I have a surface pro 8 and for the past week I'm having trouble with video playback, every time the text subtitle disappears from the screen it will cause a flicker, like the image shifts down for a ms.
After some extensive research i ended up here as a last resort, the problem is years old and with no aparent fix in sight, some have fixed with drivers updates, some have not, most just give up. Every post about this issue here or on reddit ( this is an example with the exact problem i have from 1 year ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/1b92qi1/studio_2_screen_will_flicker_whenever_watching/ ) ends with no actual cause for this problem or a proper fix, I did multiple windows reinstalls from surface image recovery to latest "norma" win 11 iso, different intel drivers from standard surface one to latest intel, no updates to insider program. I literally can't fine a way to have HW decoding running normally ( edge and HW decode it's needed because surfaces have like 3-4H of battery life even with this combination, with was best so far for battery ) while playing back a video with text subs.
I'd apreciate any feedback on this and please... skip the rutine answer with " have you tried updating to the latest x ?" I can't be more up to date unless you can provide drivers from the future.
Attached the video with the exact problem from the link if you don't want to click it.
連結已複製
Hi HaoSs,
Thank you for sharing this via the community.
To better understand your issue, I have a few questions below. Please provide your answers:
- What streaming site are you experiencing the issue with?
- What is the current version of your graphics driver?
- Does the flickering issue occur on only one streaming site or multiple?
Looking forward to your response.
Best regards,
John Sergio M.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Hello,
1) I only tested using jellyfin.
2) 32.0.101.6651
3) Only use jellyfin but ill try to do a test on netflix also.
A update on the problem, after more testing, it only happens with battery saver on, also, if i turn it off and back on it works normally until the end of the stream. Turning off any form of battery saving in the intel app does nothing.
Using flags and turning the angle graphics backend from default to D11onD12 also fixes the flicker, but it seems youtube does not like that setting much, it will play some videos with SW decoding.
Hi HaoSs,
Thank you for answering my question. Please allow me some time to further investigate why you're experiencing flickering while streaming in Jellyfin.
Once I’ve completed my testing, I’ll get back to you.
Best regards,
John Sergio M.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Hello HaoSs,
I have a few clarifications regarding this issue.
- Has this issue occurred before?
- Were there any changes made to your computer before this issue started?
To help isolate the problem, please try the following step:
- Disable hardware acceleration in your browser settings:
- Open your browser
- Go to Settings > System
- Toggle Use hardware acceleration when available to disable
Please let me know if the issue persists after trying this step.
Best regards,
John Sergio M.
Intel Customer Support Technician
1. Before.. Reinstalling windows ? No. Only started to happen with a fresh install.
2. Changed the SSD from a 256 to a 1TB + fresh windows install ( multiple ones tested )
Disabling HW acceleration will stop the flicker, but the battery usage goes up by a lot.
Netflix does not flicker.
D11toD12 brakes HEVC decoding so I ended up with burning in the subtitle with transcoding in JF. For now. Latest graphic update from yesterday also did not make any difference.
Hello HaoSs,
Thank you for answering my questions and attempting the troubleshooting step I provided. Please give me enough time to investigate this issue internally. I’ll update you as soon as I have more information.
Best regards,
John Sergio M.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Thanks for trying to troubleshoot this problem.
I'm trying to narrow down the use case as much as possible, seems a very niche "bug".
This is my normal way to reproduce it.
- Installed latest available windows 11 on surface 8
- Do all the updates to windows and drivers
- Unplug power/put surface in battery saving ( also accept all power recommendations from the battery settings menu).
- Play a video with jellyfin on edge/chrome.
- Load a text subtitle ( not burned or image)
- 10 seconds in the movie the flicker starts to happen every time the subtitle disappears from the screen.
Hello HaoSs,
I have a few clarifications regarding this case:
- Have you updated your device to the latest version? If not, please update it using the Surface Pro 8 Drivers and Firmware.
- I recommend sticking with the OEM driver for your device. While you can use the Intel package, keep in mind that doing so may overwrite the custom settings provided by the OEM.
- Have you tested playing a video from internal storage or a USB drive (connected to the Surface) to compare its performance against Jellyfin?
- Have you tried watching the same video on other devices (mobile, tablet, PC, or laptop) to check for differences?
- Are you using WLAN or LAN (with any adapters for LAN)?
- Have you noticed any network issues or heavy traffic that could be affecting playback (not caused by your device)?
Let me know your findings!
Best regards,
John Sergio M.
Intel Customer Support Technician
1 and 2 ) Yes, also does this with the surface pro driver from MS.
3) Works fine on VLC, error is chromium only it seems.
4) Yes, on other PC works perfectly, but the hardware is verry different, also no battery, the problem above happens on battery with energy saver ON ( if i turn energy saver OFF the problem goes away ).
5) Wlan only. i don't have a usb-C adaptor but i'm not sure it will make a difference. 🤔
6) No heavy traffic. The video gets buffered and even if i kill the network i still get some playback with problem until the buffer runs out.
Hello HaoSs,
This issue might be related to Jellyfin rather than the device. For your reference, please check this link.
In the meantime, please allow me some time to reinvestigate this issue internally. I will update you as soon as I have more information.
Best regards,
John Sergio M.
Intel Customer Support Technician
That is the HW acceleration on the server side, I have that set up and working just fine when i need transcoding, the problem happens with direct playback when the txt subtitle is handled by the client. ( If I force transcoding I have the subtitle burned in, so I get no flicker )
I think it's related to chromium rendering the subtitle when unplugged power saving is ON, But I don't know what changes to the power saving plan going from plugged to unplugged.
Chromium / unplugged / power saving on = flicker
Chromium / plugged / power saving on = no flicker
Chromium / unplugged / power saving off = no flicker
Hello HaoSs,
Thank you for the update. To further investigate the power-saving issue, I will also conduct an internal review to determine other possible reasons why the display flickers when the computer is unplugged and power saving is enabled.
In the meantime, please check your email, as I have sent a request for additional system information that will help me better understand and address this issue.
Best regards,
John Sergio M.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Hi @HaoSs
I wanted to let you know that I will be handling your case from this point forward to ensure we resolve the issue as efficiently as possible.
Based on the information you've provided; it seems that the problem may be related to the energy saver options on your device. These settings can sometimes affect hardware acceleration, leading to reduced performance and flickering.
To address this, I recommend trying the following steps:
- Open Device Manager on your Surface device.
- Locate your WLAN device and go to its properties.
- In the Advanced tab, adjust the power-related settings.
- Test your device with the power-saving profile enabled to see if the issue persists.
Additionally, you may have noticed that VLC media player is not affected by these performance issues. This is because VLC uses its own codecs, ensuring that videos are played smoothly without relying on the device's hardware acceleration.
Please let me know if these steps help improve the performance of your device.
Regards,
Randy T.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Hi @HaoSs
If the issue still persists, it would be best to create a ticket with Microsoft Support for assistance.
Regards,
Randy T.
Intel Customer Support Technician
Hi @HaoSs
Since I haven't heard from you, I will proceed with closing this case. Please note that it will no longer be monitored. However, you may submit a new ticket if you need further assistance in the future.
Regards,
Randy T.
Intel Customer Support Technician
