Intermittent Black Screen

Like many users, I am having issues with my screen regularly going black for 5-10 seconds. I have been researching this issue for quite a while and found that the cause is the video settings of the Master X1 cable box. If you are set to 16:9 1080p60 HD (the best picture setting) the screen will go blank on a regular basis, if you adjust the video quality down to 16:9 1080I HD it will happen rarely, if you go down to 16:9 720p HD it will not happen at all.

I have seen replies from Comcast to this issue saying that the problem is likely the HDMI cable or some other connection issue. This is not the case. The issue is entirely related to the software driver for the video output. Comcast have not addressed this issue at all and it is about time that they did, otherwise stop advertising support for these enhanced video quality levels.

If comcast are monitoring this thread, please reply with when an update will be released to address this issue.

Responses

CCAlisha

Problem Solver

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571 Messages

3 years ago

Hello, @user_65b015 and welcome to our Xfinity Community Forum's! I appreciate you taking the time to update with your experience. But sad to see you were having troubles with your TV screen going black on you.

There can be several factors causing the issue you are describing. In many cases it can be caused from a loose connection, bad HDMI cable, or just needing a simple reset due to connection. Are you having any other troubles with your cable services? Do you experience the black screen on from all boxes?

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user_65b015

Visitor

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4 Messages

@XfinityAlisha

No I only experience this from the master box, I have changed HDMI cables, I have switched the box to another TV and the problem continued. The problem stops when I reduce the HD video quality. My Father-in-Law has the exact same problem on his cable box as well. This is an Xfinity issue, and has happened to many people (see this forum so the same issue). Every time Xfinity says it is a HDMI cable issue, I have proved multiple times that it is not, so is it possible that someone at Xfinity can investigate the problem and come back with a solution? The solution I suspect is a software fix within the Xfinity box.

3 years ago

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CCAlisha

Problem Solver

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571 Messages

@user_65b015 I would be more than happy to investigate this further with you. Every case is not alike, and many times this happens due to a loose connection or bad connection. Let's see what is happening with your box. Please send us a direct message with your full name and address to assist!

To send a Direct Message:

Ensure you are logged in

Click the "Direct Messaging" icon or https://comca.st/2ZRcwuf

Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon

The "To:" line prompts you to "Type the name of a person". Instead, type "Xfinity Support" there.

- As you are typing a drop-down list appears. Select "Xfinity Support" from that list.

- An "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line.

Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window

Press Enter to send it

(Credit to @BruceW)

I no longer work for Comcast.

3 years ago

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JAWS_2

Frequent Visitor

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10 Messages

3 years ago

Did you ever get a resolution to this? I can confirm I’m having the exact same issue and the only way to resolve it is to reduce the resolution to 16:9 720p. This started happening for us when Comcast forced us to swap the dvr box in order to access certain apps like Disney+. The new box looks identical to the old one but does have a different model number and does indeed allow those apps to work. Have tried removing power from the box, a system refresh and using new hdmi cables with no luck. We have no problem with the TV when using our Roku.

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XfinityChristy

Official Employee

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1.6K Messages

I am sorry that this has been this issue with your new X1 box. When is the last time you saw this happen?

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

3 years ago

0

JAWS_2

Frequent Visitor

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10 Messages

2 days ago. It hasn’t happened since I changed the resolution to 720p. If I increase it to 1080p it happens within minutes.

(edited)

3 years ago

CCEthan

Official Employee

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1.4K Messages

I assume you are using the HDMI that came with the DVR box or your own that is HDMI 2.0b or above? Go ahead and direct message your name and address and we can look into getting you a different model.

Make sure you are signed in.

1. In the top right corner, you'll see a little chat icon(direct message) near the bell icon. 2. Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon

2. Hit the compose button to the right of "conversations"

3. In the 'To' line, type "Xfinity Support" there. A drop-down list appears. Select "Xfinity Support" from that list (an "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line)

4. Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window

5. Press Enter to send it. An official employee, such as myself or whoever is first available, will respond. Thanks!

I no longer work for Comcast.

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

3 years ago

0

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user_15fb31

Visitor

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3 Messages

@JAWS_2 it actually looks like the black screen stopped when setting to 1080p. Still crazy tho that I need to do this considering I have a 4K tv

3 years ago

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user_da4d45

Visitor

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1 Message

3 years ago

I have same problem and the only thing that fixed it was switch the display size as suggested here. This has been going on and son and on! Switched box, switched cables… same intermittent blank screen . I found this article and changed video display as suggested and now , finally this problem stopped.

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user_15fb31

Visitor

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3 Messages

3 years ago

is there a noticeable difference in video quality when you switch it down to 720p? What’s the point of having a 4K tv if you can only use 720p resolution lol

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stevomatic2000

Visitor

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1 Message

3 years ago

We have been having this intermittent black screen and blanked sound for about 3 months now. We just recently went though a complete technician-directed system checkout/remediation-attempt and the problem is still occurring. Prior to about 3-4 months ago (just a guess) this same TV and cable box combination did not have this problem, leading me to believe it began with a cable box software update. Please do investigate this and fix it.

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XfinityEricB

Official Employee

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1.7K Messages

Hello @stevomatic2000! We certainly don't want this issue with video/sound to continue for you. I would be happy to look into a resolution to the problem for you! Can you send us a private message with your full name, name of account holder (if different) and service address? To send a private message, please click the chat icon next to the bell in the upper right corner. Click the “notepad and pen” button. Send the full message to our shared support handle “Xfinity Support”. We look forward to hearing from you!

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

3 years ago

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user_65b015

Visitor

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4 Messages

3 years ago

I finally got this issue resolved. I switched out the master DVR for an Arris XG1v4. I installed it, updated the software and the issue was resolved. I can happily watch without any issues with the setting at its highest. This also works when using any of the 3rd party apps like Netflix. Prime and YouTube etc through the cable box.

Hope this will work for everyone.

(edited)

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user_15fb31

Visitor

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3 Messages

3 years ago

Is that a new box? I have the similar box and it does the black screen thing. It’s super annoying especially for how much we are getting ripped off monthly.

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user_65b015

Visitor

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4 Messages

3 years ago

Yes it's a brand new box, which needed a software upgrade when I connected it. After that is has been working perfectly.

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user_65b015

Intermittent Black Screen

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