NUC8i5BEK - HDMI Audio Drops out after a couple of Seconds, HDMI Video Black Screen Flash

[ericf]

Hello all, 

        I have updated to the latest BIOS, HDMI Firmware and drivers. My setup is as follows: 

NUC8i5 -> Denon AVR-790 -> Panasonic 

There are two issues I am fighting with: 

1) Whenever I browse to Netflix through Chrome or any other browser, my Screen flashes black and then comes back to normal. This is not too much of an issue however I would like it not to do this. 

2) When I first boot to Windows initially the Audio is at Normal levels, however after a couple of test dings the Audio drops out. I am able to set my AVR to a level of 19dB and I hear audio but this is a large level. Typically when the NUC first boots the level is at -28dB and the sound is at a normal level. 

I have updated to all the latest firmwares and drivers but nothing has fixed these two issues. 

Thanks, 

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello ericf, 

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.   

In order to better assist you, please provide the following: 

1. Run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) and attach the report generated:   

• Open the application, check the "Everything" box, and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View".    
• Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".    
• To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save".    
• Use the option under the reply window to attach the report to the thread (Drag and drop here or browse files to attach).   

2. Provide the Report for Intel® Graphics Drivers, follow this link.  

3. Did these features used to work before? If yes, did you make any changes before the issue started?  

4. Have you isolated the problem to the NUC by testing different HDMI cables and HDMI devices (monitor, AVR)? 

5. Is this problem only happening when using the Denon AVR? What happens if you connect the NUC to a monitor only? 

Regards, 

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[ericf]

Hello, 

1. Run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) and attach the report generated:   

• I have attached the report to this post. 

2. Provide the Report for Intel® Graphics Drivers, follow this link.

•   I ran this but there was no bug to generate a report through the Graphics Command Center

3. Did these features used to work before? If yes, did you make any changes before the issue started?  

• No these HDMI issues have been always present. Before I wasn't able to play videos with older driver versions, but this latest driver did make the video playing stable. 

4. Have you isolated the problem to the NUC by testing different HDMI cables and HDMI devices (monitor, AVR)? 

• I have connected other devices and the audio doesn't drop out with this specific NUC, however I built my own SFF PC using Intel DH57JG and I have no such issues with my own build. 

5. Is this problem only happening when using the Denon AVR? What happens if you connect the NUC to a monitor only? 

• It does only happen with the Denon AVR, however I am confused as to why it would work normally for a couple of seconds then drop out.  I built my own SFF PC using Intel DH57JG and I have no such issues with my own build. 

Thanks

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello ericf,  

Thank you for your reports.  

Please allow us to investigate this behavior internally.  

In the meantime, please verify the following: 

You mentioned you updated HDMI firmware, however, you may want to make sure you have followed the steps in the user guide to the letter: https://downloadmirror.intel.com/29472/eng/NUC8ixBE-HDMI-FW-Update-Guide-Version%201.78.4.0.3.pdf 

Download: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29472/HDMI-Firmware-Update-Tool-for-NUC8i3BE-NUC8i5BE-NUC8i7BE  

Additionally, you can contact the TV and AVR manufacturer to make sure the latest firmware and drivers are up to date https://denon.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6899/~/avr-latest-firmware-update  

Regards,  

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

Links to third-party sites and references to third-party trademarks are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, Intel® is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third-party endorsement of Intel or any of its products is implied.

[ericf]

Hello
Regarding the hdmi firmware I did use the bobcat tool to update it to the latest version I followed those instructions.
I will follow up with denon to see what might be an issue there. However I do see a that the older version board dh57jg might work against me getting an answer.
Thanks

[n_scott_pearson]

LOL! Well, mentioning Jet Geyser will complicate things because it's a discontinued product and ICS will not provide support involving it -- but I will!
AFAIK, your JG does not support ARC, so does not do any signaling of control. If you are using Windows 10, the 1st gen Core processor you have in this JG is not supported, so you are running with the Microsoft compatibility driver (which has all sorts of shortcomings). But, most importantly, the processors that you can use in your JG have only HDMI 1.3 output capability. Taken all together, the JG isn't going to be suffering from the flashing blank screens that you see with later solutions -- and which I believe are caused by bugs in the Intel graphics drivers that Intel has never been able to ferret out completely.
...S

[ericf]

@n_scott_pearson Scott

Thanks for that information. I was figuring there has to be some sort of handshake protocol that isn't being followed or being incorrectly designated in some sort of mode. The NUC initially works but then the volume goes so low and I have to amplify the audio with my AVR . This even occurs when the NUC comes out of sleep state, because the ding is a loud blast and after a couple of seconds the volume goes low again. 

