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back to article Sky Player hits Xbox 360

Broadcaster Sky has launched its long-awaited video-on-demand and streaming service for the Xbox 360. Sky_Player_screengrab_02 Sky Player's 'Home' screen on Xbox Live Called Sky Player, the service – the first of its kind for a games console, Sky claimed - works through Xbox Live and provides gamers with access to 24 live …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Dead Vulture

    Fools and their money..

    Pay for Xbox Live, Pay for Sky, Pay for Netflix. Locking down to Microsoft HDD and Microsoft memory cards...

    A fool and his money are soon parted.. You can however wave at your friends in a Playmobile Playset party room.. Woo.....

    How much did Microsoft & Sky pay you to post their PR?

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  2. Mr Brush
    Paris Hilton

    Another 'Meh'

    A nice feature for the people who want it. I don't have any use for it myself.

    I think the idea was that kids could get Sky™ in their bedroom, but as they need a Gold Sub (actually ~£25/year in the real world) to view, it probably won't take off. Besides, they'll be too busy playing CoD of 'studying' anaotomy via RedTube to watch the endless stream ofproperty p0rn and celebutards on the TV.

    *Sits back with popcorn and awaits the arrival of MarkOne and the SDF clones to shout about how Sony can do it better and cheaper.*

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  3. Marc Spillman
    Flame

    Robbing c****

    I notice how even those of us who are Sky subscribers STILL have to pay £10 a month extra if we're not multiroom or Sky top-tier broadband customers. This is just another way for Mr Murdoch to steal more pennies from us. You'd think being a Sky subscriber AND an XBL Gold member would be enough, but oh no - sorry mate, that's not enough. Outrage.

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  4. Scott Mckenzie
    FAIL

    But what about..

    ...those of us who don't want the standard package but do want the Sports.... tough isn't it.

    Another waste of time from them trying to sell us packages.

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Megaphone

    Competition

    Someone get hold of Sky quick, they've got competition ...

    From themselves. Oh. And what a surprise, it comes with a hefty monthly subscription even if all you want is on-demand content. What an exciting new business model for the new century.

    Let me explain something to you, Sky. Some channels I pay for (BBC, yes I know it's done in a slightly legislative way but you get the idea) and some I get for free with adverts attached (commercial ones). If in one of my more addled moments I felt it necessary to a satellite dish and box I could feasibly believe that paying a subscription would cover the costs of their provision and installation.

    But if I am providing my own Xbox, broadband connection, and Gold subscription, to watch the BBC I have already paid for and the commercial channels that sometimes have even more adverts than terrestrial ones, why exactly would I pay you?

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Enjoy...

    ...your 2gb capped connection. £50 a month to watch a days worth of TV, then stutter, stall, freeze...oh hold 5 seconds and no, it's froze again...

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Wait a minute...

    .. who's paying for the delivery here?

    Considering Sky offer a basic package, including broadband, for £18.50 (plus £30 connection and the option to get Sky+) that means you're saving £3.50 a month but having to supply the bandwidth to watch TV yourself. If you include the price of Live membership you aren't even saving any money!

    I can see why this is a good deal for Sky, but for not for the consumer...

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  8. LuMan
    Thumb Down

    Pricey

    Is it just me, or does the cost here look a little high?

    Oh well, back to BBC iPlayer on the PS3. Nowhere near the same amount of content, but at least it's free (notwithstanding licence fee, of course <sigh>).

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  9. OFI
    FAIL

    Pricing..

    Hardly a bargain is it!

    Compared to the On Demand stuff the US 360 owners get through NetFlix this is a HUGE rip off.

    Also unless things have changed you can use TV Catchup on the PS3 browser AND iPlayer, both of which are free.

    MS seems to have so many conflicting interests right now. The whole MS only HDD thing, MS want you to download this that and the other at prices which aren't a huge saving if at all and yet still charge far over the top for the various HDD options.

    This Sky Player thing is just more useless nonsense. Whatever happened to the BT Vision integration they promised quite some time ago.

    Even iPlayer would be a nice addition.

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  10. Alex Walsh
    Thumb Down

    The biggest failure Mehdock has ever concocted

    "Gamers can’t pay to watch, say, an individual football match. Nor can they pay for Sky Player with Microsoft’s Xbox Live points currency."

    This renders the whole thing utterly pointless and futile. I'd have punted a fiver on an individual premiership match but there's no way I'm paying a regular subscription. Mehdock has completely and utterly failed to understand the way people consume online and this deserves to fail utterly.

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  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not going to get much use

    Unfortunately, out of all the devices vying for space under tellies, the last one I'd use to play Sky TV would be the 360. I've never had a Sky box over-heat on me and I'd like to keep it that way.

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  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder how this affects TV licencing...?

    I am one of those odd balls that has no TV licence because

    a) there is very little on that I want to watch as it is broadcast

    b) the stuff I do want to watch is on iPlayer, ITV Player, 4od etc etc

    c) I refuse to give the BBC any money on account of it being nothing more than a glorified tax

    However, the rugby matches and movies that Sky does show are tempting (plus the other channels that are in the package show some semi decent stuff). Would love to know how this covers the TV licence though because does this count as live broadcacst or what...?

