Due to the shockingly bad summer we are having this year a couple of shiny faces in my house said lets get Sky.

This gave me a chance to review Sky Anytime PC, Sky’s Video on Demand service for computers.

It uses the same Windows Media DRM Kontiki system as Channel4’s 4OD

Download speeds seem poor compared to 4OD about half as fast. 

The video quality is about the same as 4OD, so make that “just passable”.

The free content was very limited and due to be re-run on Sky anyway.

One benefit for movie subscribers is they give you access to 300 movies you can download for free.

So if you have a media center PC in another room you could use it to download the free movie content and therefore extending the reach of sky into another room without having a set top box.

Once again the big mistake these companies make is with VOD TV Episodes: IF YOU CAN PURCHASE THE SAME CONTENT ON DVD CHEAPER, WHICH IS HIGHER QUALITY, WHY BOTHER.

2.50 for a episode of a TV show is a Joke. Particularly if you pay a subscription fee for the same channel it runs on.

Summary

Just another company playing in the VOD market. What consumers want is tons of content at  low cost. Example 5000 movies to choose from at .99pence each or .49pence for an episode of a TV show.

If you don’t give us quality then make it cheap.

Pro’s

Some free content but not enough

300 movies downloads for movie subscribers

Cons

Slow Download speeds

Can only install on one PC

Only just acceptable picture quality

No Windows Vista Support