Minimum requirements and devices supported by NOW
Before getting to the heart of the tutorial, let's see what it takes to access NOW and what devices are compatible with the service.
Minimum requirements
To use the contents offered by NOW you must have a Internet connection of at least 2.5 Mbps in download for standard definition content. For HD content you need a connection of at least 3.5Mbps, which become 10Mbps to enjoy Super HD content at 1080p at 50FPS. If your connection does not meet these minimum requirements, you will encounter difficulties in playing the videos. You can test the speed of your Internet connection using one of the many suitable services available online or by relying on the connection test available directly in NOW.
Supported devices
Now let's move on to devices supported by NOW. From computer, you can access the service using any PC equipped with Windows 7 and later or any Mac equipped with macOS 10.7 and later. THE supported browsers are the following.
- Chrome 47 or later
- Internet Explorer 9 or later
- Mozilla Firefox
- Safari for Mac
To access the contents of NOW, you must then install a special one player, which is compatible with all the latest versions of Windows and macOS.
On the move, NOW is accessible from iPhones and iPads equipped with iOS 9 or later and from major Android devices. However, it is important to underline that it is not possible to access the service if the device in use has been rooted or jailbroken.
In the living room, you can access NOW's content using chromecast, video game consoles like PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 e Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV produced from 2012 onwards, LG Smart TV, Apple TV and the set-top box Vodafone TV. A separate discussion, then, they deserve it NOW Smart Sticke NOW Box, two devices produced by Roku that allow you to view NOW content directly on your TV.
NOW Smart Stick
NOW Smart Stick it is the ideal device for those who want to enjoy NOW contents on their TV but, at the same time, do not want to give up portability. It is, in fact, a key that connects to the HDMI port of the TV and allows you to access all the contents of NOW, plus a series of additional applications such as YouTube and Vevo. It also allows you to project selected content in the NOW app for smartphones and tablets to your TV.
It measures 84 x 20,3 x 12,6 mm for 20 grams of weight and does not require any complicated configuration. To use NOW Smart Stick, just connect the key to the HDMI port of the TV, power it through one of the USB ports on the TV or via the power socket (using the supplied power supply) and connect it to a Wi-Fi network. To control it, you can use the supplied remote control or smartphone app. It costs 29 euros and comes with a promo code to see 3 months of a Pass of your choice Cinema, Entertainment e TV Series. More information about this can be found in my post on how the NOW Smart Stick works and on the official website of the product.
NOW Box
NOW Box is a Sky set-top box that connects to the TV via HDMI cable and allows you to access all NOW contents via Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. It is very easy to install, requires no special configurations and also includes “extra” applications such as Spotify, Vevo, Facebook, Vimeo and Redbull TV.
The NOW TV Box can be purchased in all major electronics stores or directly on the NOW website at a cost of € 19,99 and includes 3 months of viewing a Pass of your choice between Cinema, TV Series e Entertainment. To find out more, check out my guide on how NOW Box works and the official product site.
Any devices you use to access NOW will automatically be associated with your account. Know, though, that any user can have a maximum number of 4 devices associated with your account and that using the basic plan of the service it is not possible to access NOW using more than one device at the same time. By activating the"+" option at a cost of 2,99 euros / month it is possible to activate access from two devices at the same time (as well as viewing the contents in HD). The "+" option is free for all customers who have signed up or subscribe to NOW by March 13, 2017 and keep at least one Pass active between Cinema, Entertainment and TV Series.
At present, the content display in HD / Full HD resolution is only available on NOW Box, NOW Smart Stick, video game console, Samsung Smart TV (here is the complete list of supported models), Chromecast, Apple TV and Vodafone TV while it has not yet been enabled on PC, smartphone and tablet.
Pass e prezzi NOW
As already mentioned above, NOW's offer is divided into thematic packages (tickets) that allow access to various types of content: films, TV series, TV shows, sporting events and more. Here is a list of all the Passes currently available in the NOW catalog and the contents offered by each of them.
- Pass Cinema + Entertainment (14,99€/mese) - allows you to watch over 1.000 films, the best TV series and SKY on-demand shows and to watch 8 channels of the Sky Cinema package in live streaming (SKY Cinema 1, SKY Cinema Hits, SKY Cinema Family, SKY Cinema Passion, SKY Cinema Comedy, SKY Cinema Max, SKY Cinema Cult, SKY Cinema Classics) and thematic ones on shows. There are 15 premieres a month. Linear channels are playable in SD and HD (720p), on-demand content has a maximum resolution of 1080p (Full HD). More info here.
