Parts or all of the Roon screen are flickering (ref#III5WH)

[peugeot208gti]

What app are you having the slowness issue with?

· Roon

What kind of performance/speed issue are you experiencing?

· Other

Please try to reboot your Roon Server

· No, the issue is still the same even immediately after a reboot

Please try to reboot your networking gear (Router/Switches/etc.)

· No, the issue is still the same even after a reboot

Is there any change in behavior if you try to navigate to Roon Settings -> Library and set both Background and On-Demand Audio Analysis to Throttled or Off?

· No, the issue is still the same

Does the issue happen on multiple Roon Remotes (controllers) or just one?

· I only have one Roon remote to test with

Please try to restart your Roon Remote (controller) app

· No, the issue is still the same even after a restart

What is the operating system of your Roon Remote (controller)?

· Windows

Reinstall Windows/MacOS Roon Remote App

· No, I am still having the issue even after reinstalling

Router Domain Name System (DNS) change

· I don't know how to do this

What is the operating system of your Roon Server host machine?

· Windows

Timestamp of issue occurrences

· August 9, 2026 The flickering issue worsened further after updating to Roon Ver. 2.71. I don't recall the exact date, but this symptom had been occurring for about six months.

Describe the issue

Device name DESKTOP-P9TJF88
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 8-Core Processor (3.40 GHz)
Installed RAM 32.0 GB
Graphics card Intel(R) Arc(TM) A310 Graphics (4 GB)
Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 25H2

Symptom: Parts or all of the Roon screen are flickering.

Describe your network setup

ISP: SIS
Router: I-O DATA
Hub: Buffalo

[Robert_F (Rob)]

Hi @peugeot208gti, it is helpful to ensure you have a title summarizing your problem. I renamed your ticket request to “Parts or all of the Roon screen are flickering” to assist the Roon Support team.

[benjamin]

Hey @peugeot208gti, welcome to the community.

The flickering you’re seeing on the Roon screen, especially after the 2.71 update, makes me want to look at both the Windows graphics path and the Remote rendering behavior.

To narrow this down, a few things would be especially useful:

• Is the flickering happening only in the Windows Roon Remote, or do you also see it in any other controller?
• Does it change if you switch Windows display settings, for example turning hardware acceleration on or off in the Remote app if that option is available on your build?
• What driver version is installed for the Intel Arc A310, and is the GPU running with any overclocking or vendor utility enabled?

In the meantime, please also try a clean reinstall of the Intel Arc graphics driver using the latest package from Intel, not just the Windows Update version, then reboot the machine and retest Roon. If the issue is tied to a rendering problem, that tends to be the most useful next check on this hardware.

If you can share whether the flicker affects menus, album art, or the entire window, we can steer the next step from there.

[peugeot208gti]

I am not using the Windows version of Roon Remote; I operate the software exclusively on a Windows PC.
This issue did not begin with Roon version 2.71; it has been occurring for about six months. Previously, only the “X” (Close) button or the entire screen would flash, whereas since version 2.71, either the entire top section of the screen or the whole screen flashes.
Regarding the Arc GPU, I am using graphics driver version 32.0.101.8864 (the latest version).
I performed a clean install, but the situation remains unchanged.

[vadim]

Hello @peugeot208gti

Thank you for the clarification and for doing the clean driver install. That result is useful: it tells us this is almost certainly not your Intel Arc driver, which is why replacing it changed nothing.

We have seen this before, and it comes from your monitor rather than from the graphics card. When HDR or Adaptive Sync, sometimes called VRR, FreeSync or G-Sync, is enabled, Roon’s screen updates make the monitor’s refresh rate change, and the panel flickers. The detail in your description fits exactly: it began with just the close button flashing, which is a small area of the screen updating on its own, and grew to the whole window.

Two instant tests. Please try each one on its own and tell us what happens.

1. In Windows, open Settings → System → Display and turn HDR off. Then use Roon for a few minutes.
2. Turn Adaptive Sync / VRR off, either in your monitor’s own menu or in the Intel Arc Control panel, and use Roon again.

If either of those stops the flickering, we have confirmed the cause.

Then apply the proper workaround, so you can keep HDR and Adaptive Sync switched on. Our development team prescribed a startup option for exactly this, and it resolved it for the person who reported it before:

1. Right-click your Roon shortcut and choose Properties.
2. In the Target field, go to the very end of the existing text, add a space, then add -nodeepcolor. The flag goes after the closing quotation mark, not inside it. So a target that currently reads:

"C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Roon\Application\Roon.exe"

should become:

"C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Roon\Application\Roon.exe" -nodeepcolor

Your own path may differ slightly. Please leave whatever is already there untouched and only add the space and the flag at the end.
3. Click OK, then start Roon from that shortcut.

The full instructions with a picture are here: Flags. Please make sure you launch Roon from that shortcut afterwards, since starting it any other way will not carry the option.

Please also tell us:

• The make and model of your monitor, and its refresh rate
• Whether it is connected by DisplayPort or HDMI
• Whether HDR and Adaptive Sync were switched on before you tried the above

One note so this does not send you off course: that article is written around collecting logs, so it talks about removing the flag afterwards. In your case the flag is the fix, so please leave it in place.

