The screensaver stays black
Why a locked simulator shows a black screen instead of its video or image, and how to restore the screensaver.
Between two customers, the simulator shows its screensaver: your video, your image, or the Omnisim visual of Default mode. If it stays black, or shows the Omnisim visual when you expect your video or image, this page helps you find out why.
The symptom
The simulator is locked and its screen is black. The booking QR code, the logo or the content showcase may stay visible on top: only the background is missing.
Possible causes
| Cause | What gives it away |
|---|---|
| Default mode is chosen, or nothing has ever been set. | The simulator shows the Omnisim visual and a message inviting you to customize the screen in NEXUS. |
| No file is chosen. | Displayed file is set to None: the simulator shows the Omnisim visual. |
| The file has not been downloaded by the simulator yet. | You have just changed it; the old content stays on screen in the meantime. |
| The content type has just changed. | You switched from Video to Image, or the other way round: NEXUS removed the file, which was not of the right type, and the simulator shows the Omnisim visual. |
| The simulator cannot play the video. | Instead of the video, the simulator shows the default Omnisim visual, with your logo and the booking QR code on top. |
| The simulator is on standby. | Status Standby in Simulators: the screen is off, not black. |
| A remote control session (remote desktop) has just taken place. | The screen went black just after the intervention. |
Check, in order
Look at the simulator's screen from NEXUS
Open Simulators, then the button in the Diag column (Diagnostics & screenshot) and click Refresh. The capture shows what the simulator is actually displaying. If the Status is Standby, click the button in the Standby column to wake it up: see Put a simulator on standby.
Check the screensaver setting
Open Settings › IGNITION, Screensaver block:
- Screensaver content must be set to Video or Image (not Default);
- Displayed file must name a file.
Click Change to choose a file: Upload from your computer, or choose it from the Omnisim library.
Check that the file matches the type
If you switched from Video to Image, or the other way round, NEXUS removed the old file because it was not of the right type: choose a new file, a video for Video mode, an image for Image mode.
Give the simulator time to download
The simulator checks its settings at each lock or unlock, and at the latest every 5 minutes, then downloads the file in the background. A heavy video can take several minutes on a slow connection. The screensaver changes by itself as soon as the file has arrived.
Try another video
If the simulator shows the Omnisim visual instead of the video although a file is chosen, it cannot play this
file. Upload the same video in mp4 format, or choose a video from the Omnisim
library. If that one is displayed, your file was the cause.
Result
The Diag capture shows the chosen video or image in full screen.
Good to know
- Accepted formats. Video:
mp4,mov,webm. Image:jpg,png,webp. - Maximum size: 200 MB. Beyond that, NEXUS refuses the file, and the simulator does not download it.
- One file per center. Uploading a new file replaces the previous one.
- After a remote desktop session, IGNITION restarts the video by itself. If the screen stays black anyway, restart the simulator with the button in the Restart column in Simulators.
- During maintenance, the simulator does not show the screensaver but the maintenance screen. See Show a maintenance screen.
When to contact support
Contact support if the setting is correct, a video from the Omnisim library also stays black, and the problem persists after restarting the simulator. Give the name of the simulator and the time at which you noticed the black screen.
See also
"Incomplete selection" or "No content available" at the simulator
What the missing-content messages at the simulator mean, formerly "Configuration incomplète", and how to make cars and tracks playable.
Assetto Corsa does not start
The simulator's messages when Assetto Corsa does not launch, closes during loading or stays hidden, and what to check.