Spectrum | Screen Blanking Issue

[MarvyMarvz]

Ohayō min’na!

As you guys may know, we are going through an exciting time here at Eve; with v106 around the corner, we would like to cross as many obstacles as possible. This is not an easy task, as we’ve received multiple improvements and new requests from you, the community, and need to consider many things, such as time. Some fixes take longer to implement than others, with this being one of them, ​so smooth sailing from here on out.

Some users have reported experiencing blanking and flickering issues. Though it only happens for a small group of users, it is important that we look into this so we can resolve it. To that end, we have set up this topic for people experiencing blanking, as well as its sister topic for people who are experiencing a similar but different issue of flickering.

What do we actually mean by blanking?

When we refer to blanking, we mean that the screen goes completely black for a period longer than a second, sometimes longer than 3 seconds. If it happens in the space of milliseconds, it will probably be so fast that the blanking looks more like a flicker, and we have a separate topic for that. Note that the differentiation between blanking and flickering may seem like we’re splitting hairs, but typically blanking affects the entire display, whereas flickering can be partial or full screen.

Does this sound familiar?

If you are experiencing flickering symptoms instead of this, please click here.
If you are experiencing both, please fill out both polls.

NOTE: Please ensure Adaptive-Sync / VRR (depending upon connection type) is enabled in the monitor OSD under Performance > Adaptive-Sync / VRR. Then, enable G-SYNC / FreeSync on your NVIDIA Control Panel / AMD Radeon Settings.

How often are you experiencing blanking?

• Never
• Rarely
• Sometimes
• Often
• Always

Device type

• PC / Laptop (Windows)
• Apple Mac (macOS)
• Console (PS / Xbox)

Driver version & method of install

• Current (standard install)
• Current (clean install)
• Not current (standard install)
• Not current (clean install)
• Console default

Gaming type

• Fullscreen (console users pick this)
• Windowed fullscreen
• Windowed non fullscreen

GPU

• RTX 30 Series
• RTX 20 Series
• Older Nvidia cards
• AMD 6000 Series
• AMD 5000 Series
• Older AMD cards
• Intel UHD Series
• Intel Iris Xe Series
• Console default GPU

Connection type

• DisplayPort
• HDMI
• USB Type-C / Thunderbolt

As previously stated, some fixes take longer to implement, than others, due to the nature of the issue. Without knowing the exact cause, it’s challenging to identify where the problem lies. We will use the results from this topic and work closely with the firmware team to look into resolving this.

Peace

[brightonBreezy]

I didn’t answer the “Gaming type” question as I’m not a gamer although I do occasionally find both my Spectrums blank for a few seconds as per the first question.

Also, there’s no distinction in the poll for Studio vs Game Ready NVidia drivers (I’m on the latest Studio version).

[kaum]

I am not sure if you mean by blanking that the screnn is nlot waking up anymore after some standby time?
I have often the impression that in my case there is some misbehaviour in Windows with Windows Hello and then standby freezes and the computer needs to be restartet and the monitors too…
It maybe a different issue - if so, then I change my “often” to none - because I only have issues with blanking screen in Windows/monitors standby

[NZgeek]

The screen not waking from sleep is a different issue.

What they’re asking about here is where the screen goes black during normal usage, and then stays black for a period of N seconds before coming back. It’s a major concern when playing games, because the length of the screen blanking is often enough to get you killed.

[brightonBreezy]

@NZgeek

the length of the screen blanking is often enough to get you killed.

It’s a good thing that the screen blanking while just doing the day job doesn’t get you killed!

[kaum]

Thanks I changed from often to none…

[Edocsil2020]

Originally I though fw105 fixed this for me, it’s not fixed but reduced. I have three Eve Spectrum ES07Do3 and it appears to blank most on two out of the three monitors. I am sure after I type this it will blank on the third monitor

[beehut]

This is much more noticeable when I’m using davinci resolve to color grade footage for some reason. I’m using DP 1.4 and i’m running a GTX1080 w/ adaptive sync and g-sync enabled - and all the latest drivers (v105 for the monitor). Screen blanked out 3 times within a 2 minute period

[Grant_Kot]

Hi, another issue I’m sometimes coming across is screen tearing that stays until I power cycle. It’s not a temporary split that you typically see when Vsync is off. Also, unlike vsync, where the tear is horizontal, this tear is vertical, and things on the screen are actually shifted up/down. It seems to be happening to my screen at an increasing rate.