[peugeot208gti]

I couldn’t post because including a space triggered an error. Please see the image.

SONY KDL-40W5
Refresh rate: 240Hz
HDMI connection
HDR / Adaptive Sync: Not supported (Off)

[benjamin]

Hey @peugeot208gti,

Thanks for the details, that helps. A few things:

First, the error in your screenshot: the shortcut’s “Start in” folder is set to …\Roon\Application\205801608, which is an old Roon version folder that no longer exists. Windows won’t save the shortcut while that’s there, so the -nodeepcolor flag may never have taken effect. Please clear the “Start in” field completely (leave it blank), click OK, and then launch Roon from that shortcut.

Second, since your TV doesn’t support HDR or VRR, let’s target the two remaining likely causes:

1. Color depth, Deep Color is separate from HDR and your TV’s HDMI does support it. In Intel Graphics Software → Display → set Color Depth to 8-bit and Color Format to RGB, and if the TV has an HDMI signal format / “x.v.Colour” option, set it to the standard/8-bit mode.
2. TV picture processing, please turn off Motionflow (and CineMotion, if present) and try the TV’s Game or Graphics picture mode. Motion interpolation on a static screen can look exactly like flickering.

And two quick isolation checks that would help a lot:

• Does the flicker also occur if you leave a non-Roon full-screen white window (e.g. Notepad maximized) on screen for 5 minutes?
• Does it change if you use a different HDMI port on the TV, or a different cable/display?

If you can capture a short phone video of the flicker, that would also help us pin down whether it’s the whole panel or only Roon’s window. Thank you!

[peugeot208gti]

I changed the Roon shortcut, but the screen flickering persists.

The Intel graphics settings were set to 8-bit RGB.

Regarding the TV’s HDMI settings, the mode was set to “Graphics” and Motionflow was turned off (these settings are applied automatically for PC input and cannot be changed on the TV).

This flickering issue occurs only with Roon.

I am sending screenshots of the Notepad display and the Intel settings.

[Moderator edit: HTML removed so images are displayed.]

[peugeot208gti]

I want to send a video of the Notepad (as proof that it isn’t blinking), but I can’t attach it to the reply email. What should I do?

[peugeot208gti]

IMG_2131.MOV

I am sending the link to the video of the Notepad (as proof that it isn’t blinking).

[benjamin]

Hi @peugeot208gti,

Thanks for the video and screenshots, the shortcut looks correct now.

Two caveats before we go further. Notepad isn’t drawn by the GPU the way Roon’s interface is, so it can look fine even when there’s a graphics problem. And I’m not sure -nodeepcolor was actually active when you tested, if Roon was already running, or was opened from the Start menu or taskbar rather than that exact shortcut, the flag gets ignored.

Could you do three things?

1. Confirm the flag is active. Quit Roon fully (including the system tray), then open it only from the shortcut you edited. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc, go to Details, right-click the column headers, choose “Select columns” and tick “Command line”. Send me a screenshot of Roon.exe in that view.

2. Check for graphics driver resets, my main suspicion, and it would explain why this predates 2.71 but worsened with it. Press Windows key + R, type eventvwr, go to Windows Logs > System, then Filter Current Log and set Event sources to Display. Screenshot whatever appears.

3. A fairer comparison than Notepad. Play a full-screen video in Media Player, and open an animated web page full-screen in Edge. Does either flicker?

Also, please send your Roon logs from the PC: Windows key + R, paste %LOCALAPPDATA%\Roon\Logs, then zip that folder.

One question: does it flicker when Roon is idle, or mainly when you scroll?

Thank you!

[peugeot208gti]

1. A fairer comparison than Notepad. Play a full-screen video in Media Player, and open an animated web page full-screen in Edge. Does either flicker? Neither of the two is flashing.

One question: does it flicker when Roon is idle, or mainly when you scroll? Both of them are flashing.

[peugeot208gti]

Roon Log

Logs(Roon).zip

[benjamin]

Hi @peugeot208gti,

Thanks for sending those logs and the Event Viewer screenshots, that was exactly what we needed, and I’ve been through all of it with our team.

There are no graphics driver reset events on your system. Your Event Viewer shows only two informational Display entries from August 18th, and nothing at all during the sessions where the flickering occurred. Our logs agree, Roon’s renderer reports no errors, no lost graphics context, and no recovery events while the screen is flickering. Whatever is happening, Roon believes it is drawing the picture correctly. That shifts our attention to how the finished image is being sent to the TV rather than to how Roon is producing it, which is useful progress.

The strongest lead we have right now is display synchronization. In every single log, Roon is presenting frames without waiting for the display’s vertical sync. That can look exactly like flickering, and it would explain why you only see this in Roon while video playback and animated web pages look fine, those honor the display’s timing, and Roon in this configuration is not. Intel’s Arc software also has a feature called Speed Sync that intentionally disables vertical sync, and if that is switched on it would be a direct match for what you’re seeing.

