlyͶ2Ҋp,butthis
new NowTVSmartBoѸmaʵesupɋorit
with ɩeѸibilityandɋeatures
MEDIA STREAMER
Setting everything up is straightforward
and fast: it took us just under 10 minutes, and
much of that was spent waiting forupdates to
download and install. Once the Smart Box is
ready to go,the interface feels intuitive,and
the effectiveness of voice search is impressive.
The microphone (hidden within the remote
control) accurately picked up actor names,
film titles and TV shows, while the software
always found what we were looking for.
CARE PACKAGE
As with previousSmartBoxes, content is
accessed by buying passes: there’s one each
forLntertainment, Cinema, Kids, SkySports
and the reality-show service Hayu. This might
sound limiting if you’re used to media
streamers that provide instant access to
everything, but if you’re only interested in
certain content and genres, then this system
can work out as the cheapest wayofwatching
premium TV and movies. Amonthly Sky
Sports subscription, forinstance,would cost
you £47 with SkyĒbut just £34 on Now TV.
Daily and weekly passes are available,too.We
onlywishitwerepossibletocombinepackages
forabetter deal. There are no bundle offers,
so if you want to mix and match passes, be
prepared to payfull price forevery single one.
Ěegardless of which pass you opt for,
there’s plenty of content to sink your teeth
into. And even without the passes, you can
access abroad selection of streaming
services including BBC iPlayer,ITV Hub,All 4,
My5 and Vimeo –and, as mentioned, you can
stream 4K content via Netflix or ŴouTube.
The big catch to the Smart Box is that
content in the SkySports, Cinema and
Lntertainment passes –inother words, the
content you’re paying extra to watch –isstill
limited to 720p.Although Skyhas promised
an upgrade to Full HD streaming by the
end of the year,ithas yet to confirm whether
it will be charging extra forthe service.
There’s also no antenna connection, as there
was on the old Now TV Smart Box, so you
can no longer watch Freeview channels.
The good news is that you can still pause
and rewind live TV by up to 30 minutes, and
at least other content isn’t forced down to
such alow resolution.
REACH FORTHE SKY
If you’re looking fora4Kstreamer,this latest
Now TV Smart Box is adecent option rather
thananessentialpurchase.TheĚokuStreaming
Stick̽, Google Chromecast Ultra and Ama҄on
Fire TV all offer agreater breadth of support
forthird-party apps and content and, in some
cases, have agreater selection of features.
What makes Now TV viable,even in the
face of these alternatives, is how it makes
Skycontent more accessible and affordable
than getting atraditional TV subscription.
That you can choose exactly which channels
you want means you’re not paying for
nearly as much irrelevant content, and it’s
particularly good if you only want to watch,
say, asingle team’s games on SkySports.
Approach the Smart Box like this, and you’re
getting afairly good deal, especially with 4K
Netflix and free streaming services thrown in.
ChristopherMinasians
The big catchisthatcontent in the SkySports, Cinema
and Entertainmentpasses is still limited to 720p
