Sky stream pixelated and freezes with black screen when watching live channels but BBC iplayer is ok

[ColinP56]

Netflix speed test show 50Mb/s download speed. ISP is sky. Impossible to watch any live channels with pixelation every 10 secs and freeze typically every 15 mins.  But watching iplayer, Netflix & Disney are all perfect. Sky stream is connected by wifi  with router 4 m away in same room.  Any suggestions please? 

[Jporch316]

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@ColinP56 wrote:

Netflix speed test show 50Mb/s download speed. ISP is sky. Impossible to watch any live channels with pixelation every 10 secs and freeze typically every 15 mins.  But watching iplayer, Netflix & Disney are all perfect. Sky stream is connected by wifi  with router 4 m away in same room.  Any suggestions please? 

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Try it with an ethernet cable (temporarily if needs be ) see if the issue is the same remembering to turn off wifi in the settings when doing so

[Anonymous]

Hi @ColinP56 

Thanks for reporting back the speed test, really useful to have this upfront. That should be enough for a stable stream.

To start with the most basic thing: are these problems solved with a restart of the Puck?

If you're able to, consider running an Ethernet cable even if temporarily to see if it solves the issue. Sky Stream is quite sensitive to network interference and if there's moments where your speed is dropping it might be causing these issues. Ethernet could eliminate that. 

[ColinP56]

Power cycling the Sky puck does not solve the problem. I will get an Ethernet cable and try this. But I don't think the WiFi is the problem as I can switch from a working perfectly iplayer live stream to the same live service delivered via Sky and experience pixelation immediately. Switch back to iplayer and it's perfect. The pixelation and freezing appears on all live channels including Sky sports.  

[Anonymous]

@ColinP56 keep us posted. The Sky feeds are far higher resolution than iPlayer so they are more demanding on bandwidth. 

[lettice]

In addition to what has already been mentioned above.

Having a good local network broadband reach is key to Sky Stream stability in both its app and live tv usage.
Not just broadband speed to your house and router, but for your local network supply via wifi or ethernet, that can be affected in a busy household.

It may be suffering from interference, the puck much like a Sky Q box can for some customers suffer from this at times. More often seen as an intermittent blip.
Not always a cure, but the following may help to resolve;
Make sure you have a good 6-8 inches free on all sides of the puck.
Do not stack the puck on top of any other device.
Best not to sit it on a glass shelf. Wood is generally the best.
Make sure the puck is in the open, not tucked away in a cabinet or sat directly behind the TV.
Make sure you have no other devices that can cause interference closeby, like cordless phones, radiators, baby monitors, smart meter in home displays, microwaves and the like.
You should be using the Sky supplied hdmi cable or a high speed equivalent one.

Plus, change both your pucks to following recommended settings set in Settings>
Turn wifi OFF under Network if connected via ethernet.
Set Network standby mode to ON and Overnight power saving is OFF.

More information like the above on the Sky FAQ help pages link here; https://www.sky.com/help/home/sky-tv/sky-tv-stream/fixing-a-problem-sky-stream/fixing-sky-glass-sky-...