    Oh, and if an inspector does show up (and I'm feeling generous enough to talk to them rather than telling them to go away) and I say "See, TV but no aerial connection - no watch TV" will they now go "Ah, but you have an xbox so you can recieve tv broadcast, ergo, you get the fine..."

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  13. Duncan Watts

    Existing subscribers?

    So what about if you already have a Sky TV subscription? I can already watch Sky Player on the PC, does this extend to the Xbox platform?

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  14. marc 9

    What a shame...

    Being able to watch an individual football match or say just the shows I like (Waiting for 24 season 7 to come out on DVD) would have been great. What stops me for paying for Sky is that in my opinion, 99% of it is rubbish. This could have been so good.

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  15. Gordon Matson

    quick question

    So if i already have sky sports via a sky box, can i link my account and take advantage of the avatar party feature without paying for a second subscription?

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  16. Alexander Kaye

    Any plans for this to be on the PS3 ?

    Would sit nicely alongside the iplayer.....

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  17. Joe K
    FAIL

    So..

    ...its like using 4OD, ITVonline, iPlayer, and Vidzone on the PS3, only you have to pay through the friggin nose?

    I'll pass.

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  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    no tv license required?

    Is this the beginning of the end of the stupid TV license, given that ALL cable / sky broadcast are just under 1 sec delayed by the transmission mechanism.

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  19. Paul Hates Handles

    So...

    ...only SD, you have to download the content AND pay £15-£50 per month for it? Fuck that.

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  20. Tony Humphreys
    Thumb Down

    How come

    So they can now stream on demand over the net to a games console, but they cant seem to put a new viewing card in an envelope and post it to me to get rid of that "Insert your new viewing card" message.

    Idiots

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  21. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    shafted by SKY

    Of course, there are no specific options for those of use who are ALREADY coughing up wodges of cash to Sky.

    When this was first announced, scores of customers rejoiced at the prospect of this as an alternative to multiroom, thus no scores of ugly cabling required

    The answer we found was "nope. this is more expensive.... WAY more"

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  22. KrisM
    Thumb Down

    Real pity that did not do a PAYG option for individual events/programs

    As above, really. Would have found it really useful if the service allowed you to pay for individual matches (Xbox points maybe?) , movies or even regular TV programs. Coud have created a real niche market. As it is, with me having Virginmedia at home, can not justify the cost of paying another monthly subscription even if you can cancel after a month!

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  23. Dangerous Dave
    Black Helicopters

    existing sky subscribers?

    What if you already have the full sky package? Do i still have to pay? Obviously watching live TV on the xbox is pointless, as my xbox is sat on top my sky box, but the on demand program library would be nice. I haven't got access to sky anytime/skyplayer other than on the PC as i have not upgraded to sky+ or HD yet because as per usual, sky don't offer exisiting subscribers sod all and want to charge me for a new box, installation, and hike my monthly rental up. wazzocks, they can go swivel

    has the lastFM thing appeared yet? i checked at the weekend and couldnt see anything on the "whats new" menu

    black helicopters, because i don't plug my sky box into the phone socket *dons tinfoil hat*

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  24. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    First of its kind???

    What about iplayer for the PS3? I think you'll find you were beaten to the punch by a free service on a better console.

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  25. Tom_
    Stop

    too expensive

    If they let you pay per view or maybe pay for individual channels by the day or week, this might be worth it.

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  26. Patrick Morgan
    FAIL

    Sky on XBox

    After trying to log on to create a User ID this morning and struggling for 30mins, I never got to see the SKY Player. It failed to connect to the network and by mid day, Sky had removed the player from the Dashboard.

    Nice launch....

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  27. Jerome 0
    FAIL

    Morons

    Wow. Way to get all the disadvantages of streaming content, with none of the advantages. Monthly subscription indeed. I'd get a goddamn satellite dish if I wanted to give you that much of my money.

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  28. Martin Nicholls
    FAIL

    Muhee

    I was this on PC 4 years ago.. where is it?

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  29. ElectroSoulBastard
    FAIL

    Surprise?

    Error

    The required web service is unavailable.

    Help

    Visit Sky Contact us about this problem quoting error code 233 and reference number 1256677641410

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  30. riaharding
    Happy

    Sky player on xbox 360

    managed to download the sky player this morning. Had a few network probs at start. Managed to get connected at lunch and the sky player blade then disappeared. Found i could access sky player via my download information. It is brill. Loads of movies and live content. Excellent quality and no real loss of bandwidth when streaming.

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  31. Anonymous Coward
    Welcome

    I for one cautiously welcome this

    as its removing the need for a actual Sky setup and viewing card\Sky BB subscription and it is going to be extended to cover Media Centre in the near future.

    I can already watch all the current content on the BBC\ITV\Chan4\5 player sites & the normal UK content on Blinkbox from this side of the Atlantic, the prospect of dumping my equivalent priced cable service that I rarely watch and accessing the same channels that I used to watch Dave\UKGold\Sky one for the same price and without all the "viewer discretion is advised" type notices while reducing the advert count.

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  32. Alex Walsh

    re: no tv license required?

