Black on the screen, the projector or the SDI feed. Work through this in order; it goes from most to least common.
1. Is anything on air?
Look at the panel. ON AIR beside the playout name, and a red border round the preview.
No badge means nothing is playing: the list is waiting, or a follow action already ended the cue. Arm something and press GO.
2. Does the preview show it?
Preview black, output black → the problem is in the cue. Go to step 3.
Preview fine, output black → the problem is in the output. Skip to step 4.
That one comparison halves the search, and it is the step people skip.
3. The cue
| Check | |
|---|---|
| A warning mark on the line | The file has moved — a file is missing |
| A media cue that is armed but not live | Video only plays when live; press GO |
| A still with transparency | Nothing behind it is not black, it is black |
| A scene | Are its sources visible and in the right order? |
| A web page | Did it load? Use Operate to look at it |
4. The output
The status bar block, bottom right, is the answer.
| It says | Meaning |
|---|---|
failed to start | It did not come up — hover for the reason |
| Nothing at all | The output is set to None |
window closed | Somebody closed the projector window |
| fps and missed frames | It is running: the picture is leaving the machine |
screen N | A projector output that is running; it has no frame counter of its own |
If it says the device is in use, that is nearly always two outputs pointed at the same DeckLink port, or another application holding the card.
If it is running and the screen is still black, the picture is leaving the machine and the fault is downstream: the cable, the input on the mixer, the projector’s source selection.
5. The things that are not the program
Worth ruling out before hunting further:
- The projector or monitor is on another input.
- Windows has the second display mirrored instead of extended.
- The mixer is showing a different source.
- Somebody pulled the SDI cable while tidying.
After a cold start
An output that says failed to start right after starting the program often comes up by itself a few seconds later — the program keeps retrying, so a card that was still waking gets picked up.
Look again before going hunting.