Video on an External Display

When a song's sound source is a video file (MP4, MOV, and more), its picture can be shown on a supported external display. This is the feature behind "music video on the venue screen, scores in your hands."

Available on iPhone, iPad, and Android. On Android, it works only through a connection the system recognizes as an external display.

Getting a Music Video onto the Venue Screen

1. Add the video as a sound source. In the Library's Audio tab, use the add button in the corner and pick the video file (it is the same button as for audio)
2. Attach it to a song from Setlist Detail, exactly like any other sound source
3. Connect the external display. See "Connection Paths by Device" below for supported ways to connect
4. Turn "Send video to the external display" on and open the song with video. After loading, the current still frame appears even before playback. If the setting is off, the screen mirrors your device instead
5. Play the song. Video and audio start from the displayed position

If your sound goes to a PA or speakers, on iPhone/iPad connect the audio interface before step 3 (see "iPhone/iPad Connection Order and Audio Route" below).

Monitor the Audience Picture in Your Hands

While video is being sent to an external display, Video Preview on the score shows the same video and playback position. It lets the performer check what the audience sees when the venue screen is behind them.

Video Preview works the same way during rehearsal without an external display. Turn Video Preview on from the Display menu at the top of the score. Turning the preview off does not stop external video or audio. See Video Preview for its controls.

On and Off

The switch lives in the Audio & Video Output section of Global Settings: "Send video to the external display." It is on by default, so ordinarily there is nothing to change.

• On: the external display becomes this app's dedicated screen. Opening a song with video shows its stopped frame, and playback continues from there. The screen is black when there is no video
• Off: the display returns to ordinary device screen mirroring, showing your score screen as-is

Below the switch you can see the current state (sending, not connected, checking, switching). Turn it off when the display should simply mirror your tablet; turn it on for shows where the audience should see the music video.

A Black Screen Is Normal

While external output is on, the screen is deliberately black whenever there is no video — between songs, during audio-only songs, and briefly while changing video sources. From the audience's seats, black is the least distracting thing a screen can show.

After a song with video finishes loading, its current still frame appears before playback. If the screen remains black at that point, follow "If No Picture Appears on Android" below.

The picture is also never cropped — the whole frame is shown, so a vertical video gets black bars on the sides. That is normal too, and there is no setting for it.

Connection Paths by Device

iPhone and iPad

• Wireless (AirPlay): swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center, tap "Screen Mirroring," and choose your Apple TV or AirPlay-capable TV.
• Wired (HDMI): use an HDMI adapter that fits the device (USB-C or Lightning) to connect the TV or projector.

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Android

• Wireless: use Android system settings to connect to a wireless display the device recognizes as an external display. Miracast is one supported example.
• Wired (HDMI and similar): use the device's supported wired video-output path to connect a TV or projector. A USB-C port alone does not guarantee video output; check the device specifications.

Google Cast / Chromecast cannot be used as the destination for this feature. Cast receivers fetch and play video independently, which is different from PagePilot's external-display output. Not every Android device and wireless receiver combination will work.

Mirroring the device's own screen is separate from this external-video output. Whether mirroring is available and how it is started depends on the Android device, OS, and receiver; not every Android device can use a generic "Cast" procedure. Do not apply the Pixel-specific steps below to Android devices in general.

If you use a Google Pixel

No Pixel model supports wireless displays. You cannot use this feature wirelessly on a Pixel.

The "Cast" entry in Pixel settings is Google Cast. Connecting to a Chromecast or Google TV does mirror your screen to the TV, but external video output does not start over that connection and the status never becomes "sending video". This is not a defect.

Wired support depends on the model. Pixel 8 / 8a / 8 Pro, Pixel 9 series, and Pixel 10 series support video output over USB-C. Pixel 7 and earlier, and Pixel Tablet, cannot output video over a cable either, so this feature is unavailable on them.

If you only need the TV to show the same screen as the device, turn "Send video to external display" off and use Pixel's "Cast" for screen mirroring. Scores are mirrored as well.

iPhone/iPad Connection Order and Audio Route

Once AirPlay mirroring starts, the app's sound also plays from the screen's side by default. For a small room where the TV's speakers are all you need, that is fine as-is.

To play the sound from a PA or your own speakers instead:

1. Connect the audio gear — an audio interface, for example — first, and only then start mirroring. In the reverse order, the connection to the gear drops
2. Pick the sound's output in Mixer Settings

If No Picture Appears on Android

Check these in order:

1. Make sure "Send video to the external display" is on and its subtitle says "On (sending video to the external display)." If it says no display is connected or the app is still checking, continue with the connection checks below.
2. Confirm the external-display connection is complete in Android system settings.
3. Confirm you are using a supported external-display path, such as Miracast, and that wired video output is supported by the device when using a cable.
4. Open a song that has video. After loading, its current still frame appears before playback. The screen stays black between songs and for audio-only songs.
5. If Video Preview is shown on the score, confirm that both the external display and the preview show the same stopped position. If only one remains black, record that state and the exact operation order rather than repeatedly reconnecting.
6. Once the still frame is visible, start playback. On Android, the audio route and the Miracast video destination are selected separately, so sound coming from the tablet or the selected audio device is not itself a fault.

If the subtitle says "On (wireless display detection is unavailable)," wireless display detection is unavailable. It does not disable wired output. When you are using a cable, continue by checking the connection and playing a video song.

If External Video Stutters on Android

If you see “The device detected continuing delay while processing video,” it means video processing on the Android device has continued to fall behind. It does not mean the app directly observed the final picture on the TV or Miracast receiver. The app does not stop playback or turn Video Preview off automatically when this appears.

If Video Preview is visible, turn Video Preview off from the Display menu at the top of the score. This closes only the small window on your device; external video and audio continue. If Video Preview is already hidden, or closing it does not help, prepare a lighter video that the device and its display connection can handle, and check it with the same combination you will use in performance. There is no one numerical video recommendation that applies to every device or destination.

If Picture and Sound Drift Apart

On a wireless screen, the picture can arrive slightly later than the sound. Align them with Video Device Latency.