Channels & viewing

[Rhondasmith]

I watch CBS on Paramount+. My screen keeps flashing to black while the audio is fine. This only happen on my local CBS channel. No other P+ show/movie is affected. Please help! 

[RokuJanadeeK]

Hi @Rhondasmith,

Thanks for reaching out regarding this concern.

For playback issues with channels on Roku devices, the possible troubleshooting steps in this article on how to resolve a channel playback issue should help.

Let us know if this fixes the issue.

Regards,
Janadee

[makaiguy]

@Rhondasmith-

If by flashing to black you mean a screen disruption that lasts for a short duration, just a second or two, here is the only thing I can think of that causes it:

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, don't bother to read the rest of this post.

If this is enabled, the Roku circuitry sends the signal output at the refresh 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 refresh rate changes, the TV must adjust its display to accommodate the new 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, when going in/out/between commercial, or any other time the refresh rate changes.

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, non-60 fps sources may not appear as smooth without a Roku refresh 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.

[Rhondasmith]

Thanks you for the responses to my question. The solution was so simple and I found it by accident. All it took to fix the problem was to search for the channel from within the Paramount+ app and not on the Roku home page. No more flashes to black. Thank you again! 

[SonOfLiberties]

This has happened to me using the Paramount+ app. The way I fixed it was by continuously clearing the ‘watch later’ on the Roku Home Screen. I think this was introduced when that update was rolled out.