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Video for the audience, your score in your hands

During the MC, open the next song. On your cue, start its prepared video and audio while the tablet keeps your lyrics or score in front of you. Viewer can bring those controls together when the song’s video is a local file and the venue screen supports the tablet’s external-display connection.

Start by playing one video in the tablet’s preview. Add the venue screen after that works; a laptop is not required for this playback setup.

First check the display connection

  • iPad / iPhone: AirPlay or a compatible wired external display.
  • Android: a Miracast or wired connection that the device recognizes as an external display. Both the tablet and display must support the route; a USB-C connector alone does not prove video-output support.
  • Google Cast / Chromecast: not supported for this external-video output.

Check the actual device and screen before planning the show around them. The external-display guide includes device limits and connection steps.

What you used to carry Laptop + player software A long HDMI cable Tablet (lyrics notes) all of it → One tablet Songs with video, setlists Lyrics & scores stay in hand ◀ video preview window Playback starts on your cue Venue screen Music video Video — AirPlay / Miracast / compatible wired display PA / speakers The song's audio Sound — to the output you pick in the mixer (an audio interface, for example)
Video, sound, and scores go three different ways — but you only ever operate one tablet.

Rehearse one video without the venue screen

  1. In the Library’s Audio tab, add one local video file, such as MP4 or MOV.
  2. Open the setlist song’s Item Settings and select that file as its audio source.
  3. Open the score, turn on Video Preview in the display menu, and play a short passage. Check that the intended video and audio play while your score remains visible.

That completes the first trial. It also gives you a way to rehearse when the venue screen is unavailable. A screenshot of the preview shows the video’s content; it cannot establish how smoothly the venue’s screen will play it.

Then connect the audience screen

For iPad/iPhone with a PA or separate audio interface, connect the audio interface before starting screen mirroring. Otherwise the interface connection can be lost. Choose the audio destination in Mixer Settings. This connection order is the iPad/iPhone rule, not a universal Android procedure.

Connect the supported external display and open the video song. Output Video to External Display in Global Settings is on by default; if it has been turned off, the tablet’s own screen is mirrored instead. With default before/after-playback choices, the current still frame appears once the video loads, even before playback. Press play and check the picture and audio on the actual screen and speakers.

The whole image is shown without cropping. A portrait video has black bars at the sides. A song with no video or display image leaves the screen black.

Keep the count out of the audience audio

For two stereo feeds, we recommend a compatible audio interface with four or more output channels. Send backing audio to pair 1-2 and click/voice to pair 3-4.

Without a four-channel interface, a wired two-channel audio output can substitute using Dual mono. A left/right breakout cable can send the left channel to the PA and the right to the performers' monitor. Both feeds are mono, but their levels and sound balances remain independent. See the two-channel wiring example for setup and listening checks. The picture's destination is separate from these audio choices.

Audio-only songs and video songs can share one setlist. The small preview over your score lets you check the video when the venue screen faces away. Turning off the preview does not stop the external picture or sound.

Match a small, consistent picture–sound delay

When the picture and sound differ by a small, steady amount, use Video Device Latency. Move the slider until the audible click and the screen flash align. Values are retained separately for wired and wireless connections; check them again when the receiver, screen, route, or venue changes.

A large delay or stuttering picture needs a different check. The delay slider cannot make a video that is too heavy for the setup play smoothly. The external-display guide covers reducing video load, testing wired output, Android Miracast audio interruptions, and delays after moving the playback position.

If the screen is black or one picture lags

Check the output switch and connection status in Global Settings, then confirm that this song uses a video. Black can also be the chosen before/after-playback display. The external-display guide separates these cases and explains Android checks.

If the preview and venue screen disagree, record which one is black and the operations that led there. Use the guide’s route rather than repeatedly closing the song and reconnecting. For another symptom, open the manual’s problem finder.

Leave a logo after the final note

Use Display before and after playback only when you want something other than the video frame: black during the introduction, or a band image at the end. Setlist settings provide shared choices; Item Settings can override them for a song. Song-level changes also affect other setlists using that same song.

Stopping halfway through does not switch to the end display. Test the actual end of the song before the show. The display setup guide gives the image choices and their effects.