UPDATE: Making Pik TV better and better

[dru]

Hi Folks, we're continuously working to make the Pik TV experience better so I have a quick announcement about an update that will be available starting May 14th which will improve the Pik viewing experience. 

On your Pik TV Android Media box, the update will be downloaded and installed automatically over your internet connection. This should only take up to 15 minutes. For updates to the Pik TV app on your phones and tablets, please update the app by going to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

More details about the update process can be found here.

What’s New?

1) Improved stability and security

The Android Media Box is now updated to Android Nougat (N) and includes stability and security improvements.

2) More channels to watch on your web browser

More channels like HBO have been added to the Live TV experience on web browsers. Enjoy now at www.telus.com/watchpik.

3) Updated details and guide layout

Discover more TV shows and movies with our new guide layout. Learn more about the cast, crew, and other interesting facts about your favourite shows.

4) Newer versions of Google Apps

With this update on the Android Media Box, you’ll get newer versions of Google Apps including YouTube and Netflix.

[canucks4life]

Updating now...fingers crossed

[clint17]

Updated yesterday. After some hick-ups with the remote got it going again. And the guide problem (not remembering the last selected channel) seems to be resolved now. Thank you Telus, good job here.

But instead of adding new stuff, how about fixing all the old annoyances first? Error 4-44-140 reappeared after 15 mins running time today. For some reason the data stream just stops. No automatic retries. A channel change gets it going again but its almost mid 2018 today - these problems should really correct themselves automatically! It does not happen with YouTube or Crackle, definitely a PikTV problem. What would you call a browser that stops loading webpages and you would have to start reloading them manually? ...

clint17

[bb123]

Thanks for the update info. Just curious, why was the box updated to Android 7 instead of 8? Other Android boxes are running 8 and were upon it's release in the fall.

[WestCoasterBC]

@bb123 Remember this is android tv, not those cheaper boxes on amazon or ebay running the mobile version wrapped in a launcher.

Nvidia shield is on Nougat, Xiaomi Mi Box rolled out a beta of Oreo. still, Android TV on Oreo (8) developers have way more work to code for the new UI, and have been slow to do this.

[id013]

Hi, So since updating the Pik TV box to Nougat I've noticed that netflix has been having issues with playback. Specifically shows just stopping for no reason. It goes back to the main menu and although I can resume from where it left off it's annoying having Netflix stop for no reason. This only started happening after I installed the update, I've already tried restarting the unit multiple times as well as logging out completely and logging back in. Is anyone else experiencing the same thing? Thanks

[NFtoBC]

@id013

  Have you re-installed the Netflix App as well?

[bb123]

I also have a Nexus player which updated to 8. I assumed if the work was being done to update the PIK box Telus would choose the most recent (8 months old at this point) version of Android.

Based on how long it took to fix the guide issues I don't give Telus the benefit of the doubt that much effort goes into making PIK all it should be.

[Nighthawk]

Android N / 7 is currently the most common version of Android out there. It works, it's stable, and it gets security updates. 

Nexus devices are in a league of their own. They get updates direct from Google and that is the single reason you've seen a software update for the old Nexus Player. You'll also find that Android 8 is only running on a mere 5% of all Android devices. (Source) I'm strongly suspecting for Android TV devices the % is even lower. 

[bb123]

I'm also experiencing the Netflix stopping issue since the update. I have reinstalled the app and it's still happening.

[brownknuckles]

There are a few issues with the latest update, mostly with HDR playback. Android TV OS 7.0 and above has native support for HDR playback. Youtube does not play HDR content but I suspect it's because the box doesn't support the new VP9 profile 2 codec. Also HDR10 files on plex do not play on it either.

[eggsbenedict]

Has anybody noticed frame skipping issues since the new update?

Before the update the sports channels (TSN/Sportsnet) were buttery smooth 50/60fps. (CBC, CTV, and others have always been 30fps, which is irritating when trying to watch sports).

Since the update, I'm getting a couple of dropped/skipped frames every second on TSN/Sportsnet. It's not simply showing a 30fps feed (big difference between the same hockey game on CBC vs Sportsnet) it's pretty clearly a 60fps feed dropping frames. 

