📖 ~1 min read
Table of contents
Symptom & Impact
Visible horizontal tearing appears in video playback and scrolling, degrading user viewing experience.
Environment & Reproduction
Artifacts are most noticeable during full-screen playback or rapid movement in desktop windows.
Root Cause Analysis
Missing compositor synchronization, unsuitable driver settings, or refresh mismatch can produce tearing.
Quick Triage
Test alternate players and windowed mode to confirm issue scope across rendering paths.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis
Capture graphics stack details and evaluate compositor and driver sync options for the active GPU.
Solution – Primary Fix
Enable tear-free options or compositor sync in the graphics driver configuration and restart session.
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Solution – Alternative Approaches
Adjust refresh rates, disable conflicting compositing effects, or test different video output backends.
Verification & Acceptance Criteria
Video playback remains smooth with no visible tearing during full-screen and normal desktop use.
Rollback Plan
Restore previous graphics configuration if new settings introduce lag or rendering instability.
Prevention & Hardening
Track tested GPU configurations and standardize tear-free profiles on similar hardware fleets.
Related Errors & Cross-Refs
Can correlate with high GPU load, frame drops, and compositor crash events.
Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.
View all Ubuntu 16.04 LTS tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →
Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.
References & Further Reading
Use Ubuntu graphics tuning references and vendor-specific Linux driver documentation.
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