Lightroom 5.7.1 - LR Slideshows Notorious Black Screen

It seems several members are being affected by the black screen when the LR slideshow option is activated. From reading what has been posted this is a long standing problem, back to 2013. My Mac Pro was working just fine with LR 5.7.1 until yesterday when I went to present my client's images and poof zippo… grrr, technical glitches can be quite disturbing when they present themselves in from of your client.
LR is a great tool for presentations and I sure would like to know if anyone has found the root cause for this problem.

Thanks John but yes I have read the thread. One other note, my slideshow screen went black after I migrated my existing LR catalog folders to a new hard drive. The catalog folders were transferred within LR so as to maintain the original LR catalog links. The LR catalog remains on one drive and the files in folders on another, which is common in my file structure but this transfer was done with existing folders that were already linked to the LR catalog. So using a method I have used for years I importing a new set of images, placed them in a folder and tried a slideshow… unfortunately the same black screen. So this rules out using transferred folders on a new drive causing the problem. One thought might be is just the act of transferring folders to a new drive triggered something within the LR software. I wonder if others who are experienceing this problem had recently transferred folders to a new drive when this anomaly happened.

Similar Messages

Slideshow in Lightroom 5.5 Mac Yields Black Screen

I just discovered that the slideshow functionality in Lightroom 5.5 on my Mac yields only a black screen.
This is the case for both impromptu slideshows (CMD-Return) and the Slideshow module.
From a Google search and looking over topics in this forum, I've found other posts describing this identical problem for both Mac and Windows versions of Lightroom going back to the original introduction of Lightroom 5 over a year ago.
I've been using Lightroom on various Mac computers since the first Lightroom beta release over 10 years ago. I generally don't use the slideshow functionality of the program, so I was quite surprised to discover yesterday that it's not working in Lightroom 5.5. I originally tried to preview/play a slideshow with 100 photos--some Olympus Raw files and some Canon JPEG files. I have since replicated this problem with a test collection of 5 JPEG images.
I know that the slideshow functionality used to work back in Lightroom 3 and 4. I hadn't tried to use it in Lightroom 5.x until now, so I don't know when it became broken, but it's definitely broken now...and from reading various posts here on Adobe forums and in related non-Adobe forums, it appears that Adobe has yet to acknowledge that this problem exists...which I find surprising and disappointing.
The only work around seems to be to export a PDF slideshow from the Lightroom 5.5 Slideshow module, which does produce a full-screen slideshow PDF. But, the slideshow functionality should work directly in Lightroom, as well.
DETAILS:
Hardware: Mac Book Pro Retina -- fully loaded (2.6 GHz Intel Core I7, 16 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB graphics card, External Apple 27" Cinema Monitor connected via Thunderbolt)
OS: Mac OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks
LR Version: Lightroom Mac 5.5
Problem 1: Impromptu Slideshow (pressing CMD-Enter/Return keys from Library/Develop modules) causes:
1. spinning beachball for seconds to minutes depending on how many images are in current folder/collection
2. followed by "Preparing Preview progress bar
3. followed by entirely black screen. Pressing forwards/backwards arrows do nothing; pressing ESC or mouse click returns to Lightroom module
Problem 2: Slideshow Module - Clicking Preview button (or Preview triangle under slideshow window) causes:
1. Preparing Preview progress bar
2. followed by slideshow window turning completely black.
Pressing forwards/backwards arrows does nothing; pressing ESC or clicking mouse returns slideshow window to display of slideshow layout
Clicking the Play Slideshow button exhibits exactly the same behavior as above, except that my entire screen blacks out instead of just Lightroom's slideshow window.

I’m disappointed
Edit
Delete
Robert Kahn less than a minute ago
Update:
Just upgraded from Lightroom Mac 5.5 to 5.6.
Per my post above, creating an impromptu slideshow (CMD-Return) or using the Slideshow module produces either a completely black preview or a completely black full-screen slideshow.
While Adobe addressed other issues and bugs in Lightroom 5.x, they apparently did not address the slideshow functionality in this release, alas....

Lightroom 5 slideshow shows a black screen

Please help, I have upgrade to 5.2 but still have the same problem whith black screen.

Not sure who'll be able to help you how, but I work-around my in-Lr5 slideshow problems by using ShowBiz plugin.

I would like to use slideshow in lightroom to export my video as a full screen 1920x1080 video with text overlays. I am using text overlay in lightroom as it reads from the metadata that is easy for me to input in the library screen. When i export from

I would like to use slideshow in lightroom to export my video as a full screen 1920x1080 video with text overlays. I am using text overlay in lightroom as it reads from the metadata that is easy for me to input in the library screen. When i export from lightroom slideshow and choose the 1920x1080 resolution the end product is a very small video in the middle of a black background. i have double checked and do not have any borders turned on. Another option would be to export from the library but lr mogrify does not seem to put text overlays on video either. Any input would be welcome.

