Your Sky TV just got 10 times better with a bunch of useful free updates
You may have missed the 500 updates that Sky has rolled out to its Entertainment operating system (OS) over the past three years, but several changes are being rolled out today, with plenty more to come that you won’t want to know about. .
From today (April 17), Sky TV customers, such as those using Sky Stream or Sky Glass, will get five new features as part of the latest version (1.2) of the Entertainment OS, which will also be available for any other streaming device or TV that use it, including Xumo in the US and the recently launched Hubbl service in Australia.
The first of these updates focuses on making personalized movie recommendations more targeted by showing movies you might like grouped by genre. This is based on your viewing history in Sky apps and is something you may have noticed on the likes of Netflix or Prime Video.
To make the Sky viewing experience even more personal, you can also choose from a range of popular children’s TV characters for your playlist avatar (see the image above).
Sky Glass and Sky Stream will also gain Sky Q’s ability to fast forward and rewind a program using voice commands. Additional voice commands have also been added that work across several apps, most notably Amazon Music and Roxi. The latest update you’ll find today is that the TV shows now also have cast and crew pages where you can see the actors in the series you’re watching.
Five more great free updates are coming in May
While some of the updates rolling out today may not be the most notable, a great new feature is coming with Entertainment OS 1.3. This one is specifically for Sky Glass owners who enjoy playing video games. Starting in May, you’ll finally get one of the best features on the best gaming TVs: Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM).
The feature is part of a new software stack that uses HDMI technology to work and will be accessible via a new Auto Game Mode, which is automatically enabled when a gaming console is connected. Sky claims it will reduce latency by as much as 70%.
Sky has also made some improvements to reduce the latency of its UHD and HD sports broadcasts by as much as 22 seconds, which I got to see at Sky’s Innovation Center in Britain. You can see for yourself when you watch Sky Sports Main Events from May. Low latency will be made available to other Sky Sports channels later this year.
A few more updates to look forward to: you’ll soon be able to use voice commands to add movies and shows to your playlist, enable subtitles for all Ultra HD on-demand content, make audio descriptions accessible for all on-demand content, Add your own favorite actors to your playlist and view a film’s Rotten Tomatoes score.
Sky has certainly been busy. Its subscription model may not be to everyone’s taste, but it continues to prove that it is committed to making its service worth paying for.