Solving playback issues

[cmazzola]

Hi I did see others had similar problems posted before in the past but have not seen a solution.

My download speed is close to 100MB wired input so it the internet speed is plenty fast.

The stream just seems to cut out for a few seconds and then resumes.  

I did a tracker to give more information for the device, if this helps

[RokuJohnB]

Hi @cmazzola,

Welcome to the Roku Community!

We'd like to investigate this issue further. How far is your device from your network router? What troubleshooting steps have you taken so far?

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks,

John

[cmazzola]

Hi John,

I tried to restart the system by navigating to:
Settings >> System >> Power >> System Restart >> Restart.

It still happens but maybe less frequent. Since the reset (last few hours) the audio has muted a few times where I would need to unmute on the remote and I've had a few times where the picture would blank momentarily.

I have a cable modern feeding a tplink wireless ac1900 which has a wlan port fed from the cable modem. Right now I'm using one of it's lan ports to feed the Roku (6 feet in length cat5e cable). I've also tried the wireless link (5G and 2G)

I have two other Roku sticks on separate TVs (WiFi connected 2G) that have worked great and have never shown this issue. 

Thanks for your help in advance.

Chuck

[RokuJohnB]

Hi @cmazzola,

Thank you for keeping us posted here in the Roku Community!
We will be more than happy to assist you further with this issue. Please try to restart your modem and router. After restarting your wireless network connection, please try again to restart your Roku Ultra and see if the issue still persists.

Let us know how it works, and we will continue to assist you further.

Kind regards,

John

[makaiguy · Accepted solution]

One possible cause of intermittent screen blanking:

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, you can skip the rest of this post.

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.

[cmazzola]

Unfortunately my Roku does not have an "Auto-adjust display refresh rate" item.

Your explanation does sound plausible, wish I could of verified it.

I did put it in 1080 format instead of auto detection mode with no better result.

Thank you.

[cmazzola]

Hi John,

I did reset the modem and router. Then I power reset the Roku as you suggested. The result was the same as before unfortunately.

Best regards

Chuck

[RokuJanadeeK]

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, @cmazzola.

We're happy to continue assisting.

Are there any external devices attached to the TV? Would it be possible to hook the Roku device to another TV and see if the issue persists? Also, have you tried connecting your Roku device to an alternative network, such as a mobile hotspot?

Please keep us informed.

Regards,
Janadee

[cmazzola]

Hi Janadee,

I tried a Streaming Stick+ that I had on another TV (LG), plugged into the TV HMDI port 3, connected to the Xfinity modem/wifi and did not have any issues with the video blanking. 

For confirmation, I plugged the Ultra LT I am having issues with into the same port, connected to the wifi and I had issues with the video blanking. BTW I can usually see this right away, by logging onto either Netflix or Amazon Prime and as I scroll through the videos (ex. video preview plays go select next video  and would blank for a few seconds before its preview starts playing), the Ultra would blank as I go from one video to another.  (The Steaming Stick+ did not have this issue).

I then took the Ultra LT and attached it to the TV (Vizio) I took the Streaming Stick+ from, connected to wifi, and it had the same video blanking issue.

Not sure what to do next - I beginning to think either I can't use a Ultra LT (which I had thought was more capable than the Streaming Stick+ ... correct?) or the Ultra LT is somehow defected?  Should it be returned or is there something else I can try? 

[RokuJanadeeK]

Thanks for the response, @cmazzola.

Could you confirm if you have already tried connecting the Roku Ultra to a mobile hotspot just to check if the same issue persists? If it happens to be persistent despite using another network source, please provide us with the following details so we can forward it to the team for further investigation:

• Roku device or TV 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 five times, followed by the Back button five times, and provide us with this ID).

Please keep us informed.

Regards,
Janadee