I dont understand anything you said in your post.
Do you have a specific question about video production?
The forums are for individual technical or creative issues that users have with video production. I am sur someone will be able to help you, but and to get a response it is best to ask a specific question.
Is this about a technical problem you have or something about setting up a web site? If its the latter this is the wrong forum.

When I create an album and then try to watch it in slideshow, I get only a black screen with a white title. No photos come up. Also when I click on an individual photo in the album, I get a white exclamation point on a black background but no big photo.

When I create an album of photos and then open the album and try to watch it by selecting "slideshow" I get only a black screen. The white title comes up briefly but then no photos, only a black screen. Also when I go back to the album and click on a thumbnail, up comes a big white exclamation point on a black background instead of the enlarged photo. Any idea what's going on?

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one. .
Regards
TD

Slideshow - just shows a black screen

I set up a photo album on iWeb, but when I am visiting the site, clicking the the Play Slideshow command opens a black screen that does nothing. I did enable the slideshow option in the Inspector.
I'm using Safari.
Any suggestions???
Carl

All of your slideshows work but they take a looong time to load and I've got a very fast connection. What type of connection do you have? I'm using Safari 4b. You may just have to wait longer for all of the files to load before they display in the slideshow. For example your 1945-70 has 83 photos. Change the slides per page to 30 and each page will load much faster. The last group has 98 per page on the first page. Reduce that to around 30 and have more pages.
You have a several options:
1 - fewer photos per page.
2 - use an application like Web Site Maestro to optimize your site files and then upload them to your iDisk.
3 - move your site to a commercial hosting service like Host Excellence, GoDaddy, etc. which will vastly increase load times.
4 - move to a commercial server AND use Web Site Maestro or similar which will help make the site more accessible to those using the outdated Internet Explorer.
MobileMe is just not setup for commercial use and, as a result, is much slower than other servers.
OT
Message was edited by: Old Toad

Black screen in Slideshow

Since installing Leopard and using iWeb08 my .Mac sites do not support the Slideshow option. The thumbnails and the enlarged photos appear but when I press Slideshow I only get a BLACK screen with the title of the site on the header ???

On further examination I find that with Firefox 2.0.0.8 I can read the Slideshow but not with Safari 3.0.4.
Microsoft Explorer and Netscape 7.2 cannot read the summary file even so that will limit the viewability of the .mac material.

Viewing Slideshow in Bridge CS6 causes Black Screen

Not a question, just an observation that I don't know where else to report this.
I was using Bridge CS6 to view a folder of 200+ photos in Slideshow mode (Ctrl + L).
I was simply using the left and right arrow, occassionally the Spacebar, and marking about 25% of them as rejects by using the keyboard shortcut Alt + Delete.
Suddenly the entire monitor went black. No text message (not the Black Screen of Death), just black. I tried several standard Windows keyboard shortcuts to try to get a different view (Windows + Tab, Ctrl + Alt + Delete, etc.), but nothing worked. I could tell that the monitor was still functioning correctly by simply bringing up its on-screen menues. The only thing that I could do was to turn off the power to the computer. After rebooting, Windows, Photoshop, and Bridge all seemed to operate correctly (but I haven't yet gone back to Slideshow view).
I haven't had a program or Windows crash for months now, but I just installed Photoshop CS6 (not the extended version) late last week.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
nVidia GTX-460 video card with newest drivers installed (296.10)

I can't help with the black screen, but that sounds like a slightly risky way of cleaning out the rejects. I prefer to give non keepers a single star (Ctrl 1) and bring them up with the filters, so I can look through them one last time.
Just a thought, but there is a tenuous link with slide shows and projectors. I wonder if it went into external monitor only mode. (Windows key p) I have just tried it here, and was unable to make anything appear on my main screen. You'd be working blind, but a possible solution (if it happened again) would be to go Windows key p > right cursor key (once) > Enter. That would put you back into main monitor only mode.

Some snaps show up as black screens when I try to view them as single pictures.Even when I run them in slideshows they show up as black screens.These are jpeg files.How can I avoid this happening?

Some snaps show up as black screens when I try to view them as single pictures.Even when I run them in slideshows they show up as black screens.These are jpeg files.How can I avoid this happening?

There are several possible causes for the Black Screen issue
1. Permissions in the Library: Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Include the option to check and repair permissions.
2. Minor Database corruption: Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild.
3. A Damaged Photo: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and right click on it. From the resulting menu select 'Show File (or 'Show Original File' if that's available). Will the file open in Preview? If not then the file is damaged. Time to restore from your back up.
4. A corrupted iPhoto Cache: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto folder from HD/Users/Your Name/Library/ Caches...
5. A corrupted preference file: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder. (Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
If none of these help:
As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

IPhoto gives black screen when I try to use Slideshow or Edit

Hi:
I have a new Powerbook Pro with Snow Leopard and iLife 09. I can see all of my photos in the library, but when I try to go to full screen view, or try to edit a photo, I get a black screen. For the full screen view, the thumbnails are aligned at the top of the screen if I move the cursor there, but the screen remains black where the photo is supposed to be. I tried rebuilding the library (option + control when launching iPhoto), and deleted the iPhoto plist file in the library - preferences folder, but the problem persists.
Thanks

Rebuild the library using iPhoto Library Manager as follows:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 -Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 -Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your User/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File->Rebuild Library menu option
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. +*The original library will be untouched for further attempts at fixing or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.+*

What causes black screen in PSE 8 slideshow playback

When I preview slideshow I get black screen. Sound works great. What's happening?

