Are you seeing the new Live Sync option on Sky Stream or Glass? Here’s why…
If you’ve turned Sky Sports Main Event on in the past few weeks on your Sky Glass or Sky Stream system, then you may have noticed a ‘Live Sync’ option next to the ‘Watch From Start’ graphic.
If so, then you’re probably wondering what it’s all about. Don’t worry, we’ve got all the answers…
First announced in April and now rolling out to Entertainment OS users – that’s people who get Sky through a Glass TV or via a Stream puck, rather than a satellite dish – Live Sync is aimed a providing sports fans with a near real-time viewing experience on live broadcasts, thanks to low latency.
As we mentioned in our Sky Stream review, we “clocked a delay of around 33 seconds” when streaming “live TV.”
Obviously, with the broadcast coming via 1s and 0s down a fibre or, heaven forbid, a copper pipe, there are always going to be buffer delays needed, so Sky streamers were always quite a long way behind their satellite signal receiving friends.
For regular TV, say watching Eastenders or catching up with the latest Bake Off, that’s not really an issue.
But for anyone who’s ever got a text message talking about a goal they’re yet to witness in a live football game, then that delay is pretty significant.
That’s where the new Live Sync option comes into play; it significantly reduces the latency on Sky Sports Main Event, bringing you closer to genuine live action with only an 8-second delay from real-time events, which should mean no more spoiler alerts from mobile apps or other sources during the game.
How to use Sky Sports Live Sync?
The Live Sync feature is currently available only on Sky Sports Main Event, with plans to expand it to additional channels in the future. To access Live Sync, users can get involved by either:
- Selecting the Live Sync button on the Sky Sports Main Event channel when it pops up.
- Tuning into channel 921 for HD or 922 for UHD on their Sky TV Guide.
- Using voice commands like “Sky Sports Main Event Low Latency” or “Sky Sports Main Event Live Sync” with the Sky voice remote or Sky Glass TV also gets you to the live-ish action.
