# When a display does not play what the plan says

The display shows something other than expected, a program entry does not take effect, or a message prevents saving. The following sections are ordered by frequency: first the wrong content on the display, then the times, the playlists, and finally the messages of the portal.

> **Type:** troubleshooting
> **For:** Anyone who has planned a program and wants to check why it works out differently than expected.
> **Prerequisite:** Access to the **Programs** area and to the affected display. To make changes, you need the permission to edit programs.
> **Where in the portal:** **Programs** · **Displays** › open a display › **Playback** tab

## The display shows the wrong content

The first place to look is always the display's **Playback** tab: the cards at the top say what is assigned and whether an override is running. The **Playback timeline** below shows what follows from that for the day. **Show composition** unfolds the layers **Override**, **Program entries**, and **Base program**.

![The playback timeline of a display with the composition unfolded: the Override layer (1) above the Program entries layer (2), above them the Result row with the fully calculated day (3), and at the bottom the Refresh button (4)](/docs/programs/bilder/23545f3e-timeline-composition.png)

*1 Override layer · 2 Program entries layer · 3 Base program layer · 4 Result row · 5 Refresh*

| Symptom | Meaning | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| The display does not show the expected content | An override is running, another program entry applies, or an off-air period is planned | Open the **Playback** tab and read the cards and the timeline: [Check what a display is showing now and will show today](/docs/displays/check-now-playing) |
| The display shows the **Placeholder screen** | Nothing is assigned to the device (**No program assigned** — “The device shows the placeholder screen until you assign something to it.”) | Assign something in the **Playback** tab: [Assign a program to a display](/docs/displays/assign-program) |
| The display shows **Off air** with a time | An off-air period is planned for this time, and the time is the end of its window | Open the responsible program entry in the weekly plan and change its window or pause it: [Schedule time off air](/docs/programs/schedule-off-air) |
| The program has no effect at all | It is not assigned to any display, and the **Runs on** card in the editor stays empty | Assign it at the display — an assignment lives at the device, not in the program: [Assign a program to a display](/docs/displays/assign-program) |
| The plan does not take effect on a display at all | An override sits on top of it and replaces everything, including the base program | On the **Override is running** card, click **End override**: [Show something else now (override)](/docs/programs/start-override) |
| A program entry does not run | It carries the **Paused** badge (switch **Do not play for now**), its one-off appointment lies in the past, or its weekday is not chosen | Open the entry in the weekly plan and check the switch, **Date of the appointment**, or weekdays: [Create, edit, pause, or delete a program entry](/docs/programs/create-program-entry) |
| Two program entries overlap, and the wrong one wins | The platform decides without asking, and in the weekly plan the winner lies almost fully over the other | Shorten the window or create the entry again: [Which program entry wins when entries overlap?](/docs/programs/about-priorities) |
| A change does not yet appear on the timeline | The calculation is cached briefly | Click **Refresh** below the timeline. On the device, **Refresh content** helps: [Remote maintenance: send commands to a display](/docs/displays/remote-maintenance) |

## The times are wrong

| Symptom | Meaning | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| The change comes one or two hours too early or too late | Program entries are calculated in the organization's default time zone, not in your account's time zone. The dialog names it in a footnote, **All times in …** | Read the footnote in the dialog and check the default time zone under **Settings › Company details**: [Master data of the organization](/docs/organization/master-data) |
| A window across midnight runs on the wrong evening | The day of the start counts: “Friday, 22:00–06:00” runs from Friday 22:00 to Saturday 06:00 | Set the weekday of the start. The moon icon and the sentence **The window ends on the following day.** confirm the intention: [Day windows, midnight, and time zones](/docs/programs/time-windows) |
| A gap of one minute remains between two days | The window was set to 23:59 by hand | Use **All day (24 h)** — that sets a window from 00:00 to 00:00, a full 24 hours without a gap: [Day windows, midnight, and time zones](/docs/programs/time-windows) |
| A single device changes at a different time than its neighbors | Its clock runs without synchronization, and the portal reports **Clock out of sync** | Check the device's network access: [Troubleshooting on the device](/docs/devices/troubleshooting) |

## A playlist does not play what it should

| Symptom | Meaning | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| An automatic playlist plays nothing | Its source currently matches no playable media, for example because of an empty folder or a tag combination that is too strict. The source card reports **No playable media currently matches this selection.** | Open the playlist, read the match count on the content card, and widen the folder or tags: [Automatic playlists from a folder, tags, or OneDrive](/docs/programs/automatic-playlists) |
| Not all media of the source run | A source playlist takes the first 200 matches in the chosen order. The card reports **Not the whole selection runs** and “a source playlist takes no more.” | Narrow the selection or spread it across several playlists: [Automatic playlists from a folder, tags, or OneDrive](/docs/programs/automatic-playlists) |
| A scene is skipped on the display | It is still a draft, and when scheduling it carries the note **Not published yet** | Publish the scene — before that, it appears on no display: [Save, publish, versions, and conflicts](/docs/content/save-and-publish) |
| In the test run it says **This scene is no longer available.** | The scene this item points to no longer exists | Remove the item from the sequence and replace it with another: [Create a playlist](/docs/programs/create-playlist) |
| A media item is missing in the library picker of the playlist editor | It has not finished processing yet — only what is playable is offered | Wait for processing and check the state in the library: [Upload media](/docs/content/upload-media) |

## The content runs but looks wrong

| Symptom | Meaning | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| The content runs with black bars | Its orientation does not match the display. In the picker, it carries the badge **Does not fit the screen format — it would play with bars.** | Use a scene in the format of the display or do not mix portrait and landscape scenes in a playlist: [Which format does a scene need for which display?](/docs/content/about-scene-formats) |
| A scene is missing from the picker on the device | The **Scenes** tab at first shows only what fits the format of this display | Switch on **Show all formats** — what does not fit then runs with bars: [Assign a program to a display](/docs/displays/assign-program) |

## Messages when saving and deleting

| Message | Meaning | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| **Please pick at least one weekday.** | A weekly repeat without a day would have no occurrence at all | Switch on at least one weekday or change to **One-off only**: [Create, edit, pause, or delete a program entry](/docs/programs/create-program-entry) |
| **Please pick a date.** | **One-off only** without an appointment | Fill in the **Date of the appointment** field: [Create, edit, pause, or delete a program entry](/docs/programs/create-program-entry) |
| **These details could not be saved. Please check the time and the repeat.** | The time details do not make a valid repeat | Check the time and weekdays in the dialog. For a 24-hour window, use **All day (24 h)**: [Day windows, midnight, and time zones](/docs/programs/time-windows) |
| **This program already has the maximum number of program entries.** | The cap of 200 program entries per program is reached | Merge entries, delete those no longer needed, or create a second program: [Manage programs: rename, delete, check assignments](/docs/programs/manage-programs) |
| **This program still runs on at least one device.** | The deletion lock applies as long as the program is assigned or sits on a display as an override | First assign something else to the devices from the **Runs on** card ([Assign a program to a display](/docs/displays/assign-program)) or end the override there ([Show something else now (override)](/docs/programs/start-override)) |
| A button is grayed out | You lack the necessary permission | Ask an Owner or Manager: [Permissions by role and by area](/docs/organization/permissions-by-role) |

## Related

- [Check what a display is showing now and will show today](/docs/displays/check-now-playing) — the cards and the timeline in the **Playback** tab.
- [Show something else now (override)](/docs/programs/start-override) — the layer that replaces everything beneath it.
- [Content does not appear](/docs/help/content-troubleshooting) — the search across media, scenes, playlists, and programs.