Now TV (presented as NOW TV) is a telecommunications company serving the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and is owned by Sky UK Limited. Now TV provides no contract subscription Internet television, broadband Internet, and land line telephone services. The majority of services available by Now TV are designed to cater for consumers who don't want to be tied to a contract. Now TV was first announced in February 2012 as an Internet television service, and launched in the United Kingdom on 17 July 2012 originally offering a Sky Cinema subscription, from March 2013 offering a Sky Sports subscription, from October 2013 offering an entertainment television channels subscription, and then from June 2016 offering a Kids television channels subscription. All of the Now TV subscriptions are without contract. On 26 April 2017 the Now TV Internet television service was launched in the Republic of Ireland. Due to licensing rights and legal restrictions, consumers who subscribe to Now TV in the Republic of Ireland can only access their subscribed content while located in the Republic of Ireland, the same is for the United Kingdom consumers who can only access their subscribed content while located in the United Kingdom. On 29 June 2016, Now Broadband was launched in the United Kingdom. Now Broadband isn't currently available in the Republic of Ireland.
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Accessing Now TV television content
Television content is available on a number of different platforms providing access via big screen and small screen mobile devices. Four devices can be registered onto one Now TV account and two devices can stream Now TV content at the same time. The service currently offers streaming of up to 720p resolution depending on the playback device and uses adaptive bitrate streaming to minimise disruption. In January 2018 Now TV announced that by the end of 2018 consumers would be able to stream Now TV television content in 1080p resolution on all playback devices supporting the resolution. In January 2018 Now TV announced that consumers will be able to download on demand content on their mobile devices for offline access to content while on the go and for smoother playback for those with slower internet connections, this feature will start being rolled out during spring 2018.
Now TV streaming devices
Three Now TV boxes and one streaming stick have been launched from the past to present. The Now TV 'White' Box is no longer officially available as it is succeeded by the Now TV 'Black' Box. All of the Now TV boxes and the Now TV Streaming Stick provide access to live television channel streams and video on demand content courtesy of the available Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, and Kids Passes. There is limited access to the Roku Channel Store in which an approved list of application software can be downloaded such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5, Sky Sports Box Office and the Sky Store.
In July 2013 Now TV launched the Now TV 'white' box (Based around the 2011 Roku LT) allowing consumers when connected to Wi-Fi to stream Now TV content to their television via an analog audio/video output or a HDMI connection capable of outputting at up to 720p video resolution.
In August 2015 Now TV launched the Now TV 'Black' Box (Based around the 2015 Roku 2), It offers the same user interface as the original Now TV 'white' box, but with updated technical specifications such as a higher performance CPU, an Ethernet port (in addition to Wi-Fi), a USB port (Not currently functional), a microSD card slot (Not currently functional), the capability of outputting at up to 1080p video resolution via a HDMI connection, it does not have an analog audio/video output connection like its 'White' box predecessor. The Now TV 'Black Box' is currently the only Now TV device available in the Republic of Ireland.
In July 2016 Now TV launched the Now TV Smart Box (Based around the 2015 Roku 4) providing the same access as previous boxes, but with updated technical specifications, such as a higher performance CPU and an internal DVB-T/DVB-T2 digital terrestrial television tuner giving the ability to access Freeview and Freeview HD television channels that can be paused and rewound up to 30 minutes. Red Button and interactive services are accessible by pressing the ? button on the Now TV remote control.
In February 2018 Now TV launched the Now TV Smart Stick (Based around the 2017 Roku Streaming Stick), it is quick and easy to plug into any TV with a HDMI port and offers plug and play portability. The Now TV Smart Stick is the first Now TV device to include a Wi-Fi Direct remote control with voice search allowing users to search movies and shows by name, or by there favourite actors or directors, by talking into the Smart Stick remote. Apps can also be launched via voice search by users saying the name of the app they wish to launch. The Now TV Smart Stick has a feature called Hotel connect which allows users to sign in to Wi-Fi networks that require signing in to the Wi-Fi network through a web browser.
Now TV television content
Now TV offers four subscriptions in the United Kingdom and three subscriptions in the Republic of Ireland all providing live streaming and video on demand. The subscriptions are branded as 'Now TV Passes', these being an Entertainment Pass, Sky Cinema Pass, Sky Sports Pass, and also a Kids Pass that is only available in the United Kingdom and not the Republic of Ireland. Some programmes may not be available for live streaming due to licensing rights and legal restrictions. It was announced on 17 May 2017 that reality TV video on demand service Hayu, will launch on Now TV during 2018 with currently no specific date specified for either launch. On 5 December 2017 live streaming and video on demand of television channel Syfy was added as part of the Entertainment Month Pass. The Now TV Smart Box includes a DVB-T/DVB-T2 digital terrestrial television tuner, so therefore can access Freeview and Freeview HD television channels.
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Now Broadband
Now Broadband includes unlimited Broadband Internet with a choice of three different options; up to 17 Mbit/s cable broadband (Marketed as Brilliant Broadband), up to 38 Mbit/s fibre-optic broadband (Marketed as Fab Fibre), or up to 76 Mbit/s fibre-optic broadband (Marketed as Super Fibre). Now Broadband includes a land line telephone service with a choice of either Pay-as-you-go calls (No monthly charge), unlimited calls to UK landlines and mobile numbers on weekday evenings and all day Saturday and Sunday, or 24/7 Unlimited calls to UK landline and mobile numbers. Now Broadband is offered either without a contract or a 12 month contract to reduce costs. Now Broadband only available in the United Kingdom and are not at all available in the Republic of Ireland.
Now Broadband Hubs
All Now Broadband packages currently include a router marketed as the Now Broadband Hub Two. The Now Broadband Hub Two (NR801) is a re-branded Sky Q Hub (ER110) and is of the Wireless-AC standard, it can use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. The original Now Broadband Hub (NR102) is a re-branded Sky Hub 2 (SR102) and is of the Wireless-N standard, it can use the 2.4 GHz frequency. The use of other routers is possible but Now Broadband does not provide support for third party equipment.
Now Broadband Buddy
All Now Broadband customers have access to free internet protection with a site filter marketed as Broadband Buddy, it is designed to keep consumers safe while online on any device connected to the internet through Now Broadband. There are three age rating settings; 'PG' which only allows web browsing suitable for everyone, '13' which allows only web browsing suitable for teens and older, and '18' which only allows web browsing suitable for adults. Consumers who want custom protection can manually allow or block access to specific websites or website categories and can also set Now Broadband Buddy to automatically change the 18 age rating setting on and off at a particular time of each day. Both phishing and malware protection is available to prevent the collection of private information without permission while browsing the internet, and to prevent viruses infecting any devices in use.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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