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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Now TV image fuzzy/blurry/pixellated

I have a wired connection to my now TV box, and I'm watching it on a 4khd TV. Recently everyone I watch something the image is really blurry/fuzzy it definitely isn't the Internet as if I come out of the box set I'm trying to watch and go to bbciplayer through now TV it works perfectly and has a perfect image. I then try the box sets ... blurry still.... 😞
1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User Welcome to the Forum 🙂

 

Can you try following these steps:

 

  • Check for updates
  • Manually set the bit rate
  • Reset the box

Check for updates
On the NOW TV remote:

  1. Quickly press Home x5, Fast Forward x3 then Rewind x2 in this order.
  2. Select Update Software then press OK.

This needs to be done even if the version numbers are the same to make sure the software's updated and any faults in the current software are repaired.
These instructions can also be found on the NOW TV ROI Help Centre.
If this doesn't work, try unplugging the NOW TV box and wireless router for a few minutes the plug them back in starting with the wireless router. You'll need to set your NOW TV box back up and once you've done this, go back to the NOW TV app and try playing out again.
 
Manually set the bit rate
On your NOW TV remote:

  1. Quickly press Home x5, Rewind x3 then Fast Forward x2 in this order.
  2. We recommend you select the 2.0 MBPS or 2.5 MBPS option as they'll give you the best quality compared to the other options.

You could also try moving your NOW TV box closer to your wireless router to see if the poor playout is being caused by something in your house blocking the wireless signal to your box.
 
Reset the box
Hard reset
On the back of the NOW TV box, press the Reset button for at least 30 seconds (the screen may go blank before the time's up but it's important to continue to hold in the button for the full 30 seconds).
Factory reset
Using your NOW TV remote:

  1. Go to Settings and select System.
  2. Select Factory Reset.
  3. Select Factory reset everything and press the Play / Pause button three times.

Once the reset's complete, you'll need to set your NOW TV box back up.
If this hasn't worked, try connecting it to the router via an Ethernet cable to see if this resolves the issue.

 

Thanks Niamh NOWTV Team 😉

View solution in original post

58 REPLIES 58
gavs82008
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User 

What TV is it you have? 
Is it connected via Wi-fi? 

Is it all content that your having issues with?

FYI that I do not work for NOW, just a NOW customer trying to help
Anonymous User
Not applicable
LG high end gallery tv and Samsung 9000 series tv
Mainly on the sky sports and Atlantic

gavs82008
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User 

Are the TVs connected via Wi-fi? 

Do you have boost?

FYI that I do not work for NOW, just a NOW customer trying to help
tothbros
Scholar 2

my setup:

- now tv smart box 4631uk, ethernet wired connection

- roku 3, ethernet wired connection

- roku 3, ethernet wired connection

- roku 2, ethernet wired connection

 

i have BOOST

 

- on the now tv smart box streaming quality drops every few minutes (sometimes 1-2 minutes, simetimes every 5-10 minutes, or so). picture gets totally fuzzy, pixelated for a couple of seconds, then quickly goes back to HD, so the whole cycle is approx. 5 seconds.

- this only happens on LIVE TV, not when watching content from the LIBRARY.

- during these times internet is not used for anything else.

- watching UHD on bbc iplayer is flawless. other apps also work fine. youtube 4K HDR content works perfectly, solid streaming.

- upon checking, now tv smart box reports internet speeds of 60-70 Mbps

- PC with wired connection reports 150 Mbps solid speeds, checking regularly.

- roku boxes dont have this issue of streaming quality dropping, only the now tv smart box.

 

test: all 3 roku boxes streamed the same HD content on sky sports, at the same time, with no issues at all.

 

temporary solution: setting the bitrate to 12 Mbps on the now tv smart box.

when i start streaming LIVE TV right after this, the problem is solved, BUT...

the box does not save this setting, so the next time i start using it, i have to set the bitrate AGAIN!

otherwise the problem returns.

