WMC video "blanking" out - Why? How to fix?

[barnabas1969]

My blanking at the beginning of the show happens regardless of the "full screen video" setting. But mine only blanks during the first 1-2 seconds right after I start watching a recording or when I tune a new channel.

[newfiend]

The blanking I would get would happen at odd times. Usually during commercials or when the Audio signal or Video aspect ratio would change from a 16.9 to a 4.3 (usually a commercial), I'm not sure exactly what causes it to happen or why the "Full Screen Videos" option would fix it but the blanking you are referring to seems to happen to me as well (beginning of a show or new channel tuning) at but I think that is normal screen blanking that you are referring to as mine does that as well as it's either Tuning the channel or starting a new recording etc. Mine would just blank at odd times while watching regular TV, quite annoying for sure.
newfiend~

[crawfish]

Sony TVs are well known for blanking related to the 29/59 bug. For Nvidia cards, the solution to the blanking is to set "Content type reported to the display" to "Full screen videos". The blanking is due to "Content type" being left on "Auto", which causes the TV to switch between HDTV and PC timings on some occurrences of 29/59 and when a video is started and stopped in WMC. With "Content type" set to "Auto", there are also differences between the desktop vs. playing a video in WMC, e.g. the Sony's info banner reports different signals, and the Sony menus disable the "advanced" video options (everything much beyond contrast/brightness) while at the desktop. You could also avoid the problem by setting "Content type" to "Desktop programs", but your TV calibration is going to be way different and inconsistent with other devices like BD players. The effect of setting "Content type" to a specific non-Auto value seems to be to keep the TV in PC or HDTV mode at all times. ATI cards also caused this problem when using a normal HDMI cable, and the solution for them was to use a DVI->HDMI cable or a plain DVI/HDMI adapter rather than the dongle they used to provide with their cards.

As for blanking when changing channels, I've never observed this, and I've been dealing with this blanking since 2008. I would tend to think it has a different cause.

[newfiend]

Thanks for the explanation crawfish.. makes sense now that you explain why it happens. As far as the blanking barnabas1969 is explaining I think he means the screen goes black for a second prior to tuning a channel or when starting playback of a recorded tv file as it "preps to play the file" or when it takes a second to tune the channel. I could be wrong but I am guessing that is what he means.
newfiend~

[barnabas1969]

My blanking didn't start until I bought a new AVR with HDMI switching. Prior to the purchase of the new AVR, my HTPC was connected directly to the HDMI port on the TV, and there was no blanking at all. I think it has something to do with the AVR syncing on the signal when beginning to play a show. Basically, mine occurs when switching from the Media Center menu to full-screen video. So, choosing a channel from the guide, or choosing a recording from Recorded TV causes the screen to go black for a second while the audio continues to play. The same thing happens if I switch to the desktop from Media Center (in full screen only) or vice versa.

[crawfish]

My blanking didn't start until I bought a new AVR with HDMI switching. Prior to the purchase of the new AVR, my HTPC was connected directly to the HDMI port on the TV, and there was no blanking at all.

Must be the AVR. The blanking I'm talking about was always with the card connected directly to the TV.

I think it has something to do with the AVR syncing on the signal when beginning to play a show. Basically, mine occurs when switching from the Media Center menu to full-screen video. So, choosing a channel from the guide, or choosing a recording from Recorded TV causes the screen to go black for a second while the audio continues to play. The same thing happens if I switch to the desktop from Media Center (in full screen only) or vice versa.

That's similar to what I described for my non-29/59 blanking, but as yours isn't affected by the "Content type" option, it really does sound like it's the AVR to blame. If your TV's info banner distinguishes between PC and HDTV signals, what does it say when at the desktop vs playing a video in WMC? My Sony would display "16:9 1080p HD" in HDTV mode and nothing in PC mode, and as I said earlier, most of the TV's video settings were disabled in PC mode. I kinda expect yours is staying in one mode at all times since "Content type" isn't helping.

Come to think of it, for the last couple of months, while waiting for the 2013 TVs to come out, I've been using an even older Sony TV, a 2008 720p 32 incher. Whenever I'd play the first protected TV show in a WMC session, I'd get the "HDCP support required" screen for a couple of seconds. I wonder if your blanking is like a quicker version of that, quick enough that WMC doesn't display the message.

