Video Does Not Fill Screen, Shows Green Border on Roku

Tablo Support - Chris
Tablo Support - Chris
  • Updated

Broadcast TV and free streaming programs are delivered in several resolutions (480i, 1080i, and 720p). Most viewing devices and televisions can compensate for the varied resolutions to ensure the picture fills your TV screen.  

However, a bug in the Roku operating system can cause problems displaying video through HD-only Roku devices (primarily the Roku Express).

Roku is aware of this bug, which has also been reported on other Roku apps/channels. 

The bug is triggered when a user views a video in 480i or 720p resolution AFTER viewing a video in 1080i resolution.

When this happens, you may see the following:

  • Video is shrunk and plays in the upper left-hand of the screen, with a bright green background filling the remaining screen area.
  • Video takes up the full height of the screen but is 'squished' to the left, with a bright green strip on the right side. 
Green_Screen.png Green_Strip.png

 

Affected Roku Devices

In general, Roku devices reported to have this display issue are low-end and HD-only, not 4K-capable. 

Affected models include, but are not limited to:

  • (CURRENT GENERATION) Roku Express (3960) - This model is not officially supported by Tablo due to this issue.
  • Roku Streaming Stick (3800) 
  • Roku Express+ (3910)

Other, older Roku devices may also be affected.

 

Workaround

You can fix this bug temporarily by power cycling the Roku. 

Unfortunately, this will not fully resolve the problem. Viewing a 480i or 720p resolution video after viewing a 1080i resolution video will cause it to reoccur until the Roku is power cycled again.

There is no indication that Roku will provide a permanent fix for the affected devices.

 

Resolution

To fully resolve the issue, we recommend that you replace your affected Roku device with a current-generation, 4K-capable Roku model.

Other Tablo-compatible streaming device platforms do not exhibit this issue.