 

i could use the roku's, but since the latest update of the NOW software, the roku's became very slow to start up and navigate, and the 4631 smart box has much better hardware specs.

 

so... i'm no techie, but given everything i've outlined, its pretty obvious the issue is with the NOW app or box firmware, no? 🙂

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @tothbros 

 

I am running the NOW 4K Smart Box myself over Ethernet and no problems watching either on Demand or live channels (including Entertainment, Cinema or Sports).

 

Out of curiosity has a temporary test what happens if you use the wifi off the NOW 4K Smart Box (does the streaming quality still drop like when using over Ethernet ?).

 

I would be also tempted disconnecting the Ethernet cable at both ends and maybe try another Ethernet port on your Router or Ethernet Hub if you are using one to use multiple Ethernet ports.

 

Maybe also swap the Ethernet cable has well.

 

Might be also tempted to try Fast Ethernet if your Router has this option to see if it has any impact compared to the faster Gigabit Ethernet connection.

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @tothbros 

 

Might be also tempted to force a software update on your NOW 4K Smart Box by following step 6 in this linked trouble shooting guide below just in case there is some sort of software glitch / bug on your NOW Box.

 

https://help.nowtv.com/article/troubleshooting-now-box-stick 

tothbros
Scholar 2

thanks for the suggestions!

i've already tried pretty much all of them (swapping cables, forced update)

however i will try wifi instead of ethernet, as this hasnt occured to me yet.

although the router is quite far from the box, so might not be ideal, but its worth a try.

 

i also have an american roku ultra i borrowed for testing and so far its very promising, although i know its not officially supported, but has worked great so far, and it autimatically changes frame rate to 50hz, which is a plus. no bbc, though, unfortunatelly, but thats the only thing. no quality issues with NOW and works superfast, i've never seen the new NOW work this smoothly on any device.

anyway, since its not my device, its just for testing and i doubt i would buy one from the US, its quite expensive.

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @tothbros 

 

If my memory serves me right, somebody on the forum a while back temporary switched in their NOW box settings under Network from Wired to Wireless then back to Wired and it fixed their connection.

 

I can't remember if they had a no internet connection message on their box or they was experiencing picture quality drop outs whilst watching NOW.

 

What's more baffling is that you are only noticing it whilst watching NOW live TV and your other NOW devices are not affected.

 

Last resort maybe factory reset your NOW 4K Smart box.

 

The only issue that i have with my NOW 4K Smart Box (which has been occurring intermittently quite a few times since a few software updates a while back is that it sometimes has a HDMI handshake issue with my television, where the NOW 4K Box seems sensitive over HDMI with my Philips Android TV and runs perfectly fine with the same HDMI cable on a different TV in the house).

 

Hope you get it sorted.

tothbros
Scholar 2

well, now im puzzled...

i switched to wifi and problem solved. switched back to ethernet and the pixelation comes back after a few minutes.

measured speed by the now box: wifi 17-18 Mbps, wired: 60-70 Mbps.

NOW content is HD, live and library, no streaming issues on WIFI,

bbc iplayer uhd content (Vigil) cannot play on WIFI, constantly buffers (understandably)

the roku's have no problems with ethernet on NOW (just slow navigation because of older HW).

changed cables, hard reset NOW box, everything.

cant get my head around this...

 

btw: i also have regular issues with the hdmi handshake for a few seconds when starting a stream. changed cables, but makes no difference. bit annoying, but not as much as the streaming quality

tothbros
Scholar 2

@schnapps 

i feel like its a missed opportunity by sky with this box, because as its built on a few-yr-old premiere/ultra, the HW is decent, the roku base is a solid SW, and several aspects of it are appealing: this is the only NOW device with ethernet (if it worked properly), the "point anywhere" wifi remote, apps run smoothly without lag, 4K, so future proof, built-in dolby decoder... so not sure why sky adandoned it... it was discontinued quite early on.