    If the basic xbox/sky package allows you to watch bbc channels live, you'll still need a tv license. You'll need a tv license if you watch anything broadcast live on any medium.

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  33. Andy 97
    FAIL

    $ky arse again

    I still have no idea why people continue to subscribe to their expensive service.

    Football?

    Go down the pub and have a few pints with your friends.

    Sky1?

    Oh great, Simpson's, Futurama etc.

    All available on DVD and advert-free.

    HD?

    How much extra?

    As was quoted further up there, a fool and his/her money are soon parted.

    .

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  34. Old Tom

    I currently pay to watch individual football matches...

    ...it's just that I pay a barmaid - and she gives me something nice to drink while I watch.

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  35. Daniel Bennett
    FAIL

    Fail.

    The push failed yesterday. Their servers couldnt handle the requests, Both XBL and Sky servers all failed.

    It is due to be pushed out again today, Hopefully now they are balanced correctly! LOL.

    I like this idea... but not sure on it yet. Maybe when it can be a service to MATCH Sky TV then that would be good.

    Theres no BBC ITV or Channel4 stuff... But they are talknig to BBC to get the content on there, so we will see....

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  36. OldBiddie
    FAIL

    @Patrick Morgan

    But haven't you heard? It was a successful launch! Microsoft said so:

    "The Sky Player on Xbox 360 service did successfully launch early this morning, it has subsequently been suspended due to an unforeseen technical issue."

    Oh wait - Microsoft must mean that *other* definition of "successful", the one where you yank a service so it can no longer be used successful ...

    For those that haven't gone and read the T&Cs on Sky's web site, this is how it works:

    You get the live streams and on demand if you have multiroom or Sky broadband with the right package subscription (i.e., movies, sports)

    You get the on demand if you have the right package sub (i.e., movies, sports) but no live stream

    If you don't have Sky at all, then you're going to pay at least £15 to Sky per month.

    In all cases an Xbox Live Gold membership is required to use it.

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  37. MarkOne
    FAIL

    Coming soon

    Xbox360 snakeoil and other ways to part Xbox owners from their cash...

    This is a huge ripoff. I think once the euphoria that Xbox UK owners currently have, that they got something PS3 does not already have for free, then reality will set in, they are getting screwed over again, and just getting locked into more monthly recurring fees.

    How long before the Xbox Last-FM and Twitter stuff becomes subscription based on Xbox, and free everywhere else?

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  38. Elsie
    FAIL

    More? You want MORE Murdoch?

    Murdoch actually thinks that we are going to subscribe and pay for something we have already paid for? Well me old cobber, you can stick that idea in your digereedoo and ram it up a kangaroos bottom.

    If I want to watch TV / sport on my 360:

    evtv.it - for the TV programes

    Justin.tv - for the sport

    Tversity - to get it from my PC to my 360

    And guess what, it's all FREE ... although I have paid for a TVersity license as the software is that good and I have a Virgin Media contract which includes all the Sky channels. However, besides the Ross Kemp programmes, there is absoulutley NOTHING on Sky that I'd want to watch.

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  39. Bl33ter
    Happy

    @ Mr Brush.....

    "*Sits back with popcorn and awaits the arrival of MarkOne and the SDF clones to shout about how Sony can do it better and cheaper.*"

    About 18 hours........good call Mr Brush :)

    I'm not being screwed over, I bought a GAMES console.......to play GAMES. If I want to watch Sky I will buy a dish, I want to tw*t.......erm I mean twit all over the place I'll use a computer, you get the point.

    GAMES console, whatever extras the manufacturers try to enchance it with the only thing I really care about is the purpose for which I bought it. If Audi decide to try to flog a pair of furry dice for £250 I'm only being ripped off if I actually buy them, regardless of whether BMW offer a pair of equally fuzzy cubes for free. The only way I can be ripped off is if the games suck, people are entitled to their own opinion regarding quality of games, but I have a wail of a time.

    Sky can charge what they like, if it's too much they fail.

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  40. chr0m4t1c
    Thumb Down

    @15:59 GMT

    "I am one of those odd balls that has no TV licence because

    a) there is very little on that I want to watch as it is broadcast

    b) the stuff I do want to watch is on iPlayer, ITV Player, 4od etc etc

    c) I refuse to give the BBC any money on account of it being nothing more than a glorified tax

    "

    I don't think you're an odd-ball, the register has another name for you...

    a) That's fine, you're not alone.

    b) So you *do* watch BBC content, but without paying the BBC any money for it.

    c) Then stop watching the output. Or buy it on one of the formats available to the public (DVD/Bluray/etc.)

    OK, what you're doing is not technically illegal (at the moment), but you must realise the hypocrisy of your position, surely?

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  41. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Coming to PS3 soon anyway..

    http://www.digitalchoices.co.uk/sky-player-heading-for-ps3-28102009.html

    It's also not going to need a premium console subscription to access either (only the Sky fees).

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  42. OldBiddie
    FAIL

    Creak creak creak colapse

    Still appears to be borked after turning it back on.

    So, another Microsoft definition of a successful relaunch today then; you'd have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those damn meddling technical issues.

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