Forum Discussion

Peters248's avatar
Peters248
Newbie
2 years ago

Intermittent black screen when using Roku Ultra with LG TV

I have recently moved my Roku Ultra device from an older Samsung flatscreen to a brand new LG Class C3 Series OLED evo 4K UHD Smart TV. It worked fine on the older TV but, on the new TV, is frequently losing the video. The screen will go black for 2-4 seconds and then go back to regular video. Audio is not affected. This is happening with all channels. Roku shows the Wi-Fi signal is "excellent." I have restarted the Roku device several times, including unplugging it, waiting for a minute or two before re-plugging it: all with no luck. I have also tried plugging the Roku device into other HDMI ports on the TV. The intermittent black screen keeps occurring. This is not happening with other video feeds to the LG flatscreen, just the Roku. Suggestions?

app playback

1 Reply

  • makaiguy's avatar
    makaiguy
    Community Streaming Expert
    2 years ago

    Peters248-

    Under "Settings > System > Advanced system Settings > Advanced display settings" does your Roku have an "Auto-adjust display refresh rate" item? If you don't have this setting, the rest of this post doesn't apply to you.

    If this is enabled, the Roku circuitry sends the signal output at the refresh rate (frame rate) used by the original source material, commonly 24 fps (frames per second), 25 fps, 30 fps, 50 fps, or 60 fps. Every time the source frame rate changes, the TV must adjust its display to accommodate the new frame rate, which on many sets results in a short blackout or other display disruption that some find objectionable.

    This can happen when starting/stopping new programs, and when going in/out of commercial breaks that have a different native frame rate than the programs they are inserted into.

    If "Auto-adjust display refresh rate" is set OFF, the Roku converts and sends everything at 60 fps so the TV doesn't have to adjust on the fly and you don't get those frame rate transition disruptions.

    The tradeoff here is that movement of things on the screen for non-60 fps sources may not be as smooth with no frame rate adjustment, depending on whether your Roku or your TV does a better job of refresh rate conversion. You have to decide whether this change is worth it to you.