HDMI flicker on B+ on a specific setup

I upgraded to OSMC (fresh install and not an upgrade) on my B+ Pi and I’ve been having some odd HDMI issues. When it first boots up the screen flickers quite a bit and after a while the video and audio drops out every few seconds. The Pi is new and was not previously connected to this setup (onkyo receiver and samsung tv) in any way. This setup had previously had other Pi’s on it (osmc and raspbmc) with absolutely no issues.

I did some reading and I’ve tried the following:

  • Tried the unit on several setups in the house with the same monoprice power unit - no problems.
  • Tried 3 other Pi’s (including a Pi2 with OSMC) on the problematic setup - no issues.
  • Tried several settings changes - HDMI boost, HDMI safe, etc. The flickering was lessened but definitely still there.

Is there anything else I can try?

Did you try a different HDMI cable?

It’s funny you should ask - I had tried a couple of different brand-name cables connected diretly to the tv with noluck. I gave it another go with a thinner generic cable that was onnected to another componenet and it actually worked. Go figure.

Hmmm… The same thing happens on my friend’s computer. I’ll have to try swapping out the hdmi cable. Thanks!

I would also check your power adaptor and/or try a different one if you still have problems. The two main causes of HDMI dropouts are the HDMI cable, and low voltage from your power adaptor.

If hdmi_boost makes an improvement you almost certainly have a cable or low voltage problem.

DBMandrake, you were right. It does appear as though there was a lower power issue. As soon as I put what I thought was the proper HDMI cable back into the equation the result was the same. At that point I assumed it was something specific to the B+. However, when I put my other Pi back in I noticed that my flirc was sluggish to respond to remote control commands. I didn’t think much of it until yesterday. When I looked in my AV cabinet I noticed that I had plugged my power source into a strip instead of the power conditioner. As soon as I plugged it into my power conditioner the Pi was snappy again. I’ll reinstall on the B+ and try again.

I should have remembered these lessons from the early days of owning a pi. I also remember reading that plugging a power source into any kind of strip/extension cord can result in unpredictable results.