# Vizio TV's image 'blinks' on & off when watching movies



## Stratago (Feb 7, 2013)

Hello, I made this account to deal with a problem I'm having with my *Vizio model E420V0 42" HDTV*, so I hope this is in the right place in the forums...

Okay, so sometimes the TV will give me a "Not Support" message when I attempt to watch DVDs/Blu Rays. My BD Player's menu screen always displays as it loads up, but once the disc is selected the screen will go black and the message will appear. Sometimes certain previews / loading icons on the disc will play, but it seems to depend on the disc. Sometimes, however, the picture will "blink" on, becoming visible on screen for a few seconds before going black again. If left alone, the picture stays on screen for longer and longer until it ultimately stays on screen like it's supposed to, as though it's 'warming up' before it can perform, or something. If I'm stuck at the 'Not Support' message, I can trigger this 'blinking' thing to happen (which leads to a the movie being watchable) by turning off the TV and then back on a few times, until it displays the disc properly. 

Once it gets to the point where the picture is stable (for lack of a better word), I can switch discs, etc, and there are no problems, unless I switch formats (DVD to BluRay, or back) which sometimes (but not always) causes the cycle of 'blinking' to start anew. Also, if I turn the off the TV, it also may restart the 'blinking' thing.

This is my first HDTV, and I had it for almost 2 years before I actually got a Blu Ray Player (Sony brand), so I'd never used the TV's HDMI ports before this. After I tried using both HDMI ports to the same result, I exchanged both the cable and BD Player at the store, but the same thing happened, so it's neither the player itself nor the cable, then bought a different brand of cable, but no dice. As such, I don't think it's the cable or BD player, since I've swapped both out. (Or at least the items weren't defective...) 

An employee at Sears suggested that I update the drivers/firmware on TVs using a memory stick, but I can't even find them for this model.

On a side note, my Acer laptop has an HDMI port, and the TV has _never_ acted up when watching videos or anything else when I connect it to the TV, using either of the TV's HDMI ports.

PLZ help! Any suggestions will prolly be better than anything my limited tech knowledge could provide -- short of 'buy a new TV', of course, which on my budget is problematic...


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## Stratago (Feb 7, 2013)

...Nobody has an idea?


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Hardware fault. As turning the TV off/on seems to have an impact, I'd suspect an input fault with the TV.


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## Stratago (Feb 7, 2013)

Dogg said:


> Hardware fault. As turning the TV off/on seems to have an impact, I'd suspect an input fault with the TV.


So it's hardware, then... that makes sense. The best theory I'd heard so far was that the BD Player's refresh rate was higher, or some such thing...


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