You're all probably sick of me banging on about the Apple TV 4K, so you'll be happy to hear that I've swapped it out as my primary streamer.
Yes, the device that I called "comfortably the best streamer" is no longer attached to one of my TV's HDMI sockets – but it's for a good reason, I promise.
As an avid AV enthusiast who's expected to stay up to do with all of the latest products and services for my daily reporting and reviewing, I've been trialling Sky Stream.
And you know what? So far my experience has generally been positive.
While detaching my beloved Apple TV was a tough pill to swallow, and signing into all of my apps again was rather tedious, I could immediately feel the benefits of Sky Stream.
Now, I know comparing a £149 / $130 / AU$219 streamer for a subscription package that starts at £15 a month (or much higher depending on how you decide to spec your package) might not seem like a fair comparison, but there is some logic in it.
Let's stick with Sky Stream Essential, which is £15 a month for 24 months. This includes the streamer, access to Sky TV, the entry-level Netflix subscription (which is £5.99 per month usually), and access to Discovery+.
That comes to £360 in total for those two years, which is just shy of double the Apple TV's price.
Take into account that the Apple TV doesn't come with any included services (not even Apple TV+), and then it makes even more sense.
Regardless, the Sky Stream puck has filled the Apple TV 4K-shaped hole in my TV setup and after browsing through the interface, flicking through channels and resisting the urge to sob at the latest episode of The Last of Us, I can confidently say that I've been converted.
During my week with Sky Stream, I've picked out three things I like about the service and a couple of things I would like to see improved or added. So without further ado, here's what I like and dislike about Sky Stream:
Like: Everything in one place
If there is one thing that Sky has absolutely gotten right with Stream, it's that all of your content is superbly easy to access.
Regardless of whether it's on Sky's own service or on a third-party streaming platform such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or BBC iPlayer, it will be featured on the Sky OS home screen.
This has practically eliminated that awful wild goose chase of trying to find which service a TV show or movie is on once you've decided to watch it.
Integration is pretty seamless too. After plugging in all of my login details to the various services, I can now just click on a film or show, and it will take me straight to the app it's featured on.
In contrast, the Apple TV 4K is a more traditional streamer. While I am a huge fan of tvOS (especially compared to other streaming operating systems out there), I did find myself having to cycle through the apps to track down what I wanted to watch.
The Apple TV app did negate that somewhat, as certain services could be linked to it to create an all-in-one streaming hub, but it is nowhere near as cohesive as Sky OS's ambivalent approach.
Dslike: It's a bit glitchy
While I certainly have no qualms regarding Sky OS's feature set, there are a few performance hitches that I've encountered in my week with the streamer.
The main home screen of Sky OS can sometimes stick and I've encountered a couple of endless loading wheels that have resulted in me having to restart my puck.
Another more frustrating incident involved me having to factory reset and log back into my puck, as the volume controls refused to work and the setup process to allow the puck to recognise my Philips OLED907 TV broke entirely.
These are by no means dealbreakers, and I can handle a bit of lag here and there. But, coming from the Apple TV 4K – which hardly ever stuttered and worked seamlessly with my TV and soundbar straight away – I did notice the teething issues.
Like: Playlists are my new obsession
I'm familiar with playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, but, I've never really paid much attention to them on my TV. Sure, Netflix, Disney Plus and the rest all have watchlist features in which you can bookmark content, but Sky's playlist feature is a step above.
First and foremost, it comes down to that service ambivalent approach, as I can add whatever I like to my playlist to watch later; regardless of where it's located.
Secondly, Sky makes a much bigger deal of this feature and actively encourages you to use it thanks to a dedicated playlist button on the remote.
The big plus icon that's highlighted in red is hard to miss, and I've gone rather trigger-happy with it, adding whatever I like the look of to my playlist with the press of a button.
It's the first widget you see when you turn Sky Stream on as well, which makes it easy to jump back into and continue what you're watching. Overall, I'm a big fan of playlists.
Dislike: A couple of apps are missing
While the Sky OS ecosystem is mostly well-equipped, there are a couple of apps missing that I would like to see on the platform.
All of the larger streaming services are covered, however some of the niche services including MUBI and Shudder are absent.
This isn't a major gripe by any means, but it would be good to see Sky incorporate some of the smaller players in the streaming world especially as Apple, Google and Amazon's streamers have them.
Furthermore, the Apple TV app is purely for streaming on Apple TV+, which means you can't buy or rent movies directly, instead need to do so on a phone or tablet separately.
Music apps are the bigger issue for me, as the two services I'm signed up for aren't supported.
Apple Music and Tidal are both absent, and while you can cast to the Stream puck, I prefer a dedicated interface that allows me to play my music directly from the device without having to faff around with wirelessly linking my phone.
This won't be a dealbreaker for many, however, I like to queue music up on my TV to play through my soundbar when I'm doing a spot of cleaning, or when I have friends around.
Like: The remote is excellent
I've reviewed plenty of TVs, projectors, soundbars and streaming devices at this point, so trust me when I say I know a good remote when I see one.
The Sky Stream remote (which it shares with the Sky Glass) is an absolute doozy, with superbly tactile buttons that make clicking around the interface a joy. It's also responsive and features one of my absolute favourite features for any remote.
Yes, it's backlit. I tend to watch my TV in as dark a room as possible (asking our TV and AV editor Tom Parsons what he thinks about ambient light), so having a remote that illuminates to make operation easier in my preferred viewing environment will always score brownie points.
While I do miss the aluminium casing and iPod-style touch wheel on the Apple TV remote, and it has the advantage of having a charging port so I don't have to go out and buy batteries when my controller runs low on juice, the Sky Stream's superb remote has softened the blow.
MORE:
Read our full Sky Stream review
Check out the best Sky TV deals
And check out our picks for the best media streamers
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