Hello everyone, I've bought the Samsung QN85B (2022) 55" TV sometime in August 2023. I was really excited to try gaming on PS5 with 120Hz + VRR on. However, whenever VRR is used, the screen would cut to black randomly for 1-2 seconds, the come back on. This intermitent black screen happens continously throughout the gaming session, so I'm not talking about that initial source change when you start the game (going from 60Hz to 120Hz VRR). I'll list over the facts:
- TV is running the latest firmware as of the time of this post, which is version 1520.7
- PS5 is running on the latest system update from Sept 2023
- TV has no other function enabled that could interfere with VRR, everything is left on default in the picture settings, only Brightness is set to max.
- The issue is not present when VRR is turned off in the PS5 settings. But that would limit the game FPS to either 40 or 60, or produce screen tear, depending on the game.
- Games that I've had this problem with: Spider Man Remastered, Spider Man Miles Morales, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, God of War Ragnarok. For some reason, in Horizon Forbidden West this does not happen, which takes me to the next point.
- Extended testing made me notice the following:
- It happens way more often when the games are set to Quality Modes + VRR, which usually means 40 FPS unlocked. This setting uses LFC, or Low Framerate Compensation, as the PS5 VRR range is between 48 and 120 Hz. That is why when using these modes, the Game Bar would display a framerate of 40>80>120, but nothing in between.
- It also happens pretty often, but no so often as on point 1, when using Performance Modes + VRR in games. This usually means 60 FPS unlocked, and in the case of the games I've tested, it can go up to 100 FPS. In this case, the Game Bar would properly display the FPS, as no LFC is used, because the framerates are well inside that 48-120 Hz VRR range of the PS5. What I've noticed is that it happens more often when the FPS is very fluctuating, so when it's jumping from 80 FPS all the way to 100, and vice versa. The TV seems to not keep up with the FPS change. That is why in the case of Horizon, it doesn't happen, that game only goes so far up to 65 to 70 FPS, so the framerate is way more stable.
- So my guess is that the issue has something to do with LFC and sudden FPS drop/jump.
- It looks like not the VRR feature of the TV itself is the issue (Because I can have VRR On for games that are locked to 60 FPS and never experience black screen), but the issue revolves somewhere around what's described at point 3.
In the end, whatever I tried, like resseting both console and TV, changing the Video Transfer rate to -1 or -2, turning off HDCP, changing the cables, changing the HDMI input, or whatever suggestion I could find on forums, I tried them all and nothing works. Only thing that works is switching VRR off.
So I'm creating this post in hopes that someone actually fixed by other methods than the ones listed above and I missed it. Can someone please provide support on this matter?
Thank you!
