Fullscreen discord videos tearing on vertical monitor?

Resolving Video Tearing Issues in Discord on Vertical Monitors

Experiencing video playback issues can be frustrating, especially when they disrupt your viewing experience. Recently, users with vertical monitors have reported a specific problem: when fullscreening videos on Discord, the video appears torn into multiple segments, making it unwatchable despite sound still playing. Let’s explore what might be causing this issue and how to address it.

Understanding the Issue

The core problem involves Discord videos tearing into numerous fragments during fullscreen playback on vertical (portrait-oriented) monitors. Interestingly, screenshots of the video appear normal, indicating that the issue is related to real-time rendering rather than the source content itself. The torn video makes visual comprehension impossible, though audio continues seamlessly.

Is This a Common Problem?

While vertical monitors are increasingly popular for their ergonomic benefits and multi-purpose uses, they can sometimes expose compatibility issues with certain applications, including Discord. Video tearing can result from various factors such as graphics driver issues, application rendering conflicts, or hardware limitations. However, reports of such tearing specifically on vertical monitors are not uncommon, especially when applications attempt to adapt to unconventional display orientations.

Potential Causes

Graphics Driver Compatibility: Outdated or improperly configured graphics drivers may cause rendering artifacts, including tearing.
Discord Rendering Settings: Discord’s hardware acceleration features might conflict with the display setup.
Monitor Configuration: Incorrect display scaling or refresh rate settings can lead to visual tearing.
Vertical Monitor Challenges: Some applications don’t fully optimize for portrait mode, leading to graphical glitches.

Troubleshooting and Solutions

Here are some steps to resolve the tearing issue when viewing videos on Discord with a vertical monitor:

Update Graphics Drivers: Ensure your GPU drivers are up-to-date. Visit the manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel) for the latest versions.
Disable Hardware Acceleration in Discord:
Open Discord settings.
Navigate to the “Appearance” section.
Toggle off “Hardware Acceleration.”
Restart Discord and test video playback.
Adjust Monitor Refresh Rate and Scaling:
Access your display settings.
Verify that the monitor’s refresh rate is set to the optimal value.
Check the display scaling options and ensure they are appropriate for portrait mode.
Toggle Video Playback Settings:
Within Discord, experiment with different video quality settings if available.
Try playing the video in a different mode (