How to Fix Black Screen Video for Amazon Prime/YouTube/Udemy/Any Other Players

5 mins read

Updated on 2024-12-30 21:47:59 to Video Error

Issue: Black Screen While Playing Videos

"Why my YouTube video is black screen? Can somone help me please? Every time I try to play a video on YouTube, I get this black screen after 5 seconds (sometimes 5 hours). It only goes away when I restart my GPU by pressing shift, ctrl, win and b but I have to press it like 20 times until I can see somthing but if I move my mouse 2 seconds later it gets black again and I have to do i it again."

-Question from Reddit

Imagine that your favorite creator just dropped their newest video and you are all excited to watch it. So you open YouTube, Amazon Prime, Udemy, or other video platforms. But all you can see is a black screen video sound but no picture. Wouldn't that be frustrating?

The black screen while playing videos is a notoriously common issue faced by many users. This error can occur with YouTube videos or in general with the videos that you play on your media player. There are a lot of causes behind why that happens but there are a lot of fixes to solve it as well and that's what we are going to talk about in this article.

how to fix black screen while trying to play videos

Part 1. Why Is Video Black Screen While Playing

Many factors play into a black screen while playing videos. Check if it’s one of the following reasons that’s making your video black screen:

  • Damaged or corrupted video file
  • Unsupported video format
  • Missing video codec
  • Malfunctioning Adobe Flash player
  • Accumulated browser cache.
  • Issues with the video player or browser settings
  • Outdated or incompatible graphics drivers
  • Ad blockers or extensions interference
  • Hradware acceleration struggles with borwser/video applications

Part 2. How to Fix Black Screen on YouTube Videos [Also for Facebook/Instagram/Udemy/Netflix]

When you get a black screen when playing videos, there are several common troubleshooting steps you can take to resolve the issue for YouTube, Facebook, Udemy, Instagram, and any other online video platforms.

Note

If you encounter the video of black screen on YouTube, you also can check this guide: How to Fix Black Screen on YouTube Videos [6 Fixes]

Fix 1: Disable Hardware Acceleration on Chrome

Hardware acceleration is a great feature that offloads certain tasks from the CPU to the GPU, which helps improve the performance of video playback and other multimedia applications. However, hardware acceleration can sometimes cause compatibility issues, leading to black screen whhen playing YouTube videos. To solve it, you will have to turn off hardware acceleration in the following way.

  • In Google Chrome, tap on the Customize and Control option on the top-right of the and then click on Settings.

    black screen when trying to play video
  • Inside settings click on 'Advanced' and then go to 'System'.

    fix black screen video
  • Go beside the 'Use hardware acceleration when available' option and turn it off via scroller. Restart Chrome.

    how to fix black screen while trying to play videos

Fix 2: Update NVIDIA Driver

Outdated or faulty NVIDIA display drivers such as GeForce Experience can impact the performance of video playback on your computer. By updating your display drivers to the latest version, you can ensure that your graphics hardware is fully supported and compatible with the latest software and media formats. If your display drivers are not updated, here is what you have to do.

  • Open the 'Device Manager' by using the 'Windows + X' keyboard shortcut.

    Update Display Driver
  • Select the 'Display Adapters' option and double-click on it.

  • Now right-click on it and choose the 'Update drivers' option and follow the wizard.

    update display driver to fix black screen

Fix 3: Reinstall Media Player

Corrupted or misconfigured media player installations can lead to video black screen issues as well, especially if essential components or codecs are missing or damaged. The best way forward is to uninstall and reinstall the media player with which your videos show a black screen.

Fix 4: Clear Browser Cache

When the cached data accumulates on your web browser over time, it can sometimes interfere with video playback, leading to black screen issues. Here's how you can clear it on various browsers.

1. For Google Chrome

Head to the Chrome menu and go to 'More Tools/History'. In the History window click on the 'Clear browsing data' option.

Clear Cache for google chrome to fix black screen

2. For Firefox

  • Go to Menu > Settings > Privacy and Security.

  • Once in the 'Settings' window, tap on the 'Clear Data' option to clear the cache.

    Fix black screen by clearing firefox cache

3. For Safari

Safari users can go to Menu > Empty cache to clear it.

4. For Internet Explorer

Tap on the menu icon and go to 'Safety'. Here click on the 'Delete browsing history' option. Next up select the Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, and History/Preserve Favorites Website Data options and press delete.

Fix black screen by clearing IE cache

Fix 5: Remove Conflict Browser Extensions

Browser extensions or add-ons installed in your web browser can sometimes interfere with online video playback and cause video black screen while playing. The only way to fix this is by removing the extensions one by one and seeing if it resolves black screen issue when playing videos.

  • Launch Google Chrome and click on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner, then go to "More tools" > "Extensions."

  • Check the list of installed extensions for any that may be causing issues with video playback.

  • Toggle off or remove any extensions, then close and reopen your browser to apply the changes.

    fix video black screen by removing browser extensions

Fix 6: Delete the Temporary Files

Temporary files may load your system and make it slow leading to black screen errors. To get rid of these files open the 'RUN' box and type in 'Temp. You'll be directed to the hidden temp folder. Delete this folder entirely.

delete the temporary files

Fix 7. Convert YouTube Videos to MP4

Sometimes, the black screen problem is related to internet connectivity or buffering issues. By downloading the video, you can play it locally without relying on a stable internet connection. On the other hand, some media players handle video formats better than browsers. Thus, you can download YouTube videos to MP4 that is compatible with most players.

