Pik TV - blank screen, won't launch

[cousinjunior]

 problem: Pik Live TV goes dead after 1 day!

- after the initial setup, Pik Live TV seems to work correctly

- then evening comes along, and the box goes to sleep overnight...

- try to watch Pik Live TV the next day, and NO GO!... all I get is a black/blank screen, with a very small white rectangle appearing in the very top left corner of the screen... upon closer inspection, the white rectangle seems to contain the bottom half of a green Android icon (cut off)

- the only fix is to clear the cache and data for the Pik TV app (that worked once), or, having to completely reinstall the Pik TV app

- also tried a FULL RESET of the box and full re-initialization of everything (what a time-consuming pain...)... yes this brings it back into working order, but sadly, for only 1 day

- so, nothing left to try....

- ANYONE ELSE seeing this behavior, and if so, were you able to fix?

- note: the box itself is updated, the Pik TV app is updated, hardwired via Ethernet, Internet 25 fibre plan, Netflix works fine (and has FAR better picture quality than Pik TV)

- note: Telus is sending me a new box, but somehow I think I'll just get the same problem, considering that my current box is brand new

[keinobl]

I had similar, I could see the guide, but channels blank. I had to unplug power... Not just power off/on...completely remove power... Then it recovered, seems to still be okay after 1 week

[WestCoasterBC]

When you have an issue with the app make sure you close it before trying to relaunch it. “Home”, “Home”, down arrow then OK on the remote.

[cousinjunior]

ARRRGGGGGHHHHH....

received my new Pik box yesterday... installed and set it up carefully... all was brought up to date... did NOT activate the sleep function this time

all was good, watched Pik Live TV and Netflix last night... worked with NO issues (except of course poor picture quality on Pik TV channels...)

then turned off both the box and TV using the remote and went to bed

woke up today, gave it a try: turned on the box and TV, went to watch Pik TV -- and instead got a black/blank screen with a tiny white rectangle in the very upper top left corner of screen -- same as before!.. can't watch Pik TV

I'm at a loss now... how could 2 boxes both be bad?... I suspect it's not the box(es) at all, but rather the software or Pik system?

again, I am connected hardwired with ethernet

the only thing I can think of is that my router is on a timer to turn off at night... so it reboots every morning (but really, how could this possibly "break" Pik TV?... surely, Pik can recover from a power outage or router re-boot?)

any idea, I'm at my wit's end now... I want to like PIK, but it just doesn't work

please help!

[WestCoasterBC]

Did you close the app before relaunching. Look at my previous post.

[cousinjunior]

RE: "Did you close the app before relaunching. Look at my previous post...."

not sure why I would have to do this?

I just set up a *brand new* box, then immediately updated the box, remote, and Pik TV app

when I updated the app, I simply went to the Google Play > my apps > then "update all" (there were 2 apps needing updating)

then I went on a watched TV, etc.

isn't that the proper procedure?... I would guess that 99% of people would do this to update the app, just like on any phone

sorry, but maybe I don't understand you clearly......

[WestCoasterBC · Accepted solution]

I’m offering a suggestion to close the PikTV APP. Then try to relaunch it, to see if it then works.

Otherwise it’s running crashed/hung up in the background, clicking on the piktv app icon will keep bringing up the crashed/hung up app.

[cousinjunior]

and I really appreciate the suggestion!... I will try that and report back

(but the big question is WHY is my problem happening? I don't want to be restarting apps on a daily basis (that is useless)

[keinobl]

Try unplugging the power...not just restart via remote..completely remove power from pik box

For blurry screen... I found it went away when I switched from WiFi to using wired LAN connection, not WiFi...WiFi has some latency

[cousinjunior]

keinobl: thanks for the suggestion...

not to deviate on this thread, but I am *already* connected to my Pik TV box using ethernet (not wireless), plus have Telus Internet 25 plan and a newer Telus router, so my signal feed to the box should be excellent

to be clear: when I say I have "poor" picture quality when watching Pik TV, I am saying that the resolution is not actually true HD, and the picture is just not crisp enough, has some mild artifacting here and there (especially around text), and generally has a dull, low-contrast picture -- when compared to the picture quality I get watching Netflix on the Pik TV box, OR, when I watch TV stations over-the-air using my $40 antenna... even my teen daughter switches over to the antenna signal when watching a channel thatwe can reach that way!

again, it seems that somewhere upstream, Telus is (heavily) compressing the Pik TV signal, most likely to reduce bandwidth and provide a more stable watching experience for those connection to their Pik box using wireless or on mobile devices???... I can understand that, but for me anyway, the quality is just a wee bit too far below what I would say is acceptable or expected in this day and age of 4K screens, etc.... I am not using 4K,, but a a plain old 1080P screen on an older Panasonic plasma 42"

funny thing is, some stations seem to be better than others... for example, CTV seems pretty decent, while CNN is a real disappointment when compared to a proper higher quality signal

I know the Pik TV box itself can produce perfect HD, because watching Netflix through it is just fine... great quality there

I have asked around, but so far, no one can state what the level of compression or actual definition level is for the Pik TV channels

too bad the Pik TV box is not able to automatically provide ethernet-connected users with a better quality signal somehow, or perhaps use more buffering to provide even wireless-connected users with a better quality feed?... that would be GREAT! (somehow, Netflix seems to do this on any box I've ever used)

maybe we should have another thread dedicated to Pik TV picture quality, how to maximize it, etc............

