A "black screen" is usually caused by one of three things: connection issues, expired licenses, or empty playlists. Please follow these steps in order to identify and resolve the issue.
Step 1: Diagnosis - Is the screen "Off" or displaying "Black"?
Before checking your settings, look closely at the physical screen.
It says "No Signal" or is completely dark (no backlight): This is a hardware issue. Your player is likely turned off, or the HDMI cable is loose. Check the power cable and ensure the TV is set to the correct HDMI input.
It appears as illuminated, but black: The player is working and sending a signal, but no valid content may be playing at this time. See Step 2 below.
Step 2: Check your Content Status
The most common cause of a black screen is that the Player has logged in successfully but hasn't been told what to play.
Log in to your Signagelive Network
Go to Network > Manage
Locate the Player in the list
Check the Content and Screen On/Off tab.
What do you see?
No active schedules with active assets / Default Playlists present (No Content): The player has no instructions. Click on the 3 dots next to the active schedule and select Edit. Ensure atleast 1 asset in this playlist is active
Schedules with Active assets (Content Deployed): Content is scheduled to your player. Confirm the content is configured according to our Video Encoding guide and that your static content matches the maximum resolution of your display/configured video mode.
Empty Playlist: If the currently assigned playlist is empty, replace it with one that contains valid media items to ensure content can play.
Problematic Content: If the playlist includes problematic content, such as a video with encoding issues, assign a previously working playlist or a known-good copy to the player. This can help identify if the issue is related to specific content.
To expand your investigation to other player settings and environmental factors, proceed to Step 3.
Step 3: Check the Player Connectivity
If you have published content but the screen is still black, the player may be offline and unable to download the new media.
In Network > Manage, look at the Last Check-in column
Hover over the icon to see the timestamp
What do you see?
Green Tick (Recent): The player is online. It may currently be downloading a large video file. Wait 10-15 minutes for the download to finish
Red X (Old timestamp): The player has lost internet connection. It cannot receive your new content until you fix the local internet connection (Ethernet or Wi-Fi) at the device
Step 4: Try a "Power Cycle" (Manual Reboot)
If the player is Online, Licensed, and has Content, but is still black, the device software may have stalled or failed to detect a EDID for your output display:
Turn the power off at the wall/socket for the Media Player.
Wait 30 seconds.
Turn the power back on.
Still seeing a black screen?
If the issue persists after a restart, please contact our Support Team. To help us solve this quickly, please include:
The 6-digit Hardware ID (Found in Network > Manage next to the player name).
Confirm that you have already attempted the power cycle in Step 5.