Why won't my layout play? / The splash screen plays instead of my layout

FAQ's
1

Problem:

Layout will not play / the splash screen is shown instead of playing the Layout.

Cause:

Xibo requires all Layouts to contain something to show. For a Layout to be valid to play on a Xibo Player, it must meet the following criteria:

  • Must have at least one Region on the Layout
  • All Regions on the Layout must have at least one valid Media item on it

If the Layout doesn’t meet that specification, then the Player won’t attempt to run the Layout and so the Layout will be missing from your Display. If you only have that Layout set to play (eg if it’s set as the Default Layout), then the splash screen will play as there’s nothing else to show.

  • If the Layout is the only Layout currently scheduled, the Player will show the Default Layout instead of your scheduled content.
  • If the Layout is one of many currently scheduled, it will be removed from the Players playlist and the other Layouts will continue to show in rotation.

Solution:

Firstly, check to ensure that your Layout meets the above criteria.

Check your Module Installation - Sometimes a Layout may fail to show because some files that are associated with the Layout aren’t available on the CMS. One place such files may come from is from add-on Modules installed on your CMS. You can check they’ve been installed correctly by visiting the Modules page in the CMS and clicking the Verify All link at the top right of the page.

Ensure you give your Players sufficient time to download the updates and then see if the problem is resolved.

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Check the Player information Screen - Press i on the keyboard on your Windows Player machine or select Status from the menu if you’re using Android / webOS Players. This will bring up the Players hidden information screen which shows the status of the Player, if files are downloaded etc. Check through the log messages and see if any of them match those detailed below:

FileAgent - Run|Downloaded file failed MD5 check This means that we downloaded a file from the CMS but it was corrupt in some way. The most frequent cause for this is:

  • Incorrect setting for File download mode ( SENDFILE_MODE ) on the General tab in CMS Settings page, under the Administration section of the menu. Ensure that’s set to Off unless you’re sure your webserver supports that and has been configured specifically for that as well.
  • Files in the Xibo Library folder on the CMS being deleted or modified directly (rather than through the Xibo CMS interface). Ensure you never manually delete or change files in the Xibo CMS Library folder directly.

ScheduleManager - LoadNewSchedule|Layout invalid: 10
This means that the Player has tried to load Layout ID 10, but that it considers it to be invalid. That could be because the Layout is indeed invalid (see the definition at the top of the page) or because some Media items or associated files are missing. Check the download status of all files shown on the status screen and identify any issue with files that have failed to download.

RequiredFilesAgentThread|Exception in Run: Unable to connect to the remote server
This means the Player was unable to connect to your CMS, which could be for the following reasons:

  • Your CMS is offline or unavailable
  • Incorrect proxy settings, username or password if you’re connected to your CMS via a proxy server
  • Incorrect CMS address or CMS key entered in the Player settings