Screen Display issues

Hi, I'm getting to my wits end. Every time we turn on Presenter, I never know what is going to show up on what screen. We have the main computer, sending to a computer monitor running V-Mix which sends the signal to two monitors... one is the main projection screen that the congregation sees and the other is commonly called a confidence monitor that the worship team sees. We've tried turning on things in different orders, followed the instructions to connect screens but it seems to work differently every time and it is becoming very frustrating. We want the lyrics on the main projection screen for the congregation and a split screen for the band. Right now the split screen is showing up on the main display and the one we have labeled for the band. We've tried setting up and identifying the various screens and according to MS and assigning the "display 1 and 2" that way but like I mentioned, it doesn't work the same way twice. Sometimes we stumble on the right settings by accident and then just hope and pray it doesn't change but the next time we turn the system on we are back to square one, trying to figure out the right combination to get things on the right screens again.

Is there a simple explanation here? How can I reset all the monitors and start again? Do you have suggestions as to what should be turned on first? Please help... Christmas Eve tomorrow night. It work Sunday but nothing we tried tonight at final rehearsals got the right results.

We have been experiencing the same issue as well for 2 years with no resolution. it is directly related to startup procedure. we have a tv for a confidence monitor 2 monitors for the PC and a projector for main display. startup procedure is monitors for PC, projector, then TV. if that is followed all works with no changes needed.

Hi Nancy,

Can I suggest you first tell us more about the workflow of your setup. On a PC
My understanding of a setup normally is that Computer is connected to a display (ex. HDMI 01) which is the desktop display (Monitor) where applications (Presenter/VMix) are display that you are running. Then the Computer is connected to a display (ex. HDMI 02) which is connected to the Projector where the presentation/song lyrics are displayed. Then the computer is connected to a display (ex. HDMI 03) which is connected to the Stage Display or Confidence Monitor at the stage. This is what I would expect.

You are referencing Vmix, and it is sending the signal to two monitors. Unfortunately at the point I'm not as familiar with VMix and how it is used. I understand it can do this over the network.

Normally I would suggest that you make a sequence of power on of your equipment so that you computer sees everything the same way and recognizes the equipment and however you configure the displays it should see it the same way all the time. Power On Sequence would be power on ALL displays (Monitor/Projector/and TV) first, then power on PC. The PC should recognize each display. At this point you start Presenter and configure the display output settings to assign Audience Display, and the Stage Monitor (also called confidence monitor). After you have everything setup properly and working. Shut down computer, and displays. Follow power on sequence and restart Presenter. It should see everything and outputs should be going to your desired display outputs.

As I'm not familiar with VMix and you have not explained how VMix is setup a OR how Vmix is sending the two monitors. I'm not sure what's up there with that and can't offer a suggestion because we have no idea as to how it was configured. Hopefully you can explain that and someone else can chime in on the situation based on that configuration. Much success to you.

BTW we use to use PC's but have migrated to Mac. We also don't use VMix but use an ATEM. Currently I don have Stage Monitor setup yet as I need to lay an SDI run for a separate video signal if we decide to implement a Stage Monitor. Currently we run a SDI to our Projector with a BiDir BlackMagic MicroConverter and piggyback the signal form that to extend it to the stage to run a Stage Monitor that Mirrors our Audience Display because so far we don't need an actual Stage Monitor yet. Again Much success to you with this setup and hopefully your situation will be cleared up soon.

We use Mac for our set up, and recently purchased a Mac mini that has the ability for three different native displays. It is rock solid now. Before that, we tried using a DisplayLink hub to trick the Mac into thinking there were additional displays, but that proved to be very unstable.

A previous post suggested making sure that all displays are started first and in the right order, and this helps a lot and should be a part of every startup procedure, but a simple power glitch, or somebody accidentally unplugging a display can cause the displays to go off again. This becomes particularly frustrating when the displays go to a position where your main display, the one with the dock and the ability to change settings, is on the rear confidence monitor! It then becomes very difficult to reset the settings.

