The new EPG will turn focus more towards the Sky+ HD box’s on demand and catch up features as the service begins to look more and more to offering on demand content. No longer will users have to go into their program guide, then select the specific on demand section of the EPG.
The new guide will show users 8 boxes displayed after the press of the TV Guide button, which will be; TV Guide, Planner, Catch-Up TV, TV Box Sets, New Series, Best of On Demand, Sky Movies On Demand, and Sky Store.
This brings the newer features of the Sky+ HD boxes into the fore for users as well as allowing Sky to push its new features, but it will hopefully make the on demand and catch up TV services a little easier to access.
The EPG upgrade also brings an improved search function too, with users now having the ability to search by title, actor, event, channel, sport, or any other key word in order to be presented with content from live, upcoming and on demand content.
The new EPG retains the same styling and colour scheme as the older setup and the changes will also come to the Sky+ app on mobile devices. What’s more, the app will also now feature a large ‘highlights’ carousel which will showcase the best stuff on offer from Sky. The app will now allow users to turn a Sky+HD box on or off from your mobile or tablet remotely.
The EPG rollout started yesterday, and although users may not receive the new features immediately, it should reach all Sky customers by the end of May. Sky has expressed that this is just the first change planned, as the company will start to integrate more new features in the coming months.