Roon Display times out to screensaver on Google Chromecast TV [Fixed in Roon build 1272]

Support
23

The user who started the thread I link below was able to get it resolved. Maybe he can tell you what setting it was?

Note: Click on the blue thread title to go there.

24

Hi @Enrico_Corvonato,

Please take a look at your Chromecast settings to see if Ambient mode is activated there and give the recommendations linked by @BlackJack a try as well.

25

Hi @jamie , @BlackJack ,

thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately this is not my case: no Ambient mode nor other TV settings. I can use Roon display, and no issues with screensaver: my problem is that the TV dims. As a fact, I also found a Sony thread where they explain that this dimming behavior was part of last firmware update to protect the display from burn-in and this feature cannot be controlled by the user.

Now, while I recognize that the issue Iā€™m discussing here may be limited to my TV model / brand, I want to call out a couple of facts:

  1. my TV does not dim when I use its built in Spotify app;
  2. my TV does not dim when I stream movies over its built in Chromecast;
    therefore) under certain circumstances (quite usual use cases) my TV can stay on without dimming.

Hence my question to the Roon team: could you please work out a way so that also Roon display falls under ā€œthose circumstancesā€ that do not cause dimming of my TV :slight_smile: ?

I really like the Roon display functionality, but the dimming really degrades its enjoyment.

Thanks!
enrico

26

Hi @Enrico_Corvonato,

If Sony has hardwired this into their latest firmware update our hands may be tied a bit. Have you reached out to Sony Support directly to see if they have any recommendations?

27

Hi,

I did not manage to reach out to Sony.

In case this helps, however, please note that I narrowed down the cause to the fact that built in chromecast perceives your stream as idle. In fact even if my tv did not dim after 5 minutes, the screensaver would start after one hour (I set it up like this) because chromecast sees inactivity on its end.

In other words, the root cause is with the fact that casting the display is perceived by cheomecast as inactivity. The fact that Sony dims the screen is just a consequence of that perceived inactivity.

This does not happen when I stream videos: these are not perceived as inactivity.

So I guess the solution is somehow related to let chromecast know that the device is not inactive. E.g. like streaming a video together with it? A small invisible video of courseā€¦

Thanks!
Enrico

1 Like
28

Thank you @Enrico_Corvonato for this update! This may be specific to how Sony displays interpret our cast. Iā€™ll pass your observations on to the Dev team.

29

I had the same problem with my new Sony A80J Bravia with Google TV.
Going into the TV System About settings and activating Developer Mode by hitting the Android TV OS Build 7 times on the remote, then going into Developer Options and enabling Stay Awake, has at least temporarily solved the problem.

30

Hi John,

Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately it did not work on my Android TV, version 9.

I enabled developer mode and selected the option to stay awake, however the dimming still happened after 5 min.

I think the reason is because ā€œstaying awakeā€ prevents the TV from going into standby, but there are still a series of energy saving events that the TV can perform before the standby, and apparently the dimming after 5 minutes is one of those.

This brings me back to my prior consideration, i.e. my Sony perceives the Roon cast as inactivity, and hence triggers a sequence of energy saving events. Developer mode may prevent the last one (standby) but not the earlier ones, for sure not the dimming, and I did not wait long enough to check the standby.

Thanks!
Enrico

31

Thanks,

I hope and trust the development team can solve. Please note that Sony TV behavior is by itself not awkward as they want in all ways to avoid waste of energy and protect the OLED screen. Eventually is on Roon side to ensure that the cast is perceived as activity. Iā€™d also expect that this will happen more frequently with other brands as they will pursue energy saving more aggressively.

Thanks!
Enrico

33

Hi @Enrico_Corvonato ,

If you try to disable and re-enable the Chromecast display zone in Roon, or perform a full power cycle of the TV (unplug, wait 30s, replug), does that change the behavior?

34

Hi, no change in behavior.
Thanks!
Enrico

36

Hi @Enrico_Corvonato ,

Thank you for confirming that there was no change in behavior. Iā€™ve been trying to see if anyone on our team has Chromecast TV built-in to reproduce but unfortunately, it doesnā€™t seem like we do.

Can you please confirm if performing a clear data and Clear cache from the Chromecast built-in app helps? From the Home screen:

  • Select [Settings]
  • Select [Apps]
  • Select [Chromecast built-in]
  • Select [Clear data]
  • Select [OK]
  • Select [Clear cache]
  • Select [OK]

If this doesnā€™t help, can you please check to see if you have a "Disable dynamic contrastā€ option on the TV?

37

Hi, thanks for the tips, however they are not solving the issue.
Dynamic lighting is disabled.
To recap on my problem.
The TV automatically dims when it perceives to be idle. E.g. when I turn it on, I see the TV home screen and after 5 minutes of inactivity it dims. Nothing I can do about it. Same happens with Roon cast.

However, when I cast a video, no dimming occurs.

The conclusion is that Roon cast is perceived as inactivity and, as I said before, there is nothing I can do to prevent dimming when idle.

Also for you to know: power saving is off.

If we want to solve this, I think that the solution is somehow to have Roon deliver a cast that is not being perceived as inactivity. Exactly like when I cast a video (which can go on for hours without dimming occurring).

Thanks!
Enrico

38

Hi @Enrico_Corvonato

Can you please clarify whether clearing the cache helped? Steps recommended by Noris are below:

39

Hi Noris,

I followed the steps carefully but the behavior persists the same.
Afte 5 minutes the screen dims.

My TV protects the screen against inactivity and your cast is detected as inactivity.

Hope you can do something about this.

Thanks!
Enrico

40

Hi @Enrico_Corvonato ,

We are discussing this behavior internally, can you please confirm if the same issue occurs both when you use the Chromecast as a Web Display and when you stream music to it? Or does the issue only occur when it is used as a display?

1 Like
41

Hi,

The behavior occurs also when I use Chromecast as an endpoint for music. Exactly the same behavior.

Thanks for looking into this,
Enrico

1 Like
42

Hi @noris, any good news about this topic?
Thanks!
Enrico

43

Hi @Enrico_Corvonato ,

We have an investigation ticket regarding this behavior, but we have not been able to determine the exact cause just yet. This investigation will likely take some time, and we appreciate your patience until we are able to look into this further!

44

Roon Core Machine

Home built gaming PC - Windows 10, Intel(R) Coreā„¢ i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz, NVIDIA 3080 GPU, 32.0 GB RAM

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Unify Network

Connected Audio Devices

PC for Roon Core, to NAIM Atom - Chromecast Dongle for Display

Number of Tracks in Library

New User just building library

Description of Issue

Brand new 4K Chromecast Dongle Model Number G9N9N; GZRNL. Chromecast would go into Ambient Mode roughly 7 minutes into a song/playlist on Roon. No settings available to exit. The links posted by Mods on this forum do not solve the issue.

To fix:

On the Chromecast Menu -

Go to settings - > system- > about

Click on android tv os build (my build is 10, yours maybe vary)
When you click nothing will happen. Click and hold and you get the message, ā€œClick 4 Times to Enter Developer Mode.ā€ Keep clicking and it will count down until you are assigned Developer privileges.

Once in Developer mode, go to settings, then system, then developer options and click the toggle switch to ā€œstay awake.ā€

This will prevent Roon from being taken over by Ambient Mode/Pictures/Banners.

I hope this saves someone several hours of searching and troubleshooting.

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