One more thing. Is your TV changing resolution or refresh rate between the blankings? That could definitely account for it.

[barnabas1969]

My TV doesn't automatically switch to PC mode. It always says 1080p/60 (or 1080p/24 when I play a Bluray).

[bradders]

Didn't fix my issue, new firmware and all - latest drivers too......

cut a long story short - I went old skool DVI out and straight into the TV, toslink out of the MCE into the amp and screw the hdmi stuff........life's too short. Worked like a charm ever since.

No idea where the issue is/was other than certainly something to my mind with the amp/HDMI handshaking. Anyone want to buy a new HDMI detective

thanks for all your efforts and help - much appreciated.
Bradders

[rock88]

Greetings, I am new to this forum and do not have much experience with the HTPC set up, I am running a GT630 with HDMI output to a Yamaha RX-V667, my OS is windows 7 pro 32 bits, my display drivers ver is 301.42 it was running perfect for months, all sudden, it stopped working after the logon screen, it will say NO Signal from the AVR, and I have read all the above posts and tried set the Ndivida control panel per suggestion, it still not working. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.

By the way, my audio sound great, just the screen is blank.

[newfiend]

Greetings, I am new to this forum and do not have much experience with the HTPC set up, I am running a GT630 with HDMI output to a Yamaha RX-V667, my OS is windows 7 pro 32 bits, my display drivers ver is 301.42 it was running perfect for months, all sudden, it stopped working after the logon screen, it will say NO Signal from the AVR, and I have read all the above posts and tried set the Ndivida control panel per suggestion, it still not working. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.

By the way, my audio sound great, just the screen is blank.

What happens when you run an HDMI cable from the HTPC to the TV without the AVR in between? does the display work then?
this will tell you if the AVR is the problem or if it is a settings issue with your HTPC.

You can uninstall the NVidia driver package and reinstall the latest driver package to reset the video card settings. Run the Latest NVidia installer, select custom install, check the box for a clean install and finish the installation.

Did you install any codec packs lately?
newfiend~

[rock88]

newfiend, the TV and computer works fine without the AVR, windows 7 will boots, the video signal is lost after the user login, so it appears that the problem is with Nvidia driver, I have tried different version, as far back as 301.42 for the GT630, and I have not install any codec packs lately. The audio still work thru the AVR, jsy no video signal from the AVR, if I disconnect the HDMI cable and connect directly to the TV. No Problem. wonder it has to do with some windows automatic updates?

[newfiend]

newfiend, the TV and computer works fine without the AVR, windows 7 will boots, the video signal is lost after the user login, so it appears that the problem is with Nvidia driver, I have tried different version, as far back as 301.42 for the GT630, and I have not install any codec packs lately. The audio still work thru the AVR, jsy no video signal from the AVR, if I disconnect the HDMI cable and connect directly to the TV. No Problem. wonder it has to do with some windows automatic updates?

Check something on your HTPC for me please and answer the questions below when you can.

Are you in the US or UK etc? (What country do you live in?)

Try This below:
Turn the HTPC OFF.
Turn it back on, During boot hit the F8 key on your keyboard. Select the option to boot in safe mode. This should make your PC boot with a limited driver set.
Once you get to the windows desktop click Start, Control panel, Nvidia Control Panel
On the left column click Change resolution
On the Right please tell me what your current Resolution Settings and Refresh Rate are.
You want these to match the Maximum Resolution of your Display. For example mine is set to 1080p, 1920 x 1080 (native) (as I have a 1080p display) And my Refresh Rate is 60hz. (Even though my TV has a refresh rate of 120Hz you want it set to 60Hz) If you have changed that at any point please reset it to 60Hz if you live in the U.S.)
Let me know what your settings and country origin are and I'll try and help you with this.

If your HTPC is sending a video signal to the TV fine without your AVR connected, you may want to look into the AVR settings. See if you can reset them to factory defaults. Try different HDMI Input ports on the AVR, see if maybe you just have a bad HDMI port on the AVR. Does the AVR have the latest Firmware available installed? Can it even be updated? If the Video Signal coming out of the HTPC is fine when connected to the TV then that points to the AVR being the problem here.
HTH,
newfiend~

[rock88]

Thank you newfiend for your response, I am in Ontario Canada, I have checked my current screen resolution, it is set as 1080p, 1920 x 1080 (native) and the refresh rate is 60hz, the problem most likely is in the side of the AVR which is a Yamaha RX-V667, will try to update the firmware and report back. The funny thing is, it was working well for sometime till mid April, some auto update in windows caused it to stop working.

