Sky Player on Xbox 360 – A closer look
November 3, 2009 by Steve Milward
Filed under Previews
The much anticipated Sky Player on Xbox Live rolled out for the second time today after some technical issues hampered the initial roll out last week and I have to say its been well worth the wait. After downloading a small application (12mb), Xbox Live users with a Gold membership can simply sign in using their Skyid from their main Sky account and after ticking the T’s and C’s your away. Its important to remember though that once you enter the Sky ID details into your Xbox 360 then the Sky account is automatically tied to the Xbox 360 and cannot be changed to a different machine.
The service states that it requires at least a 2mb broadband connection to get the most from it but allows users with lower bandwidth limits to select a lower grade picture using the left bumper of the Xbox controller and with settings of Low, Medium and High its got all the bases covered.
24 of Sky's best channels are available
So what can you expect once your up and running, well the choice is wide and varied and if we start with the Live TV option you can watch up to 24 channels depending on your Sky subscription. Then on top of watching Live TV there is also the option to watch On Demand and there is a choice here of 14 channels based on the most popular Sky channels and boasting 100’s and 100’s of movies, sports, dramas, an all from the most popular programs on the Sky TV service, it really is a fantastic amount of good quality viewing. There is also a TV guide to show you whats on now and next and lets you go through the program listings as you would on any normal Sky set top box.
The Sky Player and Microsoft Xbox also meet in the middle and the service allows you to party up with friends and watch together using your Xbox Avatar in a rather plush looking lounge complete with 2 sofa’s, tables a rather cool looking guitar and of course a rather large TV screen. The use of the Avatar lets you use various emote’s to let you feelings be known to your fellow party members and there is 8 in total so really only the basics but I am sure Microsoft will expand on this in the future.
Easy navigation means quick and simple viewing
Having used the system for a few hours and played around with all the options Sky Player is a great addition to Xbox Live and even if you don’t currently subscribe to all the services available, the ability to watch On Demand TV similar to BBC iPlayer on PlayStation 3 is something that Xbox users can now benefit from. The quality of the picture is great at the highest setting and very good on medium with low being passable if its something you desperately want to watch. The viewing of movies etc in the avatar mode is good fun but just how often this is used will remain to be seen although I do like gloating when my team are winning and its ideal for that. The only thing that I would like to see in the future is the hard disc used to record Live TV similar to the Sky+ system and this would surely make the service complete.
For all the details and information regarding how to subscribe and what offers are available head over to the Sky Player website and also see the FAQ here.
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