TV Green Screen? 9 Easy Solutions for Perfect Viewing

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Experiencing a green screen on your TV can be a startling and frustrating issue, whether it’s a sudden color shift or the dreaded ‘green screen of death’.

This guide will explore simple and effective solutions to tackle this common problem.

Stay tuned to turn your green woes back to perfect picture viewing!

1. Perform a Soft Reset

Sometimes, complex problems can be solved with an easy-as-pie solution, like a soft reboot. One Reddit user found this to be the case after struggling with their TV screen turning green once a month. Each time their TV would display a vibrant green color, they’d simply reboot it to fix any glitch causing the issue. 

Soft resetting or rebooting a TV is virtually the same for all TV models. 

To do so, turn off your TV and disconnect it from its power source. Wait at least 30 seconds before reconnecting it to power and turning it back on. 

2. Unplug & Replug Your HDMI Cable If You Encounter the Issue on Specific Content

If your TV screen turns green every time you try to watch content in 4K HDR, you’re not alone. This Reddit user had the same problem, preventing them from watching any ultra-high-resolution content on their TV. 

One possible reason this happens is due to the TV glitching when trying to transition from low-quality to high-quality content. This problem is commonly referred to as a handshake issue and can cause some pretty unorthodox discrepancies in the image. 

One way to fix this is by flipping your cable around and ensuring both ends are securely plugged into the TV and source device’s ports. So, connect the cable end that was in your TV to your source device and vice versa. 

Another Reddit user found that heading to the TV’s Home screen before turning the TV off and on again did the trick.  

3. Switch Your TV’s Input Back & Forth

If unplugging and reconnecting your input source is too bothersome or doesn’t solve the problem, this clever user found a great alternative. They fixed their pesky green screen by switching to another input before returning to their original HDMI input. 

This simple input switch prompts a power cycle and produces a new (and correct) handshake. In short, your TV will relink to your source device, this time, correctly displaying its content. 

You can change your TV’s input using its remote or control panel. 

4. Replace Your HDMI Cable

If your source device is connected to your TV via HDMI, the green screen’s likely culprit is a faulty HDMI connection. Broken and faulty HDMI cables or ports can severely affect the image quality and color. 

HDMI cables have several pins, with each one responsible for sending different audio and visual components. A green screen may be a result of one of the pins being broken, restricting the cable’s RGB (i.e., red, green, and blue) output to only green. 

Fixing an HDMI cable is a delicate process with low success rates. So, it’s often best to replace the HDMI cable entirely and try connecting it to another one of your TV’s HDMI ports. This is a tried and true solution, as this Reddit user found. 

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of budget-friendly HDMI cables on the market, but not all of them boast great results. 

So, to help you get started, here are my top recommended HDMI cables: 

• Belkin Ultra HD HDMI 2.1 Cable 
• Highwings 8K HDMI 2.1 Cable 
• Snowkids 8K HDMI Cable 

5. Switch to Non-HDR Content

Displaying HDR content (including Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+) on your TV can prompt the screen to turn green. 

This is a common occurrence, as the users in this Reddit thread reported. These users’ LG B2 TVs suddenly shifted to a green screen as soon as they tried to stream HDR content. 

While HDR can take certain movies and video games to the next level, you’re unlikely to enjoy that high-resolution action film if your TV screen is just a field of green. So, try disabling HDR to see if that helps. 

If you’re unsure of how to turn off HDR on your device, check out our article How to Turn Off Dolby Vision on TVs & Streaming Devices? which includes detailed instructions on how to do so for every type of popular display.

6. Reduce the Video Resolution

Every TV has a maximum resolution which, if exceeded, can lead to some surprising image issues, like a green screen. For instance, trying to play a 4K movie on a 1080p TV may prevent the TV from properly processing the content and turning green instead of displaying the movie. 

One Reddit user found this to be the case when trying to play a 4K movie on their older TV. 

They were able to temporarily solve this issue by using solutions #2 and #3 in this article. However, if you want a more permanent solution that won’t prompt you to reboot your TV every hour, reduce your content’s resolution to one that’s compatible with your TV. 

7. Change the Screensaver

As strange as it may seem, certain screensavers can prompt your TV to turn green. One Reddit user experienced this whenever they “woke up” their TV from the Aerial Views screensaver. 

You may find this only happens with certain high-resolution screensavers, like the Aeriel Views one, that prompt your TV to decode Dolby Atmos content. When in screensaver mode, your TV is hard at work decoding this content, and waking it up can suddenly and incorrectly stop this process, resulting in a green error screen. 

There are two ways you can fix this issue. The first is to change your TV’s screensaver to a lower-quality one that doesn’t involve Dolby Atmos content, while the second is to turn off the screensaver feature altogether. 

8. Replace Any Broken Internal Components

Warning: This solution is not only difficult but may also be dangerous as TVs contain many electrical parts, which, if not drained correctly, could electrocute you. If you’re not a skilled technician or experienced with these types of repairs, I highly suggest bringing your TV to a trusted technician or contacting the manufacturer (see next section for details) if your TV is still under warranty.

Green TV screens can result from a broken or faulty power board, mainboard, or TV panel. These components are essential to the TV’s display, and when broken, can cause a variety of visual problems.

Sometimes, replacing a faulty power board can magically repair the image quality, as this Reddit user found. Again, dealing with any of your TV’s power components is a tricky process, so please only do so if you feel adequately prepared.

Should you feel up to the challenge of repairing or replacing your TV components by yourself, refer to the following guides:

• How to replace some internal components of a Samsung TV
• How to replace a TV’s power board
• How to replace a TV’s screen/panel
• How to troubleshoot the mainboard of a Samsung TV

While replacing one component may seem cheaper than replacing the entire TV, this isn’t always the case. Depending on your TV brand and model, certain components may cost up to hundreds of dollars – well over the price of a new budget-friendly TV.

So, before taking your TV to a technician or opening it up yourself, weigh your options to make sure the process won’t cost more than the price of a new TV.

9. Contact the Manufacturer

If you’ve run out of solutions to try or have concluded you need outside help to replace one of the TV components, it’s time to reach out to customer service.

Many TV warranties cover strange hardware-related issues like this one as they’re not a result of the user. So, check if your warranty is still valid, and if it is, inquire about what repairs/replacements the manufacturer is willing to offer.

Here’s the contact information for a few popular TV brands:

• Samsung customer service
• Sony customer service
• LG customer service
• Hisense customer service
• TCL customer service

For the best results, make sure to have your TV’s model number ready when you contact the manufacturer. It’s also a good idea to outline which solutions you’ve already tried so the agent can gain a better understanding of the problem.

FAQ: Why Is My TV Screen Green When Streaming?

If your TV is specifically turning green when streaming content from specific platforms, don’t worry. Check out our comprehensive guides for how to fix this issue on Hulu.

Wrapping Things Up

Green is the color of peace, but nothing triggers your rage quite like a green TV screen. This TV glitch is shocking but relatively common.

Before trying more complex solutions, soft reset your TV and reconnect any cables you’re using. In some cases, you may need to replace the cable or use different ports if either component is broken.

Should you suspect certain TV parts may be broken, you may need to replace them to restore the image. Remember to reach out to the manufacturer or contact a trusted technician if you’re not experienced in these types of repairs.

What’s your experience fixing a green TV screen?

Let us know in the comments below!

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