The box/cable/TV are all working fine, as I have the NHL.TV app running through Kodi on the box and the streams are buttery smooth. Seems to be something to do with the PikTV streams/app in particular. 

Anyone else noticing this?

[Jeremy2]

Since update I’m getting back screen stop restarts that last about 3sec in Netflix and Plex. Also the lights on the box go off completely after tuning it to standby and I have to press like volume or something to get the Bluetooth light back then I can turn it on.

Anyone else had similar issues

[canucks4life]

---

@eggsbenedict wrote:

Has anybody noticed frame skipping issues since the new update?

Before the update the sports channels (TSN/Sportsnet) were buttery smooth 50/60fps. (CBC, CTV, and others have always been 30fps, which is irritating when trying to watch sports).

Since the update, I'm getting a couple of dropped/skipped frames every second on TSN/Sportsnet. It's not simply showing a 30fps feed (big difference between the same hockey game on CBC vs Sportsnet) it's pretty clearly a 60fps feed dropping frames. 

The box/cable/TV are all working fine, as I have the NHL.TV app running through Kodi on the box and the streams are buttery smooth. Seems to be something to do with the PikTV streams/app in particular. 

Anyone else noticing this?

---

I'll try watch for it tonight...Go Jets Go!!!

[eggsbenedict]

---

@Jeremy2 wrote:
Since update I’m getting back screen stop restarts that last about 3sec in Netflix and Plex. Also the lights on the box go off completely after tuning it to standby and I have to press like volume or something to get the Bluetooth light back then I can turn it on.

Anyone else had similar issues

---

In addition to my frame dropping issue noted above, I just noticed the remote issue as well. I left the box for a few hours and the bluetooth connection died. One signal from IR and the bluetooth connection was reestablished. Shouldn't be a huge issue, but my box is tucked away out of IR range so I had to go into another room to wake the thing up. 

[Nhaneo]

I have the exact same issues. Plex will full on crash for me in the middle of playback. Also, after leaving on standby all lights go black and I have to unplug and plug in to get it going again. After which if I open the G menu too soon after startup the whole box becomes unresponsive and I have to unplug it again! This update seems hopelessly buggy, was really enjoying the service too but these constant errors are making it unusable!

[eggsbenedict]

I had a look at my brother's PikTV setup, and he isn't having the same frame dropping issue that I am, so it's something specific to my setup. I've tried a factory reset on my box, but I get the same issue. I wonder if it's something to do with my TV (LG 55B7P) not playing nice with the box. No issues with 60fps sources from Netflix or NHL.TV via Kodi, so I think it's something to do with the PikTV app, and not the base OS. But who knows. I'll see if I can drag a different TV up here to try that.

Hoping someone from Telus can chime in, as this forum is the only place to receive competent tech support.

I can get the rest of the playoffs via antenna, so it's not the end of the world for now, but 'll be cancelling if these issues aren't fixed in time for the World Cup, as the service is unuseable at the moment. Or if they give us some way to roll back the update, the guide issue wasn't all that big a deal to me, just kind of funny how long it took to fix.

[NFtoBC]

What happens if you take your PikTV device to your brother's place?

[Nhaneo]

I think I solved my remote becoming unresponsive, I updated the remorse firmware through the setting menu and I came back this morning with it still connected and responsive so that's something.

[Apocalypse21]

Well since this update my tv loses signal from my piktv box about once every 5 minutes or so for 1-2 seconds and then comes back. I’ve reset to factory and changed my HDMI cable with no improvement. Makes it pretty much unwatchable. I’m not clear if this is a hardware issue or due to the update as the timing is suspect....

Is anybody else experiencing this?

[mrhector]

Shield is rolling out Oreo now, shame they still don't offer an Android TV app instead of having to use the Telus provided one. 

[Spud387]

---

@Jeremy2 wrote:
Since update I’m getting back screen stop restarts that last about 3sec in Netflix and Plex. Also the lights on the box go off completely after tuning it to standby and I have to press like volume or something to get the Bluetooth light back then I can turn it on.

Anyone else had similar issues

---

My box was experiencing zero issues until this update and I now get this issue with my remote. The lights on the box are all off and I have to press a button (volume, OK, etc) to get the blue light to reappear before I can turn it on.

