Video Preview

For a song whose sound comes from a video, the picture can appear in a small window in the corner of the score. This is the video preview. Use it when you need to watch the video yourself — following a visual cue, or timing a piece of staging.

The video preview is about this device's screen. Putting the picture on a screen for the audience is a different feature: see Video on an External Display.

Which Songs Show It

The video preview appears only for songs whose sound source is a video file (MP4, MOV, and similar). Songs with audio-only sources never show it. That is not a fault.

Registering a video as a sound source is covered in Uploaded Files.

On devices that do not support it, the video preview row does not appear in settings at all.

Turning It On and Off

There are two entry points, and both flip the same setting.

• While viewing a score: Video Preview in the display menu
• From settings: open Video Preview under "Audio and Video Output" in Global Settings, then Show video preview

This switch is not a default for next time — it is whether the window is on screen right now. Turning it off removes it from the score you are looking at, immediately. The quickest way to bring it back during a performance is the display menu.

If video on an external display stutters on Android, first turn this switch off. It closes only the preview on your device; external video and audio continue. The app does not change this switch or playback automatically. See Video on an External Display for the next checks.

Moving It

Drag the video preview with a finger. When it covers something you need to read, move it to a free corner.

The device remembers where you left it, so it comes back in roughly the same place next time rather than making you rearrange it for every song.

With a keyboard attached, the arrow keys move the preview once it has focus. Hold Shift for finer steps.

Changing the Size

The size is one of three choices — small, medium, large — and decides how much of the score the window covers.

• From settings: Video preview size on the Video Preview page
• On the spot: press and hold the video preview to open the size menu

Size is a single setting for the device. Unlike the position, it does not vary from song to song.

Folding It Away

To free up the score for a moment, press the fold button (the downward chevron) at the top right of the window. A small tab remains; press it to bring the window back at its previous size.

Whether it is folded is remembered too, so a preview folded away stays folded the next time you open a score.

Hiding and folding are different actions. Hide it when you will not need it for a while; fold it when you want it back shortly.

Folding only collapses the window; Video Preview remains on. To reduce video-processing load on Android, turn Video Preview off in the display menu instead of folding it. External-display video and audio continue when the preview is off.

When the Picture Does Not Appear

• It stays black. While the picture is being prepared the window is black. No spinner or loading text appears there, deliberately — it would be a distraction during a performance. If it is still black after a few seconds, hide the preview and show it again.
• It says the preview is unavailable for this song. No picture can be taken from that song's sound source: it is audio-only, or a format this device cannot handle.
• The window is nowhere to be seen. Check whether Video Preview is switched off in the display menu, and whether a folded tab is sitting in a corner of the score.
• If it is the sound that is missing rather than the picture, check the source's level and mute in Mixer Settings instead.

Related Screens

• To show the picture to an audience, see Video on an External Display.
• If the picture on that screen drifts from the sound, see Video Device Latency.
• Registering video files is covered in Uploaded Files.