Bonjour.
I have the same problem : Vista home premium Pack 2, Intel Core 2 Quad CPU, Q9400 @ 2.66 GHz, 2.67 Ghz, 4 Go, NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
I applied the solution proposed by:
http://www.johnrellis.com/psedbtool/photoshop-elements-faq.htm#Slideshow_preview _doesnt_show_photos
This solution does not work.
Although I run PSE as administrator, I always have a black screen when I play my slideshow.
Can anyone give me a solution?
Thanks
The French OldPapy

Black screen during slideshow

This question might have been asked, but the person didn't specify slideshow. When I open my pictures in iphoto, they appear fine in the library. When I try to create a slide show, I just get a black screen. Sometimes if I click on one it might open in preview or it might appear black.
What is causing this? How might I fix it?
Thanks
g4 Mac OS X (10.4.9)
g4 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Welcome To Discussions.
Tell us what version of iPhoto you are using.
If you click on the slideshow option and get a blank screen it is because you have not selected any photos, album or roll first.
This presumes you can view these photos in the iPhoto window.
Opening in Preview has nothing to do with iPhoto. I would warn you against trying to open any photos in the iPhoto Library folder with another application. This is the iPhoto database and you must leave it alone.

Slideshow goes black

I get a black screen and that annoying music when I try to do a slideshow from certain files. Have to click Apple>Option>Esc in order to get back to desktop. Any reasons anyone would know of why this happens.
Also, I loaded a CD full of jpegs and they are scattered all over the place, in different files, thumbs, etc. Could this be a possible conflict with the slideshow?
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Jim

If Mac is so easy, why does it take me, computer-literate on FCP in Mac, not able to find a particular photo
Jim,
It's not that hard to decipher. The hierarchy starts with folders, potentially one for each year. Each year can contain up to 12 folders (that correspond to the 12 months of the year). A "month" folder can contain up to 31 folders (that correspond to the up-to 31 days in a month. Each of your image files has a creation date made up of day, month, and year components. A photo you took yesterday would end up in a folder named "28" in a folder named "09", in a folder named "2005".
If you imported that picture today, it would appear on a "roll" in your photo library with other photos from the same import session, and that roll would be dated "9/29/2005". If the picture had special significance, you'd do things like title the photo, or put it in an album (or multiple albums) having a particular theme, or associate key words with it.
I'm not certain how many more ways you'd want to organize things, but the flexibility to find any important photo in an instant is certainly there.

Iphoto. When I play an album "slideshow" some photos show up as a blank/black screen. Please help if you know what I am doing wrong.

Iphoto Question
When I playing a "slideshow" album, a few photos show up as a blank screen. Also, when I select a photo in an album to make it full screen - some photos won't "hold" - they go full screen for about a second, then the screen goes blank. Any ideas about what I am doing wrong? Thank you.

There are several possible causes for the Black Screen issue
1. Permissions in the Library: Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Include the option to check and repair permissions.
2. Minor Database corruption: Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild.
3. A Damaged Photo: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and right click on it. From the resulting menu select 'Show File (or 'Show Original File' if that's available). (On iPhoto 11 this option is under the File -> Reveal in Finder.) Will the file open in Preview? If not then the file is damaged. Time to restore from your back up.
4. A corrupted iPhoto Cache: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto folder from HD/Users/Your Name/ Library/ Caches...
5. A corrupted preference file: Trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder. (Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
If none of these help: As a Test:
Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library'
Import a few pics into this new, blank library. Is the Problem repeated there?

Firefox shows an ugly black screen between each transiton of my slideshows

I created two slideshows on two different web pages a few months ago. They displayed well on firefox, chrome and IE browsers at the time I built them.
But now suddenly the firefox browser is displaying an ugly black screen moment between each transition of the slides in the show.
Chrome and IE are still showing the slideshow correctly.
Why is it wrong on Firefox only? How can I fix this?
View the slideshow here:
http://www.theboatshed.net.nz/

I removed the slideshow from the boatshed site as it looked too awful to leave it there. I left the one on my own web site where you can still see the problem. You can also see the problem on the demo shows on the site that makes the software. I
bet they're pretty annoyed.
Here it is on my site:
http://www.tuiscope.co.nz/pagefiles/familyxmas11.html
But remember the problem only shows in Firefox.

Lightroom 5.7.1 - LR Slideshows Notorious Black Screen

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