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    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Video screensaver black screen

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
    screen savervideo screensav
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    • BillyHB
      BillyH @mathrocks
      last edited by

      @mathrocks sounds like the screensaver can't find videos to use... I take it that you do actually have games with videos installed. Which settings do you use in the screensaver options menu?

      • First Pi: Pi 3 in a PSone case
      • Second Pi: Pi 0 in a Retroflag GPi Case
      • Third Pi: Pi 4 as a desktop computer
      • Some time in 2020: Picade
      M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • M
        mathrocks @BillyH
        last edited by

        @BillyH
        Yes, sorry I did not explain that. I have videos for all games. Videos were downloaded using the SSelph video scraper. I am using EmulautionStation v2.7.4RP.

        Screensaver settings are:
        Screensaver after 1m
        Screensaver behavior - Randomvideo
        Video screensaver settings:

        • swap video after 30s
        • use OMX player for screensaver - on
        • screensaver controls - on
        • show game info on screensaver - currently using “start and end” but have tried them all
        • stretch video on screensaver - off
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        • M
          mathrocks @mathrocks
          last edited by

          @mathrocks

          Actually, great question! As I typed the settings I realized I had OMX player on. I turned it off and now video screensavers work! I can’t believe I didn’t catch that before! I saw the OMX player settings in the “other settings” section before and thought that was the only section that let you control using the OMX player or not. Problem solved, thanks!

          jonnykeshJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • jonnykeshJ
            jonnykesh @mathrocks
            last edited by

            @mathrocks You should probably convert those to run on OMXPlayer. VLC is great and all, however it uses software decoding. This will cause your videos to stutter and your Pi to overheat (If you don't have a fan).

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            • M
              mathrocks @jonnykesh
              last edited by

              @jonnykesh

              Ok thanks. I will look into that. I’m guessing there is a guide for that in this forum?

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              • fabio78F
                fabio78
                last edited by fabio78

                The videos downloaded with sselph scraper do run on OMXPlayer. And if they show on the game selection screen with OMXPlayer on, the should show on the screensaver.
                Although you found a solution, something’s still weird.

                jonnykeshJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • jonnykeshJ
                  jonnykesh @fabio78
                  last edited by jonnykesh

                  @fabio78 They can run fine, apart from the MAME/FBA/NEO-GEO snaps which usually come from ArcadeItalia. I believe there is an issue with the bit depth / sample rate (don't quote me on that!) on the "Arcade" snaps and OMX will not play them.
                  Anyway, back to the point... most people I saw on here were converting the video snaps to 480x360 @ 30fps to get the best performance from OMX in the menu.

                  https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/11131/what-is-the-best-video-preview-resolution/4

                  fabio78F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • fabio78F
                    fabio78 @jonnykesh
                    last edited by

                    @jonnykesh Ah ok. Well, for MAME/Neo Geo I’ve downloaded a full set from a website a while ago, all working in OMX flawlessly. Unfortunately I don’t remember which one, but try and Google it. I think it’s a better course of action than going through the pain of converting every single one of them.

                    jonnykeshJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • jonnykeshJ
                      jonnykesh @fabio78
                      last edited by

                      @fabio78 Yeah, that does sound like a major headache. I've never bothered with videos, apart from a splashscreen. I'm happy with a decent image. I don't even like metadata for year, publisher, etc.

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                      • M
                        mathrocks @jonnykesh
                        last edited by

                        @jonnykesh
                        Thanks to you both for your help on this!

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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