 @Sebastian_M_Intel Sebastian, 

     As I mentioned I did follow those HDMI instructions to the letter, this was even from the start of this. I contacted Denon and confirmed the firmware was up to date. It was a long wait on hold, and they also questioned on as to why it is working with other devices like PS4, PS5 and the older NUC but not with this one. 

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi ericf,

See below some additional questions and recommendations:

• Is there a way to turn off Denon's AVR video processing by either turning the I/P scaler off and the Video Mode off, or set Video Mode to bypass.
• Does the issue only occur when playing videos on Netflix? No issues when streaming video from other services or playing DVD, Blueray video (not streaming)? Or when playing a local file?
• Could it be an option for you to try using the stereo Audio in the Netflix settings? In Netflix playback itself (not in the AVR or NUC settings), can you select a different audio option (if that is available in the show/movie that you are watching). The idea here is to make sure that this is not related to the DD+ codec issue (there was a known DD+ codec issue affecting AVR-790)
• What is the resolution that you are using? What happens If you lower the resolution or try a different refresh rate? Do you see the same behavior?
• If nothing from above was helpful, can you please share a short video to help us see the issue and what is on the AVR at that moment?

Regards,

Ronny G

[ericf]

Hello @Ronny_G_Intel 

There are two issues and I am not sure if they are related or not, the two issues occur at different times. The Audio level Drop issue happens just by using any audio, and the Video Black Screen Flash only occurs with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, possibly other streaming video websites but those are the only two I use. I have the answers for the questions you asked: 

• Is there a way to turn off Denon's AVR video processing by either turning the I/P scaler off and the Video Mode off, or set Video Mode to bypass.
  • So yes there is a way to turn the I/P Scaler off and I did so for this experiment. As well as setting the Video Mode to HDMI. Still the same issues. 
• Does the issue only occur when playing videos on Netflix? No issues when streaming video from other services or playing DVD, Blueray video (not streaming)? Or when playing a local file?
  • This goes back to my initial statement. The Video going Black only occurs during Netflix/Amazon videos and going to Netflix's website. Any other way of playing videos, like HD videos it does not occur. 
• Could it be an option for you to try using the stereo Audio in the Netflix settings? In Netflix playback itself (not in the AVR or NUC settings), can you select a different audio option (if that is available in the show/movie that you are watching). The idea here is to make sure that this is not related to the DD+ codec issue (there was a known DD+ codec issue affecting AVR-790)
  • I have viewed videos with only stereo and the outcome is still the same regarding the Audio. In the video below you can see there is no audio but still the screen goes black and then comes back. 
• What is the resolution that you are using? What happens If you lower the resolution or try a different refresh rate? Do you see the same behavior?
  • I am using 1920x1080, set different refresh rates, still occurred. I did use 800x600, set different refresh rates and the Black Screen still occurred. 
• If nothing from above was helpful, can you please share a short video to help us see the issue and what is on the AVR at that moment?
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGTkfQPgY9g

If there is anything else needed please let me know. 

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi ericf,

Thank you for the detailed information that you provided. 

Let me check with the NUC team and I will get back to you.

Regards,

Ronny G

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi ericf,

Sorry for the late reply, we are still investigating this issue, unfortunately we haven't been able to replicate and that makes it very difficult to troubleshoot.

One additional question that just brought up when testing an equivalent configuration was: Is this issue also exhibited when using the Netflix application instead of the browser?

Regards,

Ronny G

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi ericf,

Quick follow up on my previous question.

Is this issue also happening when using the Netflix application?