- Pass Sport (14,99€/mese) - offers the best of Sky content dedicated to football and sports. It allows you to see 3 Serie A matches per round, 121 UEFA Champions League matches, all UEFA Europa League matches, BKT series, foreign football championships (Premier League and Bundesliga) and all the best events related to MotoGP, Formula 1 , Basketball, NBA, Golf, Tennis and Rugby. Obviously, it also includes live streaming of the Sky Supercalcio and Sky Sport24 channels. The contents of this Pass are available in HD at no additional cost. More info here.
Viewing is allowed on two screens at the same time, except for the Sport Pass.
A period of free trial lasting 7 days or more during which it is possible to access all the contents of the Cinema, TV Series and Entertainment packages. At the end of the trial, you can choose whether to continue with your subscription (leaving automatic renewal active in your account settings) or to cancel it at no cost. Who buys a NOW Box or NOW Smart Stick you can have 3 months of free viewing of a Pass of your choice between Cinema, TV Series and Entertainment.
Those who decide to subscribe to more than one Pass at the same time can get a fort discount on the monthly pass: by keeping active two Passes of your choice between Cinema, TV Series and Entertainment you pay 14,99 € / month instead of € 19,98, while keeping all three Passes active you pay 19,99 € / month instead of € 29,97. More info here.
There are, then, some offers for ADSL and fiber which include an extended trial period for NOW or which allow access to the contents of the platform through special multimedia boxes (eg Vodafone TV). For more information on this, consult this page of the NOW website.
How to sign up for NOW
To create your account on NOW and try the service at no cost, connected to the main page of the latter and click on the button to start the try free. Then fill in the fields Emaile Password by typing the e-mail address and password you wish to use to access your account and click on the button Continue.
On the page that opens, fill out the form that is proposed to you by entering all your personal data in it: name, last name, telephone number, fiscal Code, city, address, POSTAL CODE e province of residence. Then click on the button Proceed (choose whether to receive promotional communications and whether to allow the analysis of your data by checking or leaving the appropriate boxes blank) and configure the payment method to be used on NOW.
Then put the check mark next to the item relating to credit card and PayPal depending on the payment method you intend to use (virtual credit cards are not accepted) and click on the button Proceed.
At this point, type in your credit card information - or log into your PayPal account - and enjoy your free trial period on NOW. Do not be "scared" by the request relating to the payment method: you will not be charged until the end of the trial period.
How to use NOW
You have now created your account and are ready to find out how NOW works. The first step you need to take is to connect to the NOW home page using one of the browsers supported by the service.
Now, if you are not already linked to your account, click on the button Log in located at the top right and log in by typing your email address and password in the form that is proposed to you.
Once logged in, you can "browse" all the contents of NOW and start their reproduction directly in the browser. If you have activated the free trial of the service, which only includes Cinema, Entertainment and TV Series Passes, you will not be able to access sports content until you purchase one of the Passes or passes dedicated to sports.
To view the list of films available for on-demand use, click on the ☰ button located at the top left and expand the item Cinema relative in the menu that appears on the side. A list will open with all the categories of content that NOW has dedicated to cinema: Channels on air, with the list of Sky channels available on NOW and visible in live streaming; Do not miss, with the best films of the moment and then various thematic sections that may vary over time (eg. Teen Love o Laughing lawyers). To view the list of films based on their film genre, click on the item Genres and select one of the genres available on the page that opens.
To “browse” TV series, TV shows and other entertainment content, you can follow a procedure similar to the one we just saw together for movies. In practice, all you have to do is click on the ☰ button located at the top left, select TV Series o Entertainment from the menu that opens on the side and select one of the categories of content that are shown on the screen.
When you find a content of your interest, you can start playing it by simply clicking on its cover image e pigging your pulse ▶ ︎ present on the page that opens. In the case of TV series and shows consisting of several episodes, after clicking on the cover image, instead of the play button, you must click on thepreview image episode you want to watch.
The use of the contents, as already mentioned, is linked to the installation of the player at NOW. After pressing the ▶ ︎ button, you will then be asked if the program in question is already installed on your computer: if you are a new NOW user and therefore have not yet installed the player, click on the button Download present in the box that appears in the center of the screen, in order to download the software.
To download completed, a PC Windows, open the file NOWTV-Windows.exe and click the button first Install and then end to complete the setup. If you use a Macinstead, extract thezip archive you downloaded from NOW, launch the executable Installare NOW hold the internal area and click on the button apri. Wait, therefore, for the completion bar to reach 100% and close the window by pressing the button end.
