Plus Size Upgrade for MySky+

Ahead of revamping its sports package and offering more HD channels, Sky will increase the storage capacity of its MySky+ PVR by more than a fifth.

All of Sky’s boxes will receive a software upgrade from July 23-August 5 that will substantially boost their capacity to hold HD recordings.

“Sky boxes have different hard drive sizes, operating systems and capacities, therefore there are a number of variables that affect how much additional storage is made available,” a spokeswoman told ScreenScribe.

But all boxes will benefit, with MySky+ users scoring a 21% storage increase — enough for 169 hours of HD recordings.

When MySky+ was first released eight years ago, the 1TB model tripled the storage of the original MySky.

It held up to 130 hours of HD recordings – although only 640GB of its hard drive space was for personal recordings; the rest was for on-demand downloads.

As part of this month’s storage upgrade, Sky is relocating its chargeable on-demand movies to the Sky Box Office menu to simplify navigation.

The price also will be shown on the on-demand thumbnails so subscribers know the cost of purchase before downloading.

Liberating the hard drive is great news given Sky seems to have lost interest in improving its PVR technology — but it’s still bad news for anyone hoping Sky would soon beam out 4K movies and sports, as Sky’s counterparts do in Australia and the UK.

The current MySky+ doesn’t have 4K capability built in, so the only 4K content you’re likely to see anytime soon on Sky will be streamed. Sky argues on its outdated website:

There’s not a whole heap of content available in 4K around the globe right now. We’ll be adding 4K capability when we manufacture our next box or device. At this stage we’re looking into different options for content delivery of 4K that’ll best match the interests of our customers. It’d be awesome to be able to show all our content in HD. Our satellite capacity is limited but as international delivery technologies improve we hope this will allow us to offer more of our channels in HD in the future.

At least more HD channels are about to go live but the lack of 4K content beggars belief when it can be accessed so easily on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV as well as Sky UK and Foxtel.

For the record, here’s the strategy as articulated in a June 25 press release:

SKY ACCELERATES FOCUS ON STREAMING SERVICES

Sky CEO Martin Stewart has today reaffirmed the company’s accelerated focus on streaming services.

“From my first day at Sky I have talked about how streaming services are our future. Over the last few months we have taken a close look at Sky’s technology roadmap and as a result we have sharpened our future focus.

“Our core goal is to deliver our superb content in ways that meet the needs of all New Zealanders. We want everyone to be able to access our content in the way that suits them best. That means:

1. Delivering extremely well to the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who have Sky boxes in their homes with our world–leading service reliability and convenience, and
2. Providing highly appealing and competitive services to those customers who want to access our content online. Having best-in-class streaming experiences is a critical part of our growth plan for Sky.

“With that in mind, we have taken a thorough look at the development and deployment of the next generation ‘Puck’ device that we have been working on, and which has not yet been launched.

“Drawing on our understanding of the ways New Zealanders are watching content in 2019 and what they want from us, we have decided that we can best serve our customers by enhancing our streaming services, and we will not proceed with the Puck device.

“Customers who prefer to consume our sports and entertainment on a set-top box are already well served with My Sky, which offers reliability and great functionality, and they all get complimentary access to our SkyGO app.

“In the coming weeks we will have exciting announcements that prove our commitment to delivering Sky in ways that work for all New Zealanders.

“In August we are launching our new sports App, with a superb content line-up, new pricing and great features. We also have a number of enhancements planned on Neon and Sky Go that will increase choice, quality and ways of enjoying those services.

“We will continue to encourage Sky customers to connect their Sky box to their home internet in order to access our vast array of on demand ready-to-watch content. We’re also improving the viewing experience with an increased number of HD channels, and there are superb enhancements coming on the Sky Sport front.

“We have an exceptional suite of content. Our refocused technology roadmap means we will deliver it to customers wherever they want it, when they want it, and through the platform that best meets their personal needs.”