HDMI Signal Loss on Marantz CINEMA 40 When Stopping Emby Playback

[ingmar_ehrig 7]

Device: NVIDIA Shield TV Pro (2019)

AV Receiver: Marantz CINEMA 40

TV: LG TV

Emby Server: 4.10.2.0

Emby Android Client: 3.5.55 initially, updated to 3.5.57 two days later

Previous Emby Server version: 4.1.0.0

 

Summary

Every time I stop a movie in the Emby client on my NVIDIA Shield TV Pro (2019), my Marantz CINEMA 40 AV receiver loses the HDMI signal, resulting in a loss of picture on the TV.

The issue began on the exact day Emby Server was updated from version 4.1.0.0 to 4.10.2.0. The Emby client was running version 3.5.55 at that time. Updating the client to version 3.5.57 two days later did not resolve the problem.

The timing strongly suggests a possible regression or an incompatibility introduced by the server update, although the exact cause has not yet been established.

 

Steps to Reproduce

1. Play a movie through Emby on an NVIDIA Shield TV Pro (2019).

2. Connect the Shield to a Marantz CINEMA 40 AV receiver, with the receiver connected to an LG TV.

3. Stop playback using the Emby client.

4. Observe that the Marantz loses the HDMI signal and the TV picture disappears.

The problem is reproducible every time playback is stopped in Emby.

 

Expected Behaviour

Stopping a movie should return the Shield to its previous interface without causing the AV receiver to lose its HDMI signal or the TV picture to disappear.

Actual Behaviour

Stopping a movie in Emby causes the Marantz CINEMA 40 to lose the HDMI signal. The picture does not reliably return without further intervention.

 

Additional Findings

1. Strong temporal correlation with the server update

The problem began on the exact day Emby Server was updated from version 4.1.0.0 to 4.10.2.0.

At that time, the Emby Android client was running version 3.5.55. Updating the client to version 3.5.57 two days later did not improve the situation.

 

2. Other streaming apps are unaffected

The same behaviour does not occur when using Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ or Apple TV on the Shield. The HDMI connection remains stable when stopping playback in these apps.

This suggests that the problem is related to Emby-specific playback or playback termination behaviour rather than a general HDMI failure.

 

3. HDMI cable replacement did not help

The HDMI cable between the Shield and the AV receiver was replaced as a troubleshooting measure, but the problem persisted.

 

4. Direct connection to the TV

During a brief test, connecting the Shield directly to the LG TV did not produce the problem. However, this test was not repeated for a sufficient period to establish that the issue disappears completely in this configuration.

It is possible that the LG TV handles the relevant HDMI state changes differently from the Marantz CINEMA 40, or that the issue depends on the interaction between Emby, the Shield and the AVR.

 

5. Shield system logs show repeated HDMI hotplug events

During a black-screen incident, the Shield's dumpsys hdmi_control output showed repeated HDMI hotplug events for port 1, alternating between connected=false and connected=true.

An excerpt from the previously examined log:

[H] time=2026-10-24 18:34:02.860 hotplug port=1 connected=false

[H] time=2026-10-24 18:34:02.944 hotplug port=1 connected=true

The disconnect/reconnect events recurred throughout the captured log. Some pairs occurred only approximately 80 milliseconds apart, while further events appeared at intervals of roughly two to three seconds.

The same diagnostic output showed:

mIsActiveSource: true

The Shield therefore remained registered as the active HDMI source while repeatedly reporting HDMI connection-state changes.

This is the observed behaviour in the Shield's HDMI control log during the incident. It indicates repeated hotplug-state changes but does not, by itself, identify which component initiates them.

 

6. Playback refresh-rate switching

Emby's automatic refresh-rate switching was disabled during troubleshooting, but the problem still occurred when stopping playback.

 

7. The Shield and Emby remain fully functional during the signal loss

The issue appears to affect the HDMI output signal only. It does not appear to crash Emby or the Shield itself.

When the problem occurs, I can still access the Shield remotely using ADB/scrcpy. The remote view confirms that Emby has stopped playback successfully and displays its normal interface. Both the Emby client and the Shield remain responsive and fully controllable.

There is no apparent application freeze, system crash or loss of control. The only observed failure is that the HDMI picture disappears on the TV while the Shield and Emby continue to operate normally.

This suggests that playback termination itself completes successfully, while the subsequent video output or HDMI connection state becomes unstable.

 

Request

Could the Emby development team investigate whether Emby Server 4.10.2.0 introduced a regression affecting playback termination on NVIDIA Shield devices, particularly when connected through AV receivers such as the Marantz CINEMA 40?

The exact correlation with the server update, the consistent reproduction when stopping Emby playback, the absence of the issue in other streaming apps, and the repeated HDMI hotplug events in the Shield logs all seem relevant to the investigation.

Please let me know if additional server logs, client logs, diagnostic information or specific tests would help narrow down the cause.

 

Best regards, Roede

[Luke 43451]

 

Hi there, let's look at an example. Please attach the information requested in how to report a media playback issue. Thanks!

 

[ingmar_ehrig 7]

Sorry, can't provide any logs at the moment, but I figured out, that the problem only occurs, when Refresh Rate Switching or Resolution Switching are active (which both were in the past). I disabled both of them now in the client and the problem is gone.

[Luke 43451]

OK thanks please keep us posted on that.