Could you check the following in Intel Graphics Software (or Arc Control):

1. Turn Speed Sync off: check both the global setting and any per-application entry for Roon.exe.
2. Set Vertical Sync to On, again either globally or as an application override for Roon.exe.

Then restart Roon and let me know whether anything changes. This is the first thing I’d like to rule in or out.

A few other things that would help:

1. Your refresh rate. In Windows, go to Settings → System → Display → Advanced display and tell me what refresh rate is listed for the TV. You mentioned 240 Hz, but that figure on Sony sets of this era referred to motion interpolation rather than an actual input mode, so Windows is likely running at something quite different. If it’s set to an unusual value, that’s worth correcting.
2. Try a different display. If you have a computer monitor you can connect, even briefly, that will tell us immediately whether the TV is involved. Trying a different HDMI port or cable is worth a minute too.
3. Try a small window. Resize Roon to a small window, well away from the screen edges, and leave it there a while. Does the flickering still happen? Your original report mentioned the close button and the top strip specifically, and when Roon is maximized on Windows the very top edge of its frame sits slightly beyond the edge of the screen. If your TV is overscanning, that region is precisely where you’d notice it first.
4. A video, if you can manage one. Because the logs are silent on this, seeing it would genuinely help. A phone video is fine, slow-motion if your phone offers it.

One question about the logs. In two of the sessions I can see the Roon window switching between windowed and full screen four or five times over the space of a minute. Was that you resizing to try and provoke the flickering, or did the window do that on its own?

[peugeot208gti]

@benjamin

• Try a small window. Resize Roon to a small window, well away from the screen edges, and leave it there a while. Does the flickering still happen? Your original report mentioned the close button and the top strip specifically, and when Roon is maximized on Windows the very top edge of its frame sits slightly beyond the edge of the screen. If your TV is overscanning, that region is precisely where you’d notice it first.
• A video, if you can manage one. Because the logs are silent on this, seeing it would genuinely help. A phone video is fine, slow-motion if your phone offers it.

I am sending a screenshot of the Roon interface, resized to be smaller. This image reflects the settings with VSync set to OFF and Speed ​​set to ON.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TNVDO5vSjYDQBIzYQtHysBpuEDOWkAa-/view?usp=sharing

[peugeot208gti]

A: I don’t have another display.

A: I have saved the attachment to the desktop and simply minimized Roon.

[peugeot208gti]

@benjamin

Your refresh rate. In Windows, go to Settings → System → Display → Advanced display and tell me what refresh rate is listed for the TV. You mentioned 240 Hz, but that figure on Sony sets of this era referred to motion interpolation rather than an actual input mode, so Windows is likely running at something quite different. If it’s set to an unusual value, that’s worth correcting.

[peugeot208gti]

I’ve received an email with the same question. Did you make a mistake?

[Carl]

I haven’t seen the email but most likely it’s a notification about the post here, not a duplicate.

[benjamin]

Hey @peugeot208gti,

Thank you for the video. The flickering is very precisely timed: it happens every 500 milliseconds, exactly twice per second, with no drift at all across the whole recording. Each flash lasts less than 1/30th of a second.

More importantly, I measured where on the screen it happens. The flash is confined to the title bar of the Roon window, the thin strip at the very top of the window. During a flash, that strip turns bright white. Everything else on screen, the Roon content itself, your desktop on either side of the window, and the taskbar, does not change at all.

The bright strip is exactly as wide as the Roon window and about 32 pixels tall, which is the standard Windows 11 title bar height.

This rules out the display side of things. A TV, HDMI, refresh rate, VSync or overscan problem would affect the whole panel, not a strip that lines up perfectly with one window’s title bar. It also fits everything you’ve already reported: Notepad, Media Player and Edge don’t flicker, there are no graphics driver errors in Event Viewer, and it happens whether you’re scrolling or sitting idle.

This also explains why it looked like the whole screen was flickering before, with Roon maximized, that title bar becomes a white band across the entire top of your 40" TV.

Four quick tests, please

These should take only a few minutes each:

1. Move the Roon window to a different position on screen, for example, the bottom-left corner. Does the flashing band move with the window?
2. Switch Windows to Dark mode. Go to Settings → Personalization → Colors, and set “Choose your mode” to Dark. Your screenshots show you’re currently in Light mode. Please watch Roon for a minute afterward, does the flash go away, or does it become dark instead of white?
3. Try Roon’s full-screen mode, which hides the title bar completely. Does the flickering stop entirely?
4. Stop playback completely, pause the music and leave Roon idle for about 30 seconds. Does the flickering continue, or does it stop?

You can put your Intel Graphics settings back to their defaults now, Frame Sync back to the default option and the FPS Limiter off. Based on what the video shows, those settings aren’t involved, and returning them to normal removes some variables. The same goes for the -nodeepcolor flag; feel free to leave it or remove it, whichever you prefer.

Also, just to confirm: your display settings screenshot shows Roon is running at 1920×1080 at 60 Hz. The 240 Hz figure is Sony’s motion-processing specification rather than the actual signal rate, so 60 Hz is correct and expected here.

Thanks for your patience working through this with us.