The "transformative" Sky Glass picture quality update I was treated to a preview of in October is now rolling out to customers. The update is designed to address criticisms of the TV's original picture quality, which we described in our Sky Glass review as "a little washed out and lacking in vibrancy", and as having "limited contrast".
The update is focused on the TV's local dimming engine, which has been guilty of artificially brightening and darkening content, and of struggling to effectively combine bright and dark picture elements simultaneously, essentially resulting in an overly flat and grey image at times.
In the demo I saw in October, the update provided an obvious improvement in terms of contrast, with deep blacks and punchy, vibrant highlights combining more readily. Overall, the image was vastly more impactful and impressive than that of the non-updated TV.
Of course, demos are just that, and there's no real guarantee that the update winging its way to owners right now will be identical to what I saw at Sky's campus a couple of months ago, but it's certainly cause for optimism and we'll be checking it out ourselves in short order.
The original press release provided by Sky suggested that the picture quality upgrade, which Sky is referring to as Aurora Display, would only make a difference to the Vivid picture preset, but the company has now confirmed to me that "the update to local dimming will impact all TV modes". That's very good news indeed.
Aurora Display isn't the only new feature included in the new Sky Glass update, which is rolling out now and should be with all owners by the end of the week. You can also now find a lost remote control by saying “hello Sky, where’s my remote”, at which point the zapper will emit a beep. Handy.
MORE:
Check out our Sky Glass TV review
Sky Glass without the TV? Check out our Sky Stream review
How about combining the Sky Stream Puck with one of the best TVs