[Cas]

@Grant_Kot

Is the vertical tear happening on a fixed location each time?

[Grant_Kot]

Not always the same place, but maybe there are a few familiar places it’s more likely to split than others. I will take a picture next time it happens. I’ve had VRR on and response time overdrive set to high for some time and I just turned Response time overdrive off (but leaving VRR on) to see if I’ll still experience the vertical tear.

[Cas]

Sure, let me know how changing the settings turn out. Updating the firmware (if you haven’t already) might also help.

Another thing you might want to try is to take a screenshot of when the tear takes place. If it results in a perfect screenshot with no tearing, then there is a possibility that the cable is faulty.

[Azlar987]

Running a RTX3090/Intel CPU on Win10 via HDMI with Gsync/vrr enaged on v511.79 / monitor firmware 105/SDR (HDR is black/white only);

• if I select 144/120hz refresh rate in nvidia panel, screen blanks happens randomly in games and general usuage
• if I select 60hz in nvidia panel, no blankng issues have occured in a month.

Good luck finding this blanking issue for the next firmware release to allow the full refresh rate

[jonwatso]

105 Defitnely improved the issue, however feels like its back again.

Display port 1.4 with a 6900XT which is all up to date.

[AkujiTheSniper]

I’ve been playing Elden Ring on borderless fullscreen on my RTX 3080 and eventually I started getting blanking, but not early on. Eventually it slowly started happening occasionally, then once every 2 minutes or so which was when I had to stop and save because it was actively ruining my gameplay. Hopefully this gets resolved. I’m on version 105 btw.

[barron]

Hopefully this poll helps to narrow down the blanking issue.

Some interesting antidotes I noticed:

• Of all of the users that voted, a much higher percentage I expected are experiencing VRR screen blanking
• The blanking issue occurs on both AMD and Nvidia leading to a potential VRR firmware bug in the monitor itself
• Both DisplayPort and HDMI users are experiencing the issue at around the same percentage meaning that how your display is connected doesn’t seem to matter
• Running a game in either Fullscreen and Windows Fullscreen doesn’t seem to matter

I feel like the best place to start may be to potentially contact the users who have never had screen blanking as they seem to be the minority here and see what may make their setups different.

Another option may be to potentially ask a few more questions such as which Spectrum firmware users are running or even which version of Windows 10 they may are running (though it might not matter).

I really hope this gets solved it looks like a tough one.

[Cas]

Hi @barron,

It is tricky indeed. Sometimes the variables are just so many for us to narrow down. Some people without issues may have same setup as those who does (with maybe slight variation which may not easily be determined). But you brought up an interesting point with VRR bug.

Regardless, this is still a work in progress. Thank you everyone for the feedback as it is very valuable for us to try to find out the culprit!

[Epos7]

Thank you for making this topic. I experience blanking several times a day, as well as persistent flickering when I set the display to 144Hz. I have also responded to the flickering topic.

My Spectrum will sometimes stay blank when I wake my computer. Sometimes pressing the menu button on the Spectrum will cause it to start displaying, other times I will need to power cycle it.

Other time, the Spectrum will just go blank during use. Typically in this case I will need to power cycle it for the picture to return.

In either case, I think it’s important to note the backlight also turns off when the screen blanks.

I have a third issue of the Spectrum backlight not turning off when my computer sleeps. I wonder if we should have a third topic for that, or if not many people are experiencing it?

[danclaudiupop]

Mac M1 Max, 105 firmware with thunderbolt 3 – im able to run at 144hz but im experiencing random blanking. Runs without a problem at 60hz.

[8BiTw0LF]

My Eve often blanks for like 10 seconds when entering PS5&PS4 games - and when I’m changing input (PC>PS5 & vice versa) it’s the same deal. Would be nice with a fix.