Can you also confirm that you are running the latest HDMI FW version? Here is the URL for download:

HDMI latest version 1.78.4.0.3 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30261/HDMI-Firmware-Update-Tool-for-NUC8i3BE-NUC8i5BE-NUC8i7BE

Regards,

Ronny G

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi ericf,

I am again doing a quick follow up on this issue, please help me confirm the following information:

• Is this issue also happening when using the Netflix application?
• Can you also confirm that you are running the latest HDMI FW version? Here is the URL for download the HDMI FW latest version 1.78.4.0.3 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30261/HDMI-Firmware-Update-Tool-for-NUC8i3BE-NUC8i5BE-NUC8...

Regards,

Ronny G

[ericf]

@Ronny_G_Intel 

Hello Ronny, 

        Apologies for the delay. Here are my answers below in bold: 

• Is this issue also happening when using the Netflix application?
  • Yes it is. 
• Can you also confirm that you are running the latest HDMI FW version? Here is the URL for download the HDMI FW latest version 1.78.4.0.3 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30261/HDMI-Firmware-Update-Tool-for-NUC8i3BE-NUC8i5BE-NUC8...
  • Yes I have confirmed that I am running this firmware. 

Thanks, 
Eric

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi Eric,

After analyzing the logs we can tell that the black flash occurs because the HDCP re-certification was triggered from the monitor side. The reason behind the HDCP re-certification is that the monitor detects an error during HDCP authentication, after HDCP re-certification the HDCP authentication was completed so the Netflix video can be played by the monitor successfully.

The HDCP checks the status in real-time when playing Netflix or Amazon Prime, and if it is HDCP video, it is not easy to tell which level (NUC-AVR-Monitor) causes the error. But we can see that this re-certification occurs when Netflix starts to play the HDCP video and when turning off the browser/ application, and there is no further flash black after HDCP is re-certificated.

We can't duplicate the audio drop issue. There are several reports on web about the similar behavior caused by the Windows Update.

Do you have any idea of when was the first time that this issue occurred?

Did you try running the Troubleshooting for Sound problems? Right-click on the sound icon on the taskbar and choose "Troubleshoot sound problems".

Can you also completely uninstall the Intel Graphics driver and check the sound level with the generic Microsoft driver? Here are the instructions for the driver uninstallation procedure.

Regards,

Ronny G

[ericf]

@Ronny_G_Intel  . Regarding the culprit to this issue being either NUC-AVR-Monitor. I only run into this issue with the NUC. I still have my previous "NUC" I built with a Jet Geyser board which does not run into any of these issues. 

This has been happening since I first received the unit. 

I did try running the troubleshoot audio issues, however I get a prompt stating the troubleshooter wasn't able to install the driver that I allow permission for it to install. I then wait for some sort of other chat prompt with a tech. 

I did uninstall the drivers to the Microsoft generic drivers. Here is a summary of what occurs: 

1. First, no sound is output. It seems there are no audio devices connected to the NUC however the HDMI cable is still connected and it is outputting Display to my TV. 
2. Second, The display is outputting, and there are two situations. When I run the Netflix app there still is no audio, and the display doesn't flash at all. The movie continues to play without black out, but no audio. When I run Netflix in Chrome the screen does flash and audio starts to output but it cuts out after a second. I believe this is due to Chrome reinstalling the Display/Audio drivers, specifically because in the Device Manager it shows the Iris Graphics 655 has been reinstalled.  

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi ericf, 

We have been investigating this issue but unfortunately, we haven't been to replicate it due to the lack of the exact same AVR, we believe this to be a compatibility-related issue since this behavior is only exhibited when the NUC is connected to the AVR.

I sent you via email an HDMI firmware update for you to test but I don't really know if this is going to resolve this issue, if after trying this "test" HDMI firmware update the system behavior is the same and you are very unhappy with this situation, please give us a call and submit a request for a product refund, I don't know if that would be accepted since the issue is not the NUC alone but a combination with a third-party component (AVR). Here is our contact Intel information and make reference to case 4944624.

Regards,

Ronny G

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello ericf,   

Thanks for the reply. 

Please kindly wait for a response while we review this information internally. 

Regards,   

Sebastian M   

Intel Customer Support Technician