Playback Issues
Problems with how content looks or sounds on screen — black screens, stutter, wrong aspect ratio, missing audio, or web pages that won’t load.
Supported formats at a glance
| Type | Formats | Max size |
|---|---|---|
| Images | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, SVG | 50 MB |
| Video | MP4 (H.264 / H.265), WebM (VP9), up to 4K | 4 GB |
| Documents | 100 MB | |
| Web | URL, HTML5 widget (.zip) | — |
Full details in the Media library guide.
Black screen or video won’t play
- Unsupported codec. MP4 files must be H.264 or H.265; WebM must be VP9. ProRes, AVI, MOV with unusual codecs, and WMV will not play. Re-encode with HandBrake (preset Fast 1080p30) or
ffmpeg:ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 20 -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac output.mp4 - Hardware can’t decode it. H.265 and 4K need hardware support. Many older Android sticks and Raspberry Pi 3 models only handle 1080p H.264.
- Still downloading. Check Screens → screen → Sync.
- Empty schedule. If nothing is scheduled and no fallback playlist is set, the player shows a blank screen. Set a default playlist on the screen group.
Stutter, dropped frames, or tearing
- Match the video resolution and frame rate to the display (e.g. 1920×1080 @ 30 fps for a 1080p screen). Downscaling 4K on a weak player costs a lot of CPU.
- Keep bitrate reasonable: 8–12 Mbps for 1080p, 25–40 Mbps for 4K.
- Avoid stacking several videos in one layout on low-end hardware — use one video zone plus image/ticker zones.
- On Windows and Linux players, make sure GPU drivers are up to date.
Wrong size, stretching, or black bars
Each playlist item has a Fit setting:
| Fit | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Contain | Shows the whole image; may add bars |
| Cover | Fills the zone; may crop edges |
| Stretch | Fills the zone; may distort |
Also check the screen’s Orientation (Screens → screen → Display). Portrait screens need portrait content (e.g. 1080×1920).
If the edges of the picture are cut off, the TV is overscanning. Set the TV’s picture size to Screen Fit, Just Scan, or 1:1 pixel mode.
No audio
- Video items are muted by default. Turn on Play audio for the item in the playlist.
- Only one zone in a layout can play audio at a time — the main zone by default.
- Check the device/TV volume and output (HDMI vs. internal speakers).
- Browsers block autoplay audio in web page items; use video items when you need sound.
Web pages or widgets don’t load
Blank page
Many sites forbid embedding by sending X-Frame-Options: DENY or a restrictive Content-Security-Policy. Switch the item’s Render mode to Native browser (not available on every player), or use a page you control. Also confirm the player’s network can reach the site.
Still not right?
Send Take screenshot from Remote commands to see exactly what’s on screen, then contact [email protected] with the screenshot and the media file name.