Sky movie downloads draw closer
We knew as far back as July that Sky was planning a video download service. Now it has a name – Sky by broadband – and a page on the broadcaster's web
We knew as far back as July that Sky was planning a video download service. Now it has a name – Sky by broadband – and a page on the broadcaster’s website for people to sign up.
So what is Sky’s new service going to offer? Well, at first, it’ll be limited mainly to sports clips and movies. Sky Sports 1 and 2 subscribers will be able to access streaming football, rugby, cricket and golf highlights. More interesting is the news that customers who receive Sky Movies 1 and 2 will get access to previously screened blockbusters and classic films of yore. In a similar vein to Sky’s services on mobiles, news clips will also be offered.
To keep the peer-to-peer download times short, resolution isn’t exactly HD but respectable (540 x 432) and will hopefully get better in time. Sky reckons you’ll need a minimum of 1MB broadband – fairly standard these days – and says any downloads will be restricted to the one PC. So no transferring them onto your portable player: boo hiss!
In a Mission Impossible, message-will-self-destruct-in-ten-seconds fashion, all content comes with a 30 day license to prevent you amassing a permanent and extensive film collection on your hard drive.
It’s not a huge offering but now that Sky owns its own broadband provider [story here] we’ll watch this space with interest.
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Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