[erkotz]

I've seen some Samsung TVs do weird things when HDCP is turned on/off

[newfiend]

Thank you newfiend for your response, I am in Ontario Canada, I have checked my current screen resolution, it is set as 1080p, 1920 x 1080 (native) and the refresh rate is 60hz, the problem most likely is in the side of the AVR which is a Yamaha RX-V667, will try to update the firmware and report back. The funny thing is, it was working well for sometime till mid April, some auto update in windows caused it to stop working.

Please report back on the results of your testing/firmware update etc. please. It could be that your AVR has just developed a problem. Is it under warranty? Do you have any other device that requires HDCP to work correctly that you can hook up to the AVR to see if it has the same issue? (ie. Blu-Ray player etc.) If so connect it to the same HDMI port used by the HTPC and see if it may be a hardware issue with the AVR.
HTH,
newfiend~

[bradders]

I've recently posted a few threads trying to rectify some video issues in a case where a couple of new components were introduced and I was not sure ( still not sure actually) what caused the issue........HOWEVER..................the answer to my woes appears to be .....wait for it........................

Radeon 6450.

There, I said it!

Now - I am sure there's a LOT LOT LOT more to that than my kind-of-tongue-in-cheek answer, but in my case it's true.

I did nothing other than install the $40, Radeon (ASUS) 6450 and associated drivers and all the crap I'd been putting up with has gone! Last night was my first of recorded/live/SD/HD/Netflix stutter free TV in 3-4 weeks......

Now I have no stuttering, no blanking, no artifacts, no occasional horizontal lines .........- nothing! just video............go figure.

Seriously, it seems to me there's NO DEFINITIVE ANSWER at all once you leave your original configuration - once BIOS revs and Win updates etc start moving at different speeds and then adding a new component/update etc, it all becomes an art and not a science.

Fact is - it's all too hard, and shouldn't be that's the shame of it all.

My "fix" may not fix your issue, my ideal solid video card and driver combo, may not suit your set up, I still may have some internal nonsense going on that you don't see - but right now I am solid and stable and going nowhere hear ANYTHING.........for now at least.

thanks for all your input - and I mean that - I love MCE and have for years but really, it is just too hard for anyone other than the brave or foolhardy to get involved with.....Let's hope MS doesn't blow it to pieces too soon.............peace.

[Moderator note: topic merged]

[Mike88]

The HD6450 worked for me too. I had stuttering with some SD OTA recordings. I could play the recording over & over and the stutter always occurred at exactly the same spot. Looking at some stats it showed a 59/29 frame blip at the stutter. The HD6450 fixed it.

FWIW I only saw the stutter when playing back with WMC7, never with WMPlayer or MPC-HC.

[rock88]

Please report back on the results of your testing/firmware update etc. please. It could be that your AVR has just developed a problem. Is it under warranty? Do you have any other device that requires HDCP to work correctly that you can hook up to the AVR to see if it has the same issue? (ie. Blu-Ray player etc.) If so connect it to the same HDMI port used by the HTPC and see if it may be a hardware issue with the AVR.
HTH,
newfiend~

I have checked all the HDMI ports in the AVR with the same result, checked the AVR firmware, its the latest version. so I use my notebook's HDMI port connected with the AVR, the TV and system works perfectly, it confirmed my suspicion that was massed up by Windows 7 Pro auto update, since I don't have a reset point before that update, so I have to re-installed window7 Pro, fortunately, I have partition the boot C drive with only the windows 7 system, so I didn't loose much. To make a long story short, its worked fine after the re-install, so Windows strikes again. Lol.
Thanks for all your help and advise.
Rock

[newfiend]

Well I'm glad you figured it out.. Sometimes software doesn't always work they way it's supposed to. I have had my share of formats and re-installs as well. Just as a helpful hint If you have a stable system now and everything is working fine, do a system image of your main OS drive. Next time it farts out on you format and restore the drive from the system image (if you don't do this already). It makes getting back up and running MUCH faster. Glad you got it fixed and it didn't include a bad AVR.
newfiend~