A really good solution was to create an Apple script that automatically snaps all three displays into the right order and the right resolutions. It runs on start up and can also be triggered by a keyboard stroke or an icon on the dock. If the control display ever ends up on the back wall screen, option+F1 snaps everything back, and then the mouse can be used again! However, this shortcut only needs to be used in an emergency, because since the script automatically always runs on start up, the displays are always correct to start with.

Allan, do you have a copy of an Apple script to do this? Along with the steps to implement it? This is a good option and it would be good to document instructions and a copy of the Apple script you are mentioning here along so others can utilize it.

This isn’t for the faint of heart, but it sure works well! You’ll have to load homebrew, then from homebrew, displayplacer, and in our case (since we want to make sure that the audio output on the Mac is always set to our X32 sound mixer) SwitchAudioSource. This all runs in the same script.

Below is the script in Automator on the M4 Mac mini that snaps the correct displays in place, sets the monitor to the main display, sets the resolutions and sets the audio to X-USB (the X32 mixer):

delay 2
set audioSuccess to false

try
-- This command maps: Desk (1920x1080) -> Projector (1280x800) -> Hisense (1920x1080)
-- It identifies the Desk (7CDD) as the 0,0 Main display.
do shell script "/opt/homebrew/bin/displayplacer \"id:7CDD908B-CD26-43F9-A7A1-7F3F0111E512 res:1920x1080 hz:120 color_depth:8 enabled:true scaling:off origin:(0,0) degree:0\" \"id:D48FFD41-0EE2-40CC-92A7-169E3975AAAD res:1280x800 hz:60 color_depth:8 enabled:true scaling:off origin:(1920,0) degree:0\" \"id:B8415B24-1EED-4B4A-94EA-DB83B3E3288F res:1920x1080 hz:60 color_depth:8 enabled:true scaling:on origin:(3200,0) degree:0\""

-- Audio fix for X32
try
do shell script "/opt/homebrew/bin/SwitchAudioSource -s 'X-USB'"
set audioSuccess to true
on error
set audioSuccess to false
end try

if audioSuccess is true then
display dialog "SUCCESS: Desk is Main. Order: Desk -> Projector -> Hisense. X32 Audio Set." with title "System Restored" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
else
display dialog "Displays fixed, but X-USB audio failed." with title "Audio Issue" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
end if

on error errorMsg
display dialog "Error: " & errorMsg buttons {"OK"}
end try

Here is a more complete step by step guide:

Church Tech: The "Master Reset" Guide
For Mac Multi-Display & Audio Stability
Goal: A one-touch fix for when macOS scrambles projector order, moves the Main Display (Dock), or loses connection to the sound mixer (e.g., Behringer X32).

Phase 1: Install the "Engines"
We use Homebrew to install two small utilities that allow the Mac to change hardware settings via script.
1. Open Terminal: Press Command + Space and type Terminal.
2. Install Homebrew: Paste the following and press Enter: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" (Follow the prompts; enter your Mac password if asked).
3. Install the Tools: Once Homebrew is finished, paste and run these two commands:
* brew install displayplacer
* brew install switchaudio-osx

Phase 2: Capture Your "Perfect" Layout
1. Set it manually: Open System Settings and arrange your displays and audio output exactly how they should be for a service.
2. Get Display DNA: In Terminal, type displayplacer list. Scroll to the bottom and copy the entire line starting with displayplacer "id:...
3. Get Audio Name: In Terminal, type /opt/homebrew/bin/SwitchAudioSource -a. Find your device (e.g., X-USB) and note the exact name.

Phase 3: Create the "Reset" Application
1. Open Script Editor (found in Applications > Utilities).
2. Paste the code below, replacing the placeholder text with the strings you captured in Phase 2:
AppleScript

delay 2
set audioSuccess to false

try
-- Force Display Layout & Resolution
do shell script "/opt/homebrew/bin/displayplacer \"PASTE_YOUR_LONG_ID_STRING_HERE\""

-- Audio fix for Mixer
try
do shell script "/opt/homebrew/bin/SwitchAudioSource -s 'YOUR_AUDIO_DEVICE_NAME'"
set audioSuccess to true
on error
set audioSuccