When you hear sound but see a black picture, the stream's video format is usually one your device or browser cannot decode, while its audio is in a format it can. AromaOtt Player plays streams as the provider sends them and cannot convert them. Trying the same channel in the Android app or on another device usually shows whether it is the format or the device.
Why does this happen?
A video stream has two parts packed together: the picture, encoded in one video format, and the sound, encoded in an audio format. Your device has to decode both. Most streams use widely supported formats, but some channels use:
- HEVC (H.265), which many browsers and older TV sticks cannot decode;
- older broadcast video formats, or interlaced pictures, which browsers often do not handle;
- a resolution or frame rate beyond what an older device's chip supports, for example 4K on a stick made for HD.
If the device can decode the sound but not the picture, you get exactly this: sound, black screen.
Is it the player, the device or the stream?
- Try another channel in the same playlist. If every channel is black, the problem is not the format; see the checks below.
- Try the same channel on another device, for example the Android app on a phone if you were on a TV stick, or the app if you were in a browser.
- If it plays elsewhere, your first device cannot decode that stream's video.
- If it is black everywhere, the stream itself may be broken at the provider. Tell your provider which channel it is.
Why does the Android app often do better than a browser?
The app plays video through Android's own player with the device's hardware decoding, which supports more formats, such as HEVC on most recent devices, than a browser's built-in player. It also decodes common broadcast audio formats such as AC-3 and E-AC-3, which many browsers cannot play, so it avoids the opposite problem of picture without sound.
What the app can decode still depends on the device's chip. A new TV stick decodes more than one from several years ago.
What can I try?
- Update the app to the latest version (it offers updates when it starts).
- Switch the live format for the playlist: in Settings → Player → Live stream format, try HLS instead of Automatic (MPEG-TS), or the other way round. Some providers send different encodings per format.
- Leave and reopen the channel, or press Reload on the home screen.
- Try a lower quality if the stream offers several in the player's settings.
- Use another device for that channel if only one device is affected.
What if every channel has sound but no picture?
That is not a format problem. Check:
- that nothing else is drawing over the picture, by closing and reopening the player;
- that the TV's HDMI input or display mode is not the cause, by restarting the device;
- in the app, Settings → About → Diagnostics, which shows how your last plays went.
Older app versions could keep a channel's sound playing after you left Live TV; that was fixed in 2.0.7, so make sure you are up to date.
Can the provider fix it?
Sometimes. Providers often offer the same channel in more than one quality or format. Tell them the channel name and the device you use. AromaOtt Player has no channels of its own and does not alter streams, so the stream itself can only be changed at the provider.
What should I send when I ask for help?
The channel name, the device and app version (Settings → About), whether it plays on another device, and a copy of the Diagnostics screen. Diagnostics never shows passwords or full addresses.