Solving playback issues

[Aunty-Fascist]

We had a Roku Express in the living room that was acting up so I upgraded to a new Premiere. It's on a dedicated HDMI port, my PS4, PS3 and PC cables go through an HDMI switch on the other HDMI port.

Since installing the Premiere, I've found that every time I switch to that port to watch it, we get a lot of white screen static dots on the home page and it flashes white every few seconds during playback. The only way to get it to behave normally is to go into the display settings, change it from 1080p to 720p and then back again. After that it works fine until we shut off the TV or use one of the consoles and then go back to the Roku. It is not on auto-detect (it happened there too, and so deselecting that was the first thing I tried).

I have done a factory reset, but the problem persists. I have ordered and installed some high grade HDMI cables, but the problem persists. Is this a known issue that will be fixed in future updates because it's really annoying that I upgraded to a newer and better model and it's more of a hassle to use than the Express it replaced.

[JackTChance]

I just bought a Roku Premiere (Wal*Mart Exclusive Version) last night because it was only $16, most affordable Roku they had.  I guess I shouldn't have bothered.  It worked perfectly while I was setting it up and logging into my streaming service accounts.  But right when I was ready to start streaming some videos to test it out, I got the EXACT SAME static issue you had!

On the same TV, my Xbox 360 has never done that at all, so I tried switching the Roku to the HDMI port the Xbox was on.  Still got static.  So then I thought perhaps the included HDMI cable was faulty.  Went to the store tonight and bought the EXACT SAME brand and model of HDMI cable I use with my Xbox 360.  STILL getting the static!

I'm very disappointed that no one has replied to you in 2½ years.  Looks like I'll be factory resetting this device and returning it to Wal*Mart tomorrow. 😒

[Aunty-Fascist]

Well, at least somebody replied! haha

I went back to using the old Express until earlier this year when it would get hot and stall on rewind as well as drop subtitles every three or four phrases (which is a pain because I watch a lot of international TV).

I bought a brand new 2022 Ultra and it works great with no issues.

I don't know what the problem with the Premiere was but the Ultra was what I needed.

[AvsGunnar]

@JackTChance and @Aunty-Fascist 

The static and crackling issue when selecting content may be due to the adapter refreshing and your TV.  When I have the Display Type on Roku set to 1080p on my Mitsubishi, I have to Disable the Auto-Refresh of the display adapter, otherwise I get a lot of static and crackling sounds and screen flashing. 

From within Roku Settings....

Settings/System/Advanced System Settings/Advanced Display Settings/Auto-adjust Display Refresh Rate [Off]

[JackTChance]

Thanks for the reply, Aunty!  Guess I'll have to spend the extra for the Ultra, which also happens to be the model that PC Magazine and at least one other tech publication are recommending.  I'll give it a try!