[OS 12.0] Recent update broke Game Mode on Roku TV

Hi echan97,

Thanks for keeping us posted!

We would be more than happy to look further into this issue, but we will need more details. Can you please provide us with the following information:

• Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
• Tracker ID when this issue occurs (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button 5 times, followed by the Back button 5 times, and provide us with this ID).
• Steps to reproduce the issue you are seeing

Once we have this information, we will be able to pass it along to the appropriate Roku team to investigate further.

Thanks,

John

RokuJohnB 

How many people have provided these details since this started? I can’t believe it has been 2 months and you have yet to fix it. This will likely be my last Roku product. 

Same issue, 100%. Started with 12.0.  A little stutter or jump every 10-12 seconds on HDMI. Doesn’t matter what the source is, Xbox, switch, anything plugged into HDMI.  

Had a hunch it might be calling home so tried resetting network connection to delete Wi-Fi and what do you know, the stutter went away.  

EDIT: okay, and now it’s back, but I’m using a different video source with an odd video resolution/mode. It seems to be more directly related to the resolution than anything. This is frustrating and I’m about done with owning TCL… 

Nearly 3 months and still no fix. Meanwhile, the UI is slower than ever,  and the overall service just keeps getting worse, when it should be improving. Instead you waste resources on garbage Roku originals. 

I have also had this issue for 2+ months. It started at the software update on 5/19 and has yet to be fixed. If this does not get fixed soon I will purchase a non-Roku and non-TCL TV because this is too debilitating to play with.

Hi Community users,

Greetings from the Roku Community!

We are aware that this must be an ongoing problem, since we have previously been provided with information and specifics pertaining to it. We sincerely thank you for your time and attention, and we are sorry for the delay in our response to this issue. In the meantime, we'll need your help to better identify the root cause of this issue.

We would appreciate if you could provide us with the information asked previously by RokuJohnB.

We'll be looking forward to it. Thanks!

Regards,

Rey

RokuERey 

• Roku device model: (TCL Model) 32S327
• Hardware ID: 8116x
• serial number: YK00YA073354
• device ID: JDS19Y073354
• software OS/version: 12.0.0 - Build 4182-48
• Tracker ID when this issue occurs: 54-296-957
• Steps to reproduce the issue you are seeing: Display any video source on any HDMI port with game mode enabled. It does not matter if it's an xbox or dvd player or mini game system or computer. Anything plugged into HDMI exhibits this issue. 

I have been doing my own testing and I believe it has something to do with your frame buffer (I'm assuming you're using a frame buffer for video processing when not in game mode - correct me if I'm wrong).  

When you turn on game mode, it should be disabling the frame buffer and all video processing. But it's acting like the frame buffer is somehow turning itself back on for 0.5 seconds every 10 seconds. This results in a short "jitter" where the screen appears to jump back in time (buffered video) and then jump forward to present non-buffered video. I could be wildly wrong about the cause, but the symptom is exactly as described. Whatever it causing it, the jitter makes the image jitter or jump twice every 10 seconds, which is not only distracting but, in many cases, makes it impossible to play games.

To be clear - I have tested ALL my video sources on another brand of TV and there is no jitter. This is only happening on my Roku device, and only since 12.0.0.  

Further, turning off game mode (reenabling the frame buffer?) seems to temporarily resolve the issue, which I guess would make sense since there's no "jump" when the buffer flips on and off. This is NOT a solution, however, because THEN YOU'RE NOT IN GAME MODE and the buffer creates noticeable input lag when playing games. And then if you turn game mode back off, the issue returns. 

To make things even more interesting, I have noticed that -sometimes- turning off game mode and then turning it back on -seems- to temporarily keep the issue from happening. But this is temporary and I believe it may not actually be turning on game mode / disabling the buffer when this happens. 

But this is all just my own testing. The facts remain: This is an issue that began exactly with 12.0.0 and is very much software generated. I wouldn't be surprised if every device out there is experiencing this and people just aren't engaging in activities sensitive enough to notice (such as fast-twitch gaming).  Or perhaps 12.0.0 is especially taxing on certain cheaper/older devices (I don't believe it's a processing-power issue because it's happens on an exact cycle of 10 seconds); but still, if it is simply that 12.0 is too demanding, PLEASE let us downgrade. I don't need new features. I don't want skins or live ads. All I need it the gaming TV I bought to work. 

Grefox,

Thanks for the update!

We have passed along your information to the appropriate Roku team to investigate further.

Once more information is available, we will be sure to update this Community thread.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in the meantime.

Thanks,

Rey

Are there any updates? The lag is still unacceptable