Now TV 4K box: Release date, price, specs and everything you need to know

Sky will soon unveil the next stage for Now TV, its internet streaming service that has grown massively over the last couple of years.

It is understood that a new box will be announced this week, which will be 4K Ultra HD-ready and herald the start of a new era of television for Sky and its streaming platform.

So what do we know so far about the Now TV 4K box and the new service? Well, the following for starters…

Now TV 4K box for 2016: What is it?

Sky announced in January that it had a new, more advanced Now TV box on the way.

It didn’t reveal much at the time, save for an image of a larger, slimmer device than the puck-shaped box it currently offers. This lead us and other news sources to speculate that it would be similar to the Roku 4 box, released at the end of 2015 in the States.

That box featured 4K video streaming, so we surmised that the new Now TV box will too. All Now TV devices are made by Roku after all, thanks to Sky’s considerable stake in the company.

More information was seeded in March, when Sky’s director of strategy, Nick Herm, revealed that not only would the new box offer online services, it will come with a built-in digital TV tuner. That would effectively pitch it against YouView and give Sky an all-in-one TV option for those who cannot have a satellite dish on the side of their building.

At the same time, Herm revealed that Sky will be launching Ultra HD channels in “summer” for Sky Q customers. This adds further weight to the idea that the new Now TV box will be capable of streaming them too.

READ: What is Sky Q, how much does it cost and how can I get it?

It is thought that the new Now TV 4K box will be an additional offering rather than replace the standard version already available.

Sky

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Release date

Apart from the “summer” suggestion, we don’t yet know an actual release date when you will be able to buy the new box.

However, Sky is holding a launch event on Wednesday 29 June, which could signal the start of pre-orders or even direct orders for the device.

The Now TV website (nowtv.com) has recently changed to offer an option under the Now TV box tab to include a “choose box” option. This suggests a second box offering will be added sooner rather than later.

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Price

We currently don’t know for sure, but if Sky sticks with the standard Now TV box it currently sells, the new model will be more than the £14.99 you have to pay at present.

It could even be offered as part of a more rounded subscription.

As things stand, you can pay £14.99 for the current box, or £24.99 for the box and a two-month Sky Movies Pass or three-month Entertainment Pass. The box and a one-month Sky Sports Pass costs £36.99.

The passes individually cost £9.99 a month Sky Movies Pass, £6.99 a month for an Entertainment Pass covering multiple Sky and related channels, £2.99 a month for a Kids Pass, and up to £33.99 a month for a Sky Sports Pass.

None of those currently offer 4K services, so there might be a premium for those. And there might be an all-in-one pass that covers everything and the box. We’ll find out at the official announcement event.

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Specifications

There have been few rumours on the spec of the new Now TV box, but if it is similar to the Roku 4, as suggested, it will at the very least have a HDMI 2.0 port with HDCP 2.2 copy protection. You’ll therefore need a TV or AV receiver with a compatible input.

The Roku 4 also has dual-band wireless connectivity, which would be a minimum requirement to stream 4K content.

Of course, Roku’s US device doesn’t come with a TV tuner, so that would be all-new to Now TV. It would offer the entire gamut of Freeview channels in the UK, with additional channels – we expect – to be added as internet streams.

We don’t think there will be a hard drive for recordings.

Now TV 4K box for 2016: Content

Freeview has over 60 channels on offer, with a healthy selection of them in HD. That’s plenty of live stations to view.

However, where the current Now TV box comes into its own is that it also offers several apps, including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and Demand 5 (My5), as well as access to its different passes. That opens up the world of on demand movies and TV shows, plus offers Sky-only channels to stream live.

READ: New Now TV Box (2015) arrives, we get watching the latest movies, TV and sport

If Sky also announces new 4K channels, as expected, this could technically be the only place to view them other than through a Sky Q box and setup.

Sky might even shock us all and announce that it is opening its Now TV platform to include additional apps and services, such as Netflix – currently seen as a direct rival to Now TV. There have been murmurings that the alternative movie streaming app might come to Sky Q one day and Telstra TV in Australia recently did something similar with its media streaming box, also made by Roku.

Conclusion

Sky replaced its original Now TV box in August 2015, with a more capable version, but this would be the most significant announcement for the off-shoot service since it first burst onto the market.

The firm was a partner of YouView in the early days, so has long held the opinion that there is a market for a mixture of broadcast and IPTV services in the same device. However, with YouView becoming more synonymous with BT than anyone else – partly thanks to a 4K offering already being made available – it is clear that Sky needs its own box to compete directly.

Whatever the reason, these are set to be interesting times for paid TV and the UK’s streaming services all round.

We’ll update and refresh this piece as soon as we find out more information.