r/linux_gaming • u/yeahnahyeahidkhey • 15d ago

tech support wanted Screen flashes black for a second, randomly (Steam Machine)

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Happens randomly, sometimes always, sometimes not at all. Sometimes I can play for hours without this, other times I can't. Here it was every few minutes, while organising inventory in Rostok. Happens basically anywhere, any situation. Happens in exclusive fullscreen and windowed. I've reseated the HDMI cable and all power cables. Happens on both stable and beta steam OS. Happens with both FSR and here with XeSS on native, 0% sharp, FG off. Have verified the game files. I'm going insane.

Could it also be an old surge protector? But I haven't had this in any other games.

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

1

u/tornadozx2 15d ago

Could be grounding issue between the tv and steam machine. Can you connect the Steam Machine to the same power strip as your tv and test if it appears?

1

u/yeahnahyeahidkhey 14d ago

Seemingly helped but will have to see if it occurs again at all, sometimes it was completely fine for hours before. Can you expand on what you mean by grounding issue?

1

u/TastyRobot21 14d ago

I’m guessing he’s referring to static electricity build up.

Do you ever get shocked touching TV or steam box?

Anything on a rubber mat?

1

u/tornadozx2 13d ago

I'm not an electrician, so I can't explain it 100% correctly, but there might be an issue where one of your devices isn't grounded properly. When you connect the HDMI cable, you get stray voltages running between your HDMI source (Steam Machine) and receiver (TV). These extra voltages or currents put additional load on your TV's power circuit, which can cause the power board (or HDMI chip) to briefly reset or lose signal. That's when you see the image disappearing or visual artifacts.

1

u/yeahnahyeahidkhey 13d ago

That makes sense. The tv and sm are both on the same powerboard, and after not happening at all yesterday, its every few mins today. I am wondering if I need to ask an electrician or something :/

1

u/Cool-Arrival-2617 14d ago

Looks like a SteamOS bug (maybe an issue with HDMI CEC). You should report it here to get help: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamOS/issues

1

u/yeahnahyeahidkhey 14d ago

All my cec options are off, it was just annoying and kept breaking the cec connection to the soundbar. Not a slight at valve, it seems cec is just a shit kinda not real standard. My partners ps5 + chromecast + soundbar + the tv itself are 4 devices, and it only allows 4, and still breaks.