[clint17]

Hi all

Before the update I had the three main issues with the guide, error 140 and stuttering channels.

After the update all the three problems are gone, as of now. Thank you Telus.

I had to update the remote fw too. Now after 12h all the Leds on the box are off. Good.

1. press ON - remote orange, Box turns green,

2. press Guide - remote red, Box green and blue,

3. and up,  i.e. Channel - remote green, box green and blue.

I'm on a wired connection so no red Led on the box. And I'm using the box only for PikTV, YouTube and Crackle. Everything working fine as expected.

Clint

[eggsbenedict]

---

@NFtoBC wrote:

What happens if you take your PikTV device to your brother's place?

---

Just tried this, the box worked fine, switching between hockey on PikTV Sportsnet and CBC on Antenna was identical in terms of smoothness (though it did show off just how compressed the PikTV signal is!).

Brought it back home and the same test there's a clear difference in smoothness. My TV is 4k, my brother's is not.

While it's always hard to describe motion in writing, I'll try anyway. It's an inconsistent jerkiness like you get when you first tune to a channel and the box is trying to render the OSD, rather than the consistent stutter you'd see with 24fps content or on the 30fps channels like CBC on PikTV. As if the machine is struggling to render the content. Since content outputted from other apps is fine, I'm guessing there's something going on with the PikTV app's upscaling or deinterlacing at 4K. Unfortunately the PikTV is pretty locked down so I can't mess around with the output resolution or frame rate and try and troubleshoot.

This definitely was not an issue before the update, I was watching a baseball game when the update notification popped up, and the change was immediately noticeable after it updated.

For what it's worth, the new remote power saving setting where it kills the Bluetooth connection after a few hours makes the box completely unuseable for me anyway, as I have to walk into another room to turn the thing on via IR, since I didn't bother running an IR repeater when I redid all my cabling a couple months ago, as all my remotes connected by Bluetooth. 

[Matty]

I've had my telus pik for about 2 months now.  Watching TV is painful.  I've had to reset back to factory defaults twice in the past month just to be able to watch the Pik TV.  Netflix drops out a lot, better off to watch on the Smart TV.  Spotify drops out as well.  Is this common or expected?  Seems like a few glitches that a person shouldn't have to deal with in this day and age.  Any ideas to make the viewing experience better aside from a factory reset and unplugging the unit? 

[id013]

Hi,

Yes I've re-installed the app, I've actually noticed the following issues since updating to Nougat:

1) Netflix will just stop playback and go back to the shows main screen where I can choose to resume but playback will stop again in 5-10 mins

2) Netflix will go black but I can still hear sound

3) Netflix will freeze completely 

All of these can be fixed by restarting the box either by using the UI or by unplugging it. All these issues started after the update. I've noticed that you're now offering to have PikTV available without hardware couldn't you also just remove the condition in the app that it must be running on that device? I have a mibox that is a lot more powerful than the current PikTV box and it would be great if I could just use it on that. If you're removing the hardware constraint you may as well remove it on the app as well.

Thanks

[Jeremy2]

---

@Matty wrote:

I've had my telus pik for about 2 months now.  Watching TV is painful.  I've had to reset back to factory defaults twice in the past month just to be able to watch the Pik TV.  Netflix drops out a lot, better off to watch on the Smart TV.  Spotify drops out as well.  Is this common or expected?  Seems like a few glitches that a person shouldn't have to deal with in this day and age.  Any ideas to make the viewing experience better aside from a factory reset and unplugging the unit? 

---

This is the pik tv post update unfortunately everyone seems to be having the same issues...

[Skulchyski]

I still have these issues! Since you posted over a month ago I have little to no hope they will fix anytime soon

[Cheezer38]

I have the same issue. It seems like the box lose connection for 1 sec and comes back.  It can happens often every 3-5 mins.  
 
It effects other programs as well not just Pik app.
Allow other android tv to use the pik app. I am not sure if Telus is trying to make money off hardware, but if Telus has problem with the media box, they should open up the app to Nvidia shield, mi box, and nexus tv. They only need to require hdcp like Netflix.

[Junginator]

Mine just goes to static and reboots randomly after watching Netflix every few min. Aargh