Nearly a year on from the launch of its Sky Glass ‘online TVs’, Sky has now unveiled new Sky Stream set top boxes that will bring all of Sky Glass’s impressive interface and online features to any TV with an HDMI input.

This is the news many Sky subscribers have been waiting for, as it means that they can now enjoy all the dish- and cable-free convenience of Sky’s streaming service, as well as all the immense on-demand viewing advantages associated with a fully online delivery system, without having to replace their existing TVs.

The tiny Sky Stream box is your new streaming portal to the whole of Sky's vast combination of ... [+] 'live' and archived content.

The palm-sized Sky Stream puck/box can be plugged into any TV HDMI port, and needs a minimum broadband speed (from any provider) of 10Mbps. As you would expect given the way Sky works, the Stream will be available on a subscription basis rather than as a one-off purchase when it becomes available on October 18.

You can either go for a 31-day rolling plan from £29 a month that can be cancelled at any time, or you can go for an 18-month contract from £26 a month. Both of these package options include Sky Ultimate TV and Netflix Basic subscriptions, but you can also, of course, add extra service ‘packs’ such as Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, and BT Sport, as well as features such as UHD resolution pictures and Dolby Atmos sound.

The Sky Stream will, like Sky Glass, enable you to ‘roll in’ third party content from services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Discovery+, Peacock, Youtube, and the BBC iPlayer, all presented within the distinctive Sky Glass UI and accessible via Sky’s impressive voice recognition system.

It’s also possible to get a Whole Home pack for an extra £12 a month, which lets you add as many as five extra Sky Stream boxes to other TVs around your home.

While there are no direct up-front hardware costs and you install the Stream boxes yourself without any need for an engineer visit, Sky Stream customers will be expected to pay a £39.95 set-up fee with the rolling contract option, which reduces to £20 if you take the 18-month contract option.

Sky's new Stream box with its Voice Remote.

Each Sky Stream puck will come with a one-year warranty, and is shipped ready to deliver HD video as standard, with high dynamic range support joining the previously mentioned 4K resolution and Dolby Atmos sound as options for AV fans with the necessary TVs and audio equipment required to unlock these premium performance features.

The Sky Stream is being introduced as an addition to the Sky product family rather than replacing anything. You will still be able to go for the Sky Q satellite-based system if you prefer, or, of course, the Sky Glass TV route will continue to be available to anyone in the market for a new TV. It’s worth adding, too, that the Sky Go service/app is provided as standard with Sky Stream, just as it is with Sky Q and Sky Glass.

The arrival of the Sky Stream box joins Sky Glass in raising the possibility of Sky eventually ‘doing an Apple’ and launching a version of its platform that works on a purely software basis, via apps for TVs or third party streaming boxes. Sky has to date, though, been keen to control pretty tightly the hardware it uses to deliver its unique and ever-evolving Sky interface, and I’m not sure that will change any time soon.