Sky’s first ever televisions, known as Sky Glass, are only a few weeks old but users are already reporting some teething problems around screen flicker, playback and more.
The launch of the Sky Glass televisions was met with great enthusiasm by fans of the brand, many of whom rushed out to buy one of the sets at the first opportunity. However, a spate of postings on Sky’s community forums, Reddit and elsewhere reveal those early adopters have come across multiple problems with the TVs.
The BBC reported that the most common issue people are complaining about is “blinking” or “flickering” screens when watching content, along with image lag or freeze and jumpy animations.
"When watching anything I keep getting distracted by the occasional flash/blink in the top right-hand corner of the picture," one user wrote on Sky’s community forum.
Others have reported incidents of the TV failing to switch on, while others still say some channels are either not working or unavailable, instead displaying a “There is a technical problem with this channel” or “Please try later” message.
There are issues with the “Playlist” feature that’s supposed to aggregate all of a user’s favourite programmes and movies from various sources, such as the TV guide, apps and on-demand services, in one place. The Playlist is meant to act as a kind of viewing schedule for users, but various users complain that it’s not working as expected and that the experience is “disappointing”.
The BBC said some customers have been so frustrated with the TVs that they have already returned them to the shop for a refund, as they’re allowed to do within a 31-day window after purchase. However, Sky told the BBC in a statement that a software update will be released this week to address flickering issues.
"A very small number of customers have reported some flickering and we have a software update scheduled this week that will resolve this,” the company said. “We'll be following up as always with regular releases to add features and fix any issues."
Sky said that until the software update is released, any customers experiencing issues should get in touch with its support teams for assistance.
Sky’s spokesperson insisted to the BBC that it has seen “huge demand for Sky Glass” and that it has received “fantastic feedback” from many of its customers.
Sky launched Sky Glass last month to much fanfare, giving users a way to access its services without needing to install a set-top box and satellite dish. Instead, customers can buy the TV and stream all of Sky’s programming over the internet, as they do with services such as Netflix.
The Sky Glass TVs are fairly conventional LCD models, with a choice of 43-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch sizes. They feature a 4K FALD LED backlight and quantum dots as well as support HDR standards such as Dolby Vision and HDR10. They also boast a fairly substantial sound system that packs in six built-in speakers including a subwoofer on the sides, bottom and top, delivering a total output of 215 watts, and Dolby Atmos support.
Those who’ve purchased a Sky Glass TV or are considering doing so may want to check out HDTVTest’s tips in this video in order to get the best image quality:
