Stream goes into standby after 15 minutes whilst watching a show

[BriM]

Hi, 

Any ideas on this?

2 of our Stream pucks have started going into standby after 15 minutes even when we're watching a show. To the point we can turn the TV on, then 15 minutes later get the "pick up the remote" message followed by the Puck turning off.

I can understand doing this whilst in the menu, but having to pick up the remote every 15 minutes whilst watching a movie is absurd. 

Support were useless - got the distinct impression they couldn't be bothered, told me to turn off options that don't exist in the menu, and a previous replacement Puck simply never arrived. 

Is there any way to stop this nonsense? I'm at the point of throwing Stream back to be honest between this and the crappy sports picture issues. Or at the very least, is there any way to get hold of someone at sky that can actually help?

Thanks

[Nigelb1972]

You can change the power management settings which will extend the time the box will wait before prompting for a nudge. Ours typically needs a nudge every 90 minutes.

I've seen 15 minute nudges being needed on iPlayer before but I think this was down to iPlayer not sending the correct signals and the puck thinking it was idle. Hasn't done it for a while now though.

[BriM]

Thanks, I don't see any options like that on my stream pucks though 😞

This is happening watching things from Sky's own on demand, not in apps (which ironically, seem to be fine!) 

[MarkGoldsmith]

Thats sounds like faulty pucks to me, which should be replaced.

The way the power saving mode works is that if you got it idle on the home screen, have paused a show being watched via Sky's catchup service or a cloud recording, or paused live TV, then after 10 minutes you get the warning about picking up the remote. ( in most of the apps you can pause for longer, i believe beacuse inside a third party app it can't detect if you are essentially being active or idle).

If you leave it on playing content, whether its a live channel or a third party app that keeps autoplaying the next episode it should be a couple of hours before you get the "please pick up your remote" message.

[jmee9]

It's utterly unbelievable that Sky would configure these devices to go into standby whilst a live TV show is paused. The number of times my kids have paused a show to come and eat dinner, only to return and the thing has shut off with no way to pick up where you left off. At least give an option to disable it!

This, combined with the puck's inability to do HDMI CEC has me seriously considering going back to Sky Q before my first 30 days is up.

[Super+Anthony]

That's a very valid point and a warning button would be very helpful.

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Super+Anthony wrote:

That's a very valid point and a warning button would be very helpful.

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A warning message will display in the screen for the final minute telling you to pick up the remote or the device will go into standby.

[Stephen+Mourton]

@MarkGoldsmith Not particularly useful having just a one minute warning on screen.  If you pause tv the chances are you are not in the room while it is on screen.  I understand the need to prevent a paused screen going on too long but 15 minutes is far to short.

[Super+Anthony]

@Stephen+Mourton Agree fully

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Stephen+Mourton wrote:

@MarkGoldsmith Not particularly useful having just a one minute warning on screen.  If you pause tv the chances are you are not in the room while it is on screen.  I understand the need to prevent a paused screen going on too long but 15 minutes is far to short.

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I agree - I'm just explaining how it works.

i very much doubt it will ever change. I think the added complication that Comcast have created a standard global product for all their subsidiaries likely doesn't help as it's been implemented in a way to ensure they meet various local power saving regulations for all the regions they operate in. 

[jmee9]

I've seen this same Comcast/Power Regs claim repeatedly wheeled out... can you point me towards any evidence that that's the reason this limit is in place?

With my cynical hat on, considering that Stream is essentially IPTV, it seems more like a way for the broadcaster to cut the number of active sessions they're having to keep alive, and therefore reduce their infra costs.

[Fothergill1]

@jmee9  I fully agree it is annoying and disruptive to the viewing experience but as @MarkGoldsmith says I can't see it changing.

I have not read the EU legislation as it is too long I have better things to do with my time but suspect you will find the answer in there somewhere.

Before someone kindly points out that UK is no longer in the EU it has to be appreciated that Stream pucks are widely sold in Europe and therefore have to comply with the legislation.  Commercially it wouldn't be viable for Comcast/Sky to make a special unit for sale in UK.

[jmee9]

The legislation you linked relates to off, standby and networked standby modes and the requirements that must be met, but doesn't enforce (or even mention) anything about auto-standby actions when a device is in normal operation.

The point I'm making is that there are people on these forums that make statements based on complete guesswork, in a bid to sound knowledgeable.

Until a Sky employee gives an official word on this specific issue, we should continue to voice frustrations, and not discourage others by suggesting Sky is unlikely to address it anyway.

Sky are selling a product (at a high monthly fee) that isn't fit for purpose and they should be acknowledging these issues at the very least.

[Fothergill1]

@jmee9  Apologies for trying to be helpful, I won't bother again.

[Exiled-in-HH]

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@jmee9 wrote:

The legislation you linked relates to off, standby and networked standby modes and the requirements that must be met, but doesn't enforce (or even mention) anything about auto-standby actions when a device is in normal operation.

The point I'm making is that there are people on these forums that make statements based on complete guesswork, in a bid to sound knowledgeable.

Until a Sky employee gives an official word on this specific issue, we should continue to voice frustrations, and not discourage others by suggesting Sky is unlikely to address it anyway.

Sky are selling a product (at a high monthly fee) that isn't fit for purpose and they should be acknowledging these issues at the very least.

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The interesting aspect to pause of a live channel is whether a unique temporary file is created on a Sky Stream server .... in which case Sky would want to limit wasteage of finite resources🤔

Sky should publish a faq for the maximum pause duration for Sky Stream devices😉