02 Jun 2023 11:19 AM
I'm seriously considering sending this rubbish back...
Menu's freezing
ITV black screen and flickers where ads should be skipped
Lip sync issues
Random muting and needs turning off and on again
Difficult to fast forward and pause as you can't see where you are up to
I mean it's just bad! I heard they were supposed to have tested this rubbish in Italy for 2 years before launching it.... which idiot was responsible for saying it's ready to go live?
02 Jun 2023 11:23 AM
Posted by a Superuser, not a Sky employee. Find out more
Are you connected via WiFi or Ethernet?
What speed do you get if you do a Netflix speed test via the app?
Open Netflix on Stream
From the Netflix homescreen, go left to open the menu.
From the bottom of the menu, go right and select Get Help.
Select Check your Network.
Thanks,
Tim
02 Jun 2023 12:11 PM
@TheCableGuy996 wrote:I'm seriously considering sending this rubbish back...
Menu's freezing
ITV black screen and flickers where ads should be skipped
Lip sync issues
Random muting and needs turning off and on again
Difficult to fast forward and pause as you can't see where you are up to
I mean it's just bad! I heard they were supposed to have tested this rubbish in Italy for 2 years before launching it.... which idiot was responsible for saying it's ready to go live?
It's cheap, mass-produced hardware running server-based apps. This adds latency and makes the whole Stream experience feel like it's running on a ZX Spectrum.
IMHO it's absolutely fine, or very good in fact, with live TV streams. Getting all those channels entirely via broadband works perfectly well for me at least. It's everything else which is pretty woeful. Fast forwarding is basically unusable.
I don't use the playlist or any of the third party apps on my puck. I don't use my puck much at all really.
02 Jun 2023 02:23 PM - last edited: 02 Jun 2023 02:31 PM
Posted by a Superuser, not a Sky employee. Find out more
@TheCableGuy996 wrote:
I heard they were supposed to have tested this rubbish in Italy for 2 years before launching it....
I don't think so: Italy got a streaming-only version of Sky Q in late 2019
https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2019/09/26/sky-italia-launches-fibre-only-sky-q/
02 Jun 2023 07:24 PM
I'm connected via ethernet, I get 930Mbps downstream.
The majority of the issues are admittedly with the ITV X app. I have a live video call with Sky stream support showing them the flashing black screen the other day but they said they don't manage the ITV X app so I am talking with ITV X via emails currently.
However, I am currently watching "Succession" on sky and now and again after pausing it the lip sync goes out. Most often I can get this working again as it should be by stopping and starting again but I was watching Coronation streen on another Puck on another TV the other day and no matter what we did the lip sync would not marry up. It was so bad. I tried the adjustment but we couldn't get it spot on then the next program it had to be put back to 0ms.
Sometimes it stop streaming and says to wait yet there's no issues with our connection.
Other times the sound just stops coming through and we have to reboot the puck.
Other times the menu hangs.
There's just a multitude of issues with it.
02 Jun 2023 07:26 PM
@SlenderRobert Unlike you I use my Puck all the time as I love my TV. That's another issue you mentioned though with FastForward/Rewind, it's just so bad (even on fast connections).
I don't agree it's absolutely fine though... too many issues.
02 Jun 2023 07:27 PM
@TimmyBGood That sounds like an exact carbon copy of what Sky Stream is!
02 Jun 2023 08:08 PM - last edited: 02 Jun 2023 08:29 PM
Posted by a Superuser, not a Sky employee. Find out moreNope, Q (used across Europe) is a product developed by Sky Group before 2016 when it was an independent company as a successor to Sky+ HD, and uses a Sky operating system with a heritage on satellite receivers going back prior to Sky+.
Stream/Glass is the first offering produced after Comcast bought Sky in 2018, and uses the Comcast 'global technology platform' branded as Entertainment OS and descended from cable boxes: it is essentially the same product as Xfinity Flex 4K in the US.
02 Jun 2023 09:24 PM
It works perfectly fine for some people. I'm one of them. The Glass is connected via WiFi and the pucks via ethernet.
I'd say none of them need unplugging and switching back on more than maybe once every two months or so. It's really weird how the experience varies so enormously for people.
03 Jun 2023 03:00 PM
It really is awful. I called Sky and listed the below problems:
- Fforward function is terrible and varies hugely between channels. Forwarding programmes on Sky channels is a nightmare- you just can't tell where you're up to in the process. charging £5 a month for something that doesn't work is a joke.
-Watching UHD/HDR films/programmes on Prime and Apple+ through the Sky Stream puck is far inferior regarding picture quality compared to watching these directly through the platform apps-charging £6 a month for something that doesn't work is a joke. Worth noting that you don't pay extra for this with Prime or Apple+. Netflix does charge extra which is odd as they are affiliated with Sky Sky Stream. So the partners have come together but charge extra individually for this!
