When I try to play video using Plex HTPC all I get is a blank black screen, most of the time… The audio will play but no image.
The image will flicker on the screen, see this video for an example: 20250614_215638 - At about the 20/21 second mark the image flashes on the screen for a split second before disappearing.
Videos play fine if I use something like Windows Media Player. It is only in Plex HTPC that I experience this issue.
I haven’t changed any settings prior to this issue occurring.
I have tried:
Rebooted the machine Plex HTPC runs on - No change
Enabling and disabling “Resolution Switching” and “HDR Switching” in the “Video” settings menu - No change
I am running Plex HTPC on Windows 11 machine on a AMD Ryzen 7 8700G with 16 GB RAM, connected to an LG C1 OLED TV.
Has anyone experienced this issue, know how to resolve it, or can help to troubleshoot further? I’m not sure where to go from here or what to look at next.
It’s not the Re-Size BAR BIOS Setting, I checked and it was already enabled in my BIOS. I tried turning it off and this did not resolve the issue. I turned it back on and the issue is still present.
I have tried every video playback quality setting and none of the settings made any difference, i.e. the issue was still present when I tried each setting.
I don’t have another HDMI cable to try, plus it’s not easy to swap out HDMI cables on a wall mounted TV. I doubt it is the cable.
I should also mention I already tried reinstalling the graphics drivers and that failed to resolve the issue.
The weird thing is some videos play without any issues, for example I am binging King Of The Hill and I can watch KOTH ok without any issues. But if I try to watch Ghost in The Shell, which i watched a few weeks ago without any issue, then Plex HTPC shἰts the bed and flashes images on the screen like it’s a fụcking strobe light at a rave party.
I suspect it has something to do with HDR because if I stop a video and go back to the Plex HTPC GUI then in the top right hand corner of my TV I see a HDR icon/indicator, see this video for clarification: 20250614_220356
Got any other suggestions? Because I am fresh out of ideas except for plex is a pile of.shἰt that has gone backwards and is slowly being enshi
No issues here and Plex HTPC is playing everything I throw at it (HDR content included).
I am on Win 11, RTX4060.
Note that current server version I am using is Version 1.41.8.9834. You said Ver 4.146.0 which is the Plex Web version, not the server version.
What power settings do you have on the Windows machine ?
What AMD video settings do you use for the LG (RGB 8 bit full etc)
Have you made any recent changes on the Plex server such as video acceleration or transcoding or forcing direct play ?
Have you tried to disable freesync on the GPU and also any gsync/freesync settings on the LG ? Sounds like a sync issue/VRR but also wonder if some settings have changed on the Plex Server side. There have also been some recent Windows 11 media extensions updates btw.
Do you have an AVR in the chain ?
I know my ancient Denon is still running HDMI 2.0b so I have to run at 8 bit and 4k/60 only or I will get screen drops. Especially with HDR content and with subs pushed through as well.
I don’t use HDR in Windows 11 as it still isn’t implemented well. Plex HTPC will play HDR as needed without Win 11 getting involved.
Edit - oh and are you streaming from the sever over wifi or ethernet or is it on the same machine as Plex HTPC.
Worth trying a new HDMI cord direct into the TV (run it externally just for now) although I know you said it is difficult. At least try and reseat the cables with gear off (never hot swap HDMI).
I have made no changes to any Plex HTPC or Plex Server settings prior to the issue occurring. Everything was working fine so I had no reason to change any settings. I have tried changing settings AFTER the issue occured but none of the settings changes have resolved the issue.
Game mode (or whatever the crap LG calls it) is disabled on the TV.
It makes no difference whether FreeSync is enabled or disabled on the PC. I have tried with and without FreeSync enabled and I have the same problem regardless if FreeSync is enabled or disabled.
These are the Windows Updates I have installed this month.
IIRC I did install a Windows update around the same time I started experiencing this issue so I tried uninstalling the last few Windows Updates updates, rebooted the machine, but this failed to resolve the issue.
There is no AVR in the chain. I do have the machine connected to an Rotel A14 MK 2 AMP.
One of the first things I tried was disabling HRD in Windows but that made no difference.
I always use Ethernet whenever I can, WiFi is rubbish and I always avoid it when Ethernet is an option.
Plex Server and Plex HTPC are installed on the same machine. Never had an issue with it configured this way.
Wish me luck! This is going to be a royal PITA so I hope that it’s the HDMI cable and replacing it resolves the issue. It is possible it’s the cable, although I think it is unlikely but then having said that I have had an Ethernet cable go bad on me despite nothing being done to the cable. Either way I’ll give it a go so I can cross it off the list of things I have tried to troubleshoot/resolve the issue.
It’s possible that (although I don’t know how likely it is) the TV is the issue, so another troubleshooting option is to reset the TV to the factory default settings.
You missed the point, Don't hot swap....@JohnAlex has it spot on.
A new cable is one of first things to try in resolving a HDMI Handshake conflict.
So reading the Discussion in context. Worth trying a new HDMI cord direct into the TV (run it externally just for now) although I know you said it is difficult. At least try and reseat the cables with gear off (never hot swap HDMI).
Balanced is preferred TBH especially with Intel. Fair amount of discussion on that topic on the boards,
Are you using HDMI 2.0b or HDMI 2.1 ?
I was unable to get Plex HTPC to run with YCbCr 4:4:4 but that is with a Denon in the chain that uses HDMI 2.0b (even with HDMI passthrough on). Video would fall over especially with HDR/subs/4k. Lost signal, video flashes, corruption. Audio would play but no video. I run RGB full 8 bit with all processing off in the Denon and new HDMI cables (HDMI 2.0b certified).
If you are pushing content through HDMI 2.0b, things can fall apart easily with high bitrate material with subs etc, especially with 4:4:4.
There was a recent update to the server and HTPC apps so I would recheck settings as some got changed my end, without me touching them. HW acceleration for example (which may need to be off with AMD, well was the case for my previous rig that had an AMD GPU, RX580) was disabled but necessary for my NVidia 4060 .
No, not Windows updates, media codecs (via the MS app store).
Turns out it was the HDMI port on the TV had gone bad which I have never seen happen before.
Powering off the TV and HTPC then reseating the HDMI cable in port #1 didn’t fix the issue. So I powered everything off again. Unplugged the HDMI cable from port #1 on the TV and plugged the HDMI cable into HDMI port #2 on the TV, powered everything on again, tested and BINGO! Problem resolved.
I am happy it was a simple solution but I’m an idiot for not trying a different HDMI port on the TV sooner!
The thing that was confusing me was that I could still play any King Of The Hill episodes fine, but a video I already watched without any issues the week before was giving me problems, i.e. flashing images randomly.
Anyway thank you all for your help and suggestions! I appreciate it!
So the real solution is to disable “Ultra HD Deep Color” by going to:
All Settings > General > Devices > HDMI Settings
Note that you can only disable the setting for the current input.
The issue wasn’t the HDMI port gone bad. The issue was that my dumb smart TV decided to turn on “Ultra HD Deep Color” setting without notifying me. That’s why I was seeing the HDR icon/indicator in the top right corner of the screen. Fuсk you LG!
I love how there isn’t a “No” or “Cancel” option… Fuϲk you again LG! So I clicked OK then I tried to watch another video and the original problem was back! But atleast I knew which setting to disable this time.
