Sky TV have rebranded the company's Anytime PC service as SkyPlayer.
Video streaming - as well as the current downloading - is now available following an overnight upgrade.
It means users will be able to start watching content almost instantly, rather than waiting for the whole show or movie to download.
It puts the satellite broadcasters servce on a par with the BBC iPlayer that also offers both streaming and download options.
In the past, Sky Anytime - then called Sky By Broadband - was plagued by account management and login problems but these have largely disappeared and it was given the thumbs up as one of the better quality download services currently available by DownloadMonkey testers in a recent review.
...the one website that will hold your hand as you step into the wonderful new world of TV on demand.
Legally downloading TV here in the UK has now reached that point where ordinary chimps like me have stopped messing about with Limewire and BitTorrent and started trying to have a go. We're supposed to be paying for quality and convenience. But you soon realise that trying to do the right thing is not nearly as easy as it looks. Too many problems, too much confusion. It's enough to make a good guy go bad...
Why? Well, one reason is this:
instead of getting their vastly overpaid heads together and coming up with an internet version of VHS, the corporate big boys* have sunk millions into their own systems.
Some are better than others, but they all work differently and some of them really don't play very nicely together. Cue frustration.
Then there's the content - the stuff we came for. Some of it's free, some of it comes with a subscription you already pay and some of it is pay per view or season pass. And then there's how long you can view it for. Seven days or 24 hours or... Agggghhh ok. ok. I get it already...
Continue reading Hello, and Welcome to Download Monkey......
Come on. We've all seen it. You know it's true
With more HD around - from Blu ray, Sky, Virgin, Apple - we're all starting to watch more and more HD shows and movies 0 on DVD, cable or dish TV and downloaded.
But that fact is that all HD is not created equal.
To these eyes, the quality of HD sources we've used runs to a list that looks something like this:
1. Blu ray DVD
2. Sky+HD
3. Virgin
4. Apple
5. Xbox Live
Bitrate seems to be the key here and the team over at Gizmodo have had a good look around and written a solid piece all about it.
It's well worth a read if you are in the least bit interested in why your HD mileage seems to vary...
Gizmodo's HD round-up
2008's been a funny old year.
As we turn the corner into 2009, Virgin's talking about 50mbps broadband, Kangaroo is on the ropes and the dark cloud of credit crunch looms large over us all.
But if you look at the numbers, the rise and rise of downloading - both legal and illegal - is unstoppable.
iPlayer, SkyPlayer, ITVPlayer and Fiver have all made it easier to find and watch the TV shows we love while the ISPs are sending out warning letters to anyone who might be filesharing. No-one wants to be the first to start cutting people off though.
So the future looks bright, assuming that we've all still got jobs in six months.
DownloadMonkey hasn't been immune from the pressures facing all of us at this time. So we're going to kick off the new year by looking for a new site editor. They need to be able to write in something more than LOLspeak, passionate about all the things we care about here at DLM, able to handle a cool but simple CMS and be really keen to get involved in making this site hot hot hot. You'll be UK based and have ideas about extending the site and it's coverage. There's no money in it (at least for now) it's a labour of love, but DLM does have excellent contacts in the TV and online business - so they'll have plenty of support. If you think this sounds like you and you want to get involved, write something smart and post it here.
Hoping you all have a safe and wonderful Christmas and New Year.
The DLM team
Here at Download Monkey we spend a lot of time thinking, talking and arguing about quality and ease of use.
When your beat is Video On Demand and technology is throwing up a new twist each and every week, there's plenty to talk about.
Timely then that Gizmodo should put out a piece reminding us all that Samsung's death knell for Blu-ray is a little premature considering that it is still the number one spot on quality - the only thing that comes close is Sky+HD - that disc and player prices are tumbling fast and of course that EVERYONE knows how to use a DVD.
This is one of those sanity check pieces that is well worth a read.
To read the full Gizmodo piece click here