-Dolby Atmos- Sky Stream online literature states that a film/programme synopsis tells us if it is Dolby Atmos. This isn't the case. There is no way of knowing if it is Dolby Atmos until you hit play and wait for your TV to tell you. Also, from what I can tell, there are very few films/programmes in this format. Charging £6 a month (UHD/Dolby Atmos package) for something that doesn't work is a joke. Worth noting that you don't pay extra for Dolby Atmos with Prime or Apple+. Netflix does charge extra for their equivalent (spatial audio) which again is odd as they are affiliated with Sky Stream. So the partners have come together but charge extra individually for this!
-Aggregation- if you voice search, Sky Stream, it apparently aggregates all platforms through which you can watch what you have searched for . This is a blatant lie. Try searching for Jaws (the first film) for example. It will only come up with Sky Cinema as an option but it's available for free on Prime Video and Netflix. A couple of weeks ago, you could rent all of the Harry Potter films on Sky Store but they were available on Prime as part of your subscription. Voice searching for Harry Potter on Sky Stream only brought up the Sky Store option! Very naughty! It's now also available on Netflix and Sky Cinema but the search will only bring up the Sky Cinema option. You could go into the other apps individually and search but isn't Sky Stream's main selling point that you avoid having to do this by carrying out only one search?
Playlist- if you voice search a film/programme, it appears as a tile which you can then add to your playlist. True, but not if your film/programme only appears on Netflix. In this case, you are taken directly to Netflix and the film/programme starts. You can't add it to the playlist at this point. You would think that it would automatically appear on Sky Stream's continue watching rail and that you could add it to playlist from there but it doesn't - not until the next day anyway. Considering Sky Stream is in partnership with Netflix, this is a big flaw.
Programme information- if you're watching something from playlist or in any way that is not live TV, and you press the appropriate button on the remote to see how far along you are, the film/programme title should also appear. Sadly, more often than not it will give you the title and channel of a random programme currently airing on live TV. E.g. I was watching Succession, pressed the upward part of the central ring on the remote to see how far along I was and it said I was watching Coronation Street on ITV 1
The Sky operator's response to all of the above was that my internet was probably too slow (once she'd ascertained that I don't have Sky broadband) and that too many devices are probably running at the same time. My speed averages at 73 mbps with Sky Stream and iPad running concurrently and I live alone (no sarcastic comments please, I very rarely complain about stuff, I promise!). She then said that having add-ons such as ad skipping and UHD/Dolby Atmos will affect Sky Stream's functionality and quality of output. So her response to the above complaints was to blame my internet and me for taking advantage of the paid-for add-ons. All very strange as the Sky Stream online literature recommends minimum speeds of 25 mbps as of May 2023 and doesn't warn that the paid-for add-ons will detrimentally affect quality.
On the plus side, I have been allowed to cancel within my 18 month contract without incurring any charges.
03 Jun 2023 03:59 PM
I concur with everything you say @FFU01 - it really is poor.
I have 500Mbps symmetrical FTTP broadband so get 500Mbps both upload and download speeds. This has no effect whatsoever on the functionality (or lack thereof) of the puck, either on ethernet (capped at around 90Mbps) or on WiFi. Fast forwarding and rewinding is utterly abysmal.
Sky need to train their staff to stop telling customers that it's their broadband that's causing issues. It might be in some cases but in many it's got absolutely nothing to do with it.
The only reason I keep it around is because of the half price deal they offered me. It's only a few pounds more than a full price Netflix Premium sub so I'm continuing with it for now, just out of morbid curiosity... I turn it on every now and again to help remind me just how good a purchase my Apple TV 4K box was.
03 Jun 2023 04:49 PM
@SlenderRobert , out of interest, can you watch live TV (such as BBC, ITV etc.) with the Apple box?
03 Jun 2023 05:02 PM
@FFU01 wrote:@SlenderRobert , out of interest, can you watch live TV (such as BBC, ITV etc.) with the Apple box?
Yes, via iPlayer and the ITVX apps. Same with Channel 4 and Channel 5.
There's a very clever app called TV Launcher (currenty £4.99 to buy) which has an EPG and will automatically launch the appropriate app to watch live TV.
We now use it all the time as it's so much quicker than Stream.
The only downside is the iPlayer app which only streams at 720P on the Apple TV box. It's a very good upscaler though so it's perfectly watchable.
04 Jun 2023 12:52 PM
Cancelled mine today, constant black screen,ages for the channels to start. I have 150 mb.
04 Jun 2023 02:47 PM
Posted by a Superuser, not a Sky employee. Find out moreI am not sure speed is the problem I have a consistent 60Mbps and no problems with connection etc. plenty of other problems.
It is more likely to be the stability of the signal or the actual bandwidth which is not the same as speed despite the same abbreviation being used for both. If there is not enough bandwidth the problems occur when multiple devices are in use on the broadband.