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Troubleshooting the Screen not Loading

  • Updated

There are a few reasons why you may be seeing a black screen:

  1. No Signal or black screen when the device is turned on.

  2. The device doesn't turn on or does not show any light.

  3. Virtual Machine (VM) or Windows server using RDP.

  4. Constantly spinning arrows.

  5. Computer with discrete GPU.

  6. HDCP/DRM Copyright Protection.

  7. HDCP protection on the switch.

"No signal" or black screen when the device is turned on

The device may just be taking a little longer than usual to boot up. Wait for 30-60 seconds for the picture to show. If it doesn't show, please try another HDMI port on the screen. If that doesn't help, then follow these steps:

OPTION 1

  • Turn off the TV.

  • Unplug the device from the HDMI port and power it.

  • Wait 30 seconds.

  • Turn on the display screen.

  • Plug the device into the HDMI port.

  • Plug the device into power using the AC adapter through a wall socket.

  • Give the device some time to power up.

After that, please follow these steps:

  1. Open the Airtame app.

  2. Find the device.

  3. Hover over the name of the device to access Settings.

  4. Scroll to the bottom and click on Advanced Settings.

  5. Go to the Resolution section.

  6. Select the highest available resolution from the list, like 1920 x 1080 or 3840 x 2160

  7. If this specific resolution doesn't help, please try some other resolution options from the list that might match the resolution of the display.

Sometimes subtle changes make a big difference e.g. 1920x1080 @60Hz vs. 1920x1080 @50Hz where only one supports video/audio. It might take some trial and error to choose a manual resolution.

 

OPTION 2 (Airtame 2)

If option 1 does not prove helpful, unplug the USB-C Aircord, flip it over 180 degrees, and plug it back in. This will reboot the Airtame and hopefully allow the EDID handshake to complete normally. Do you see an image on the screen? Here’s a reference on which part of the cord to flip:

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OPTION 3 (Airtame 2)

Do you have any other Airtame 2 devices? If so, please take the Aircord from another Airtame device and plug it into this Airtame device that is not displaying an image. Does the Airtame display an image now, with the new Aircord?

 

The device doesn't turn on or does not show any light

If your Airtame device is not turning on and is not showing a light, please make sure that the device is properly powered:

Airtame 2 is powered by a: 2.3A @ 5V power adapter (included).

Airtame Hub by default is powered by a PoE+ RJ45 connection delivering 46-57 V at a max. of 30 W.  Alternatively, the Hub may be powered by a DC power adapter supplying 12 V/55 W max, which can be found here under part number AT-CD1-PSU.

  • We recommend using the provided power adapter. Airtame 2 cannot be powered via the USB port of a TV or Projector.

  • The Aircord is not compatible with any USB extenders and, if necessary, should only be extended on the Power-side using Airtame Extension Cord.

powering_airtame_GIF__1_.gif

When powered up correctly, Airtame 2 will display a green LED light.

If you are powering the Airtame 2 device correctly, but there is no light on the device, please try and replace the Aircord or a power adapter with one from another Airtame 2 device. Does the device power on with another Aircord/power adapter? If you don't have other Airtame 2 devices to swap the Aircord or power adapter, please reach out to us.

 

Virtual Machine (VM) or Windows server using RDP

Users running Airtame on a Virtual machine or a server without a dedicated monitor may experience the stream showing a black screen or just a mouse pointer. This is because the Airtame app doesn't have a screen to capture from. Your options are:

  1. Use VNC over RDP as it creates a virtual screen to capture from.

  2. Use a Headless Dongle to simulate a screen being attached.

  3. Attach a monitor to the server.

Constantly spinning arrows

SYMPTOM 1
When starting a stream from a computer, you see spinning arrows indefinitely and the stream never starts.

Solution: The Airtame app is having trouble capturing your screen. This is most likely due to your computer rendering the screen on a graphics card instead of the main GPU. Try to access your graphics settings and see if you can set it for the Airtame app to capture from Integrated graphics or Internal graphics.

SYMPTOM 2
Instead of displaying a digital signage app - Airtame shows spinning arrows.

Solution: This means the device can not load the digital signage content. The issue could be that the website or image is very big and therefore the process is taking too long. Try to use different images or websites.  

 

Computer with discrete GPU

image__5_.png

SYMPTOM: You start a stream and one of the following occurs:

  1. All you see is a black screen.

  2. You see your stream but when going into the full-screen mode you see a black screen.

  3. You see black boxes covering sections of the screen.

Solution: Your computer is switching its graphics processing from the built-in GPU to the discrete GPU and the Airtame application doesn't switch where it is capturing from. Go into your graphics card configuration panel inside the Control panel or the designated app and set the preferred graphics processor to Auto-Select. If it already was at Auto-Select and the problem persists, check for an extra tab/section that lets you configure that option per application. Add the Airtame application and choose Integrated Graphics (not Auto Select).
 

SYMPTOM: When watching some content on your computer (Netflix, iTunes Movie, Amazon Prime...) your stream disappears and shows a black screen, you may continue hearing the audio from the content.

Solution: Not all browsers detect DRM so using a different web browser can allow for it to be streamed, but some services running in their app, like iTunes, are unavoidable and cannot be worked around.

 

HDCP protection on the switch

Some HDMI switches have HDCP content protection enabled to prevent images from being illegally captured and sent. To use Airtame with such a switch - you would need to disable HDCP protection on the switch controller. For Crestron switches:

  • DMPS3-300 Units

If you go into DMPS Tool in Toolbox, you will see a tab for Input Configuration. This will allow you to change certain parameters for each input. One of them is a checkbox for HDCP Support. Uncheck this and it disables HDCP on the selected input. After that, unplug the HDMI cable from the input, reboot the Airtame, and wait for it to restart. When it’s finished, plug the HDMI cable back into the input.

  • DMPS3-4K-150 Units:

Open up a web browser and type in the IP address followed by /setup/ Ex. x.x.x.x/setup/ After accessing the page, click the hamburger menu in the top-right and select the Main option. Then, select the desired input and uncheck the box labeled HDCP Support. After that, unplug the HDMI cable from the input, reboot the Airtame, and wait for it to restart. When it’s finished, plug the HDMI cable back into the input.

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