Picture Intermittently Pixelating - Many Channels

[Chloe-W22]

Hi all,

Thank you for your continuous contribution to this thread, it’s been so valuable for the work our support teams have been doing behind the scenes. I wanted to confirm last week we made some changes to Sky Sports Main Event UH and F1 UHD, and we’ve seen some positive feedback on these channels since.

Reviews are still underway to determine the cause and other Sky channels are still under investigation. Please continue to share your examples including the channel, programme, time and a summary of what you see (pictures also always welcome) and we’ll update this thread when we know more.

I'll be marking this post as the thread answer so more people can see the most recent update.

[jmee9]

Thanks Chloe, always good to hear the official word on progress.

I can say that over the weekend while watching F1 UHD I didn't notice any issues, which is the first time in a while!

Unrelated but HDMI CEC started working briefly last week too (would change input on the TV as expected) but this has now stopped working again, but I can live with that for now unlike the pixelation 🎉

[squareeyeschris]

@Chloe-W22 

pixelation on Sci-fi channel "S T Enterprise S4:E19 " just before end titles just now. Repeatable after winding back.

[Tartan67]

Sorry but this is getting worse not better. E4 is a mess, even Sky News has gone. I never thought I'd be asking this but can we get out of our contract based on how bad Sky Stream is? I'd rather have EE and Now TV, at least the picture will be stable

[Ant181]

Yes you can. Go down the complaints route and you can leave. I did .

[Tartan67]

Good to know 👍

[PaulH7]

Hi,

In the last few weeks I have been experiencing pixelation, juddering and the screen or app completely shutting down and returning to the Sky stream Home Screen.

I'm on 500mb fibre so plenty of bandwidth and no other internet issues.

Most Apps played through sky seem to not work properly including Prime, Netflix, Disney and ITVX. The standard Sky TV channels are also doing the same thing. BUT If I play these apps outside of sky on Samsung smart TV I don't get the same issues, so something is seriously not right with the sky hardware or software.

This is very frustrating and I'm considering leaving Sky if this can't be remedied as I'm paying a fortune for a sub-standard service.

[Mister_Dalek]

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@PaulH7 wrote:

Hi,

In the last few weeks I have been experiencing pixelation, juddering and the screen or app completely shutting down and returning to the Sky stream Home Screen.

I'm on 500mb fibre so plenty of bandwidth and no other internet issues.

Most Apps played through sky seem to not work properly including Prime, Netflix, Disney and ITVX. The standard Sky TV channels are also doing the same thing. BUT If I play these apps outside of sky on Samsung smart TV I don't get the same issues, so something is seriously not right with the sky hardware or software.

This is very frustrating and I'm considering leaving Sky if this can't be remedied as I'm paying a fortune for a sub-standard service.

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The key difference between Sky Stream and most other streaming devices is that all the apps on Sky Stream are located on Sky's server, not on the puck itself. Any small change in speed or stability of the connection to that server can create issues. 

The apps on your Samsung smart TV (and most other smart TV's) are stored locally, with a small amount of memory cache available in which to buffer the incoming content stream from whichever app you are using's server. This usually ensures a smooth, trouble-free streaming experience. 

Sky Stream can function reliably when used with a fast and very stable network, but it is more sensitive than other streaming devices. 

[PaulH7]

Thanks for your response!

Would moving to 1Gb fibre likely resolve this?

[Mister_Dalek]

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@PaulH7 wrote:

Thanks for your response!

Would moving to 1Gb fibre likely resolve this?

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No. Your existing 500Mbps fibre is more than enough for Stream. 

Using a better router, removing any other electrical items, walls or devices in your home which could interfere with the WiFi signal are some such things you can try, but you are also at the mercy of whatever server you are connected to at Sky. 

It appears that some servers can be busier than others and this can add to the latency issues. You have no choice over which server you are connected to I'm afraid. 

It would be worth having a go at connecting via ethernet and turning WiFi off and seeing if that improves things. The ethernet port on a Stream puck is capped at 100Mpbs (still more than enough for what it needs) so you should try that to see if there's any improvement. 

[squareeyeschris]

@Mister_Dalek 

Being connected by Ethernet doesn't appear to have helped me any. So, basically a crap system then. Perhaps a Sky app instead of these silly pucks would be a good idea.

[Mister_Dalek]

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@squareeyeschris wrote:

@Mister_Dalek 

Being connected by Ethernet doesn't appear to have helped me any. So, basically a crap system then. Perhaps a Sky app instead of these silly pucks would be a good idea.

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The mods on this forum don't like us mentioning it but personally I've found the NOW app on alternative hardware to be much more stable and reliable than Sky Stream for getting Sky content. 

But this isn't the case for everyone. Some customers love it and have no issue with how the system works. 

[MohsinAwan]

I tried now TV for a day , sky sports F1 UHD there was pixelating too 😁 It's resolved though now at least for me since then but I have now Dolby Atmos sound dropout issue . You just can't win with sky stream besides now app is around 90 secs behind sky stream which if you're a sports fan at least for me is no good.

[Mister_Dalek]

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@MohsinAwan wrote:

I tried now TV for a day , sky sports F1 UHD there was pixelating too 😁 It's resolved though now at least for me since then but I have now Dolby Atmos sound dropout issue . You just can't win with sky stream besides now app is around 90 secs behind sky stream which if you're a sports fan at least for me is no good.

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Not sports fans in our house so we've never subscribed to Sky Sports on any service.

I suppose that's where Sky have you by the short and curlies... if you want low latency live sport streams then Sky Stream is the only way to get it. Just a shame it's the most expensive part of most customer subscriptions, and seems to have the most issues. 

I hope they get the problems sorted out for all who are affected.  

[squareeyeschris]

@MohsinAwan 

Damn. I was just about to contact Sky complaints to try and get my account cancelled, then try NowTv. If your experience is anything to go by it looks like it would be a waste of time.