Part 3. How to Fix Amazon Prime Video Black Screen on TV/Computer [Also for Netflix]

Fix 1: Reduce Hardware Acceleration for Video Card

Reducing hardware acceleration settings directly on the video card can help resolve compatibility issues that may be causing video black screen problems. You can reduce your video card hardware acceleration in the following way.

  • Right click on the desktop and go to Personalize > Display Settings > Advanced Settings.

    reduce video card hardware Accelerationto fix black screen
  • In Advanced Settings go to the 'Troubleshoot' tab and click on 'Change Settings' followed by clicking on 'Reduce Hardware Acceleration'.

Fix 2: Adjust Media Player Settings

Most often than not, the main cause of the Black screen issue is the media player itself. So tweaking its settings may help us in solving this issue.

  • In the VLC player, go to Tools > preferences > Video tab.

    fix corrupted mp4 fix black screen while watch video
  • Click on the 'All' button to get the full preference view. Now under the video output module, switch to the module you like and then restart the app. Play your file to see if the error has been solved.

    fix black screen video

Fix 3. Decrease Video Resolution from 4K UHD to 1080p

A lower resolution requires less bandwidth, which can prevent buffering and loading issues that might cause a black screen, especially on slow or unstable internet connections. Besides, lowering the resolution reduces the processing load on devices with limited hardware capabilities, which can improve playback performance and reduce the chances of encountering a black screen.

Fix 4. Clear Amazon Prime Cache or Update It

It is proven that clear the cache or data of Amazon Prime and update it to the latest version can fix the video black screen problem for some users. It can also resolve the Amazon Prime video not working issues.

  • Open mobile Setting and go to "Apps" > "Manage Apps".

  • Scroll down and click on the Amazon Prime app.

  • Click the bottom "Force Stop" button to close the app. Then tap "Clear Data" to delete its caches

  • Then go to Google Play Store or App Store to update Amazon Prime to the newest version.

Part 4. How to Repair Video of Black Screen Due to Corruption

Broken or corrupted videos usually show up with a black screen when you try to play them. However, there's no need to worry, as these videos can be easily repaired with just one click. All you need is a powerful and professional video repair tool, and nothing fits the bill better than the Tenorshare 4DDiG Video Repair.

Powered by advanced AI technology, 4DDiG Video Repair tool is capable of resolving any video corruption issues you may encounter. Whether your videos display a black screen during playback, fail to open in your media player, or suffer from distortion, choppiness, lagging, or blurriness, this tool can be employed to work its magic and get your videos back to normal.

Benefits from 4DDiG Video Repair

  • Handle even severly damaged videos with the Advanced Repair mode.
  • Repair videos in popular formats including MP4, MOV, MKV, MTS, FLV, M4V, etc.
  • Support for popular camera brands such as Canon, GoPro, and DJI.
  • Support full preview of repaired videos before saving.Popular camera brands, such as Canon, GoPro, and DJI are supported.
  • Guarantee of being 100% safe, fast repair with an easy-to-use interface.
  • Serve as an AI video enhancer and video colorizer that allows you to enhance video quality up to 8K and colorize black and white videos.

How to Fix Black Screen While Playing Videos Corrupted

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  • Activate the 4DDiG File Repair software and select the "Corrupted File Repair" option from the left sidebar. Then pick "Video Repair" to proceed.

    4ddig video repair
  • Add the video that is giving you the black screen by clicking on the "Add Videos" button.

    add black screen videos to repair
  • Then tap the bottom-right "Repair All" button. 4DDiG Video Repair will quickly scan the uploaded videos for corruption and repair them.

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  • Once the repair process is finished, preview the repair videos and make sure it won't show black screen any more and then sace them to a location of your choice.

    export repaired videos

Video Tutorial

Part 5. Video Black Screen FAQs

Q1. Why my video stream shows black screen?

It can be due to various causes like.

  • An irregular network connection
  • Malfunctioning Adobe Flash player
  • Accumulated browser cache
  • An internal bug within YouTube or the media player
  • An issue with the browser settings

Q2. How do I fix the black screen glitch?

You can easily fix the black screen glitch in the following ways:

  • Using a professional video repair tool like 4DDiG video repair
  • Turning off Hardware Acceleration
  • Reducing Video Card Hardware Acceleration
  • Disabling Nagle’s Algorithm
  • Updating the Display Drivers
  • Clearing Cache

Q3. Why does my screen turn black when I watch YouTube?

Videos may turn up black on YouTube either due to the browser settings, built-up cache, or an internal bug within YouTube.

Q4. How do I fix the black screen when watching videos on my iPhone?

You can fix the black screen on your iPhone by clearing the cache of your YouTube app or reinstalling the program.

Q5: How to Stream Prime Video on Discord without Black Screen

You can try the following methods:

  • Open and play Prime Video on a Broswer
  • Turn off hardware acceleration on Chrome
  • Start a Discord Voice Channel
  • Ajust video qaulity
  • Share your screen on Disord

Summary

So that's the thick and thin of how to fix the black screen video when playing. Try all the fixes and see which works and if you don't know what to do just use the professional 4DDiG video repair tool and it will take care of the rest.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Secure Download

FREE DOWNLOAD

Secure Download

William Bollson (senior editor)

William Bollson, the editor-in-chief of 4DDiG, devotes to providing the best solutions for Windows and Mac related issues, including data recovery, repair, error fixes.

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