Now go back to NOW, put the check mark next to the item I have installed NOW Player, pigia sul pulsating Look now and accept the launch of the NOW player to enjoy the selected content. Subsequently, after having done ▶ ︎ on a content of your interest, to start the NOW player, just reply NOW Player already installed to the message that will appear in the center of the screen.
At this point, I don't think there is much to explain: in the NOW player you will find all the commands for multimedia playback (play / pause, time progress bar, activation and deactivation of full screen mode, etc.) plus an icon shaped gear which allows you to choose the streaming quality (between normal and reduced), the audio language and that of subtitles of the content being played.
When you stop viewing a content, it is added to the list of started content, which you can access by clicking on the button MyTV located at the top right, so you can find it immediately in the NOW catalog and resume the vision from the exact point where you left it.
By clicking on the button instead Add to MyTV available in the profile of a film, series or other NOW content, this is added to a list of favorites, which you can access by clicking on the button MyTV located at the top right and selecting the item Add to Wishlist give the menu to compare.
If you want to watch gods Live TV channels, click on the ☰ button located at the top left, select a content category (eg. Cinema, TV Series o Entertainment) and click on the entry Channels on air that appears in the side menu. Then select the channels of your interest and enjoy live streaming.
Come gestire i Pass su NOW
To manage the Passes active on your account, select the option My Account from the NOW menu (top right) and then the item My offer give the riquadro che si apre.
On the page that opens, check the list of active Passes on your account (you can find them all listed under the heading Active offers) and if there is any that you want to deactivate, click on the button Modification placed next to his name.
On the page that opens, select the reason why you are canceling the renewal of the subscription to the selected Pass (eg. I suspend NOW temporarily) e pigia sul pulsating Confirmation but I will complete the operation.
Once the deactivation of the ticket has been confirmed, you will be able to access all the contents of the latter until the expiry of the current subscription: in the case of the initial trial of NOW, at the end of the trial days. You will not be charged.
To add a new Pass to your subscription, select one of the packages listed under the heading Personalize your offer (Eg. Sport) e pigia sul pulsating Buy Now placed next to the name of the subscription you want to subscribe. All tickets, even those that are not included in the initial NOW trial, can be deactivated at any time at no cost.
In conclusion, I would like to point out that in yours personal area on NOW you can also change the personal data, the email address or the payment methods associated with the account (by selecting the item Account and payment from the menu My Account located at the top right) and you can manage and then remove the devices authorized to access the service (by selecting the item Settings from the bottom of the "Account and payment" page).
How to use NOW on smartphones and tablets
NOW is compatible with a wide range of devices, including iPhones, iPads, and numerous Android devices. To access the service on the move, all you have to do is download its official app from the store of your device (eg. Google Play Store if you use Android or App Store if you are using an iPhone or iPad) and access it using your account data.
For the rest, there is not much to explain since the service interface is practically identical to that found on PC - and also in the living room with NOW Box and NOW Smart Stick, Smart TVs and video game consoles.
How to watch NOW on your TV
As mentioned above, NOW is also accessible from PlayStation, Xbox, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, from TV Box by NOW and from NOW Smart Stick. This means that you can enjoy all the service's live and on-demand content from your TV as well.
The NOW interface is almost the same on all devices, so once you have acquired a certain familiarity in using the service on a PC you will not encounter any difficulties in using it on a Smart TV, console or TV Box.
The only little annoyance - if we want to define it that way - is that on consoles and Smart TVs you must first open the device store and download the official NOW app on the latter. In any case, don't worry, this is an extremely intuitive operation. On PlayStation 4, for example, just select the NOW icon from the menu TV and video e pigiare sul pulsating Download present nella schermata che si apre.
Once the application is installed, just log in with your account and browse the contents of the service by calling up the app menu (which on PS4 can be activated by pressing the square on the controller). For the rest there is really nothing to explain: it is almost everything like on the computer.
As regards NOW Smart Stick e NOW Box, to use these devices all you have to do is connect them to the TV (via HDMI cable), to the power supply (via electrical socket or USB port, in the case of Smart Stick) and to the Internet via Wi-Fi network or Ethernet cable. Once turned on, you will find the NOW app ready to welcome you as on all the other hardware and software platforms we talked about previously.
If you own one chromecast, for an NOW Smart Stick or NOW Box, you can send NOW contents from your smartphone or tablet to the TV simply by pressing the icon of broadcast (the Wi-Fi wave screen) or the logo del NOW Box located at the top right of the NOW app for Android and iOS. For the procedure to be successful, all devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Article written in collaboration with NOW.
How NOW TV works