(anyway, none of this even matters for me, unless I can get my Pik TV to start up and work past 1 day!)

[NFtoBC]

Your local wireless network is faster than your internet connection by factor of 4x to 16x, so any compression Telus is doing is more likely to address the WAN (internet) side of of the delivery, rathe than the LAN side.

Streaming of 4K television signal could consume your whole 25Mbps stream , which would be one reason for compression, even 1080p would be expected to consume about 6Mbps. Telus streams the programming received from the suppliers to all subscribers who meet the minimum data bandwidth, whether on copper or Fibre. It is compressed for the least common denominator. In addition, the supplier may be choosing the stream to send Telus for this purpose.

Finally, Telus offers Optik for those wanting a top-tier TV experience. PikTV is set to not compete with that offering.

[cousinjunior]

thank you NFtoBC!

sure I understand the limitations and 4K is totally unnecessary at this point in time (but sure maybe in the distant future?)

but would be great to get something say "one step" down from 1080p... not sure what that would be

also, maybe "level 1 and 2" options for Pik TV subscribers... eg:

- $10/mth for regular (people using wireless, etc.) (people who aren't so fussy or want cheapest option)

- $15/mth for better picture quality "HD" version (people using ethernet at home, or implementing extra buffering?)

thanks

[WestCoasterBC]

@cousinjunioryou just had the newer remote bundled with the box. The original production run had the remote @NFtoBC posted.

Safe to assume the black screen is a bug that needs to be squashed and should be fixed next release. For now the closing the app I stated below is a stop gap measure.

[Trev_s]

Black screen here. Audio, guide and menu work fine. Closing PikTV did not work for me. Going into settings and choosing to "restart" also didn't help....

I'm not resetting this stupid box again, such a pain in the ass to re initialize everything.

Fantastic, another problem right after they finally got around to fixing issue where 3rd party apps kept automatically closing down after a few min.

Is there only one guy over at Telus that works on this platform?

[Trev_s]

Also, clearing cache, rolling back update, and removing power to PikTV box for 5min did not help.

OK, 2hr phone wait for technical suport here we go again!

[Trev_s]

Hmmm, all video is down. Netflix loads, i can scroll through the menu. But video previews and actual video is "black screen".

[Trev_s]

Telus phone support was unable to resolve my issue. All the steps i attempted previously were all they can recommend to do.

The rep put in a 24 ticket to what im assuming is next tier support...

[cousinjunior]

UPDATE as promised:

- after "fixing" the problem yesterday by hitting "home" button twice (quickly), and turning the Pik TV app off ("X"), then having it start up again (load), all was good yesterday and last night... I even tried the sleep function, and it woke up fine... I was pretty encouraged

- this morning, I give it a try... turn on box, and BACK TO BLACK SCREEN (with tiny white rectangle in upper left corner of screen, with green Android icon inside)!!!

- go home, down to Pik app, select it to start and I get error pop-up "check your internet connectivity".... then after a few minutes, error changes to "application load timeout"

- turn Telus box off then back on... then try again, ie., go home, down to Pik app, select it to start... Pik app startup loading screen (with spinning dots) comes on, spins a bit, then stops at 1 dot only and just sits there like that

- I go back to home, down to Pik app, select it to start... this time I get a solid gray/blue screen (never happened before), then just sits there

- I go back home, to Google Play store app, to my apps, choose Pik TV then press "open"... Pik TV finaly starts up and seems to run fine

- ARRRRGGGGHHH... why can't I just turn on the box and have this start up each day without multiple reboots, restarts, etc., etc. until it finally works (maybe)?

- and, if I ever have to wipe it all / clear data, that means re-entering all my credentials which is very slow and painful using the remote picker

- help please!

[cousinjunior]

PS: to clarify:

- I use ethernet connection only to my Telus box

- wireless function is turned OFF on my Telus box

- my router is on a timer to turn off overnight, it restarts early each day

[NFtoBC]

---

@cousinjunior wrote:

PS: to clarify:

- my router is on a timer to turn off overnight, it restarts early each day

---

Why?

This means devices may be assigned different IP addresses each time the router restarts. Try leaving your router on 24/7.

[cousinjunior]

I have my router turn off overnight everyday for several reasons, and I know other people who do the exact same:

- control/limit access to wireless by my kids late at night... at some point, you just have to cut them off

- save energy (reduce phantom loads)

- security peace of mind: with the unit (and my wireless) completely off, I don't have to care at all about anyone hacking in (even though I use security)

- reduce heat and thus wear & tear on the router

- I get a fresh re-boot of the router every morning (the often-touted fix for many connectivity problems)

turning the router off/on is no different than experiencing a power outage, and I would think that Pik TV should be able to pick up again and function after a power outage??? (I know some people who live in areas where they can get several outages per year easily)

also, I have tried testing by restarting my router on purpose (when my Pik TV was actually working), and, it started up fine after that

Q: is there a way that I can configure my settings on the Telus box to reduce any possible problems with IP assignment? (I saw something in the menu about DHCP, etc.)

PS: today was the first time that the system displayed any error about internet connection... before this, I had multiple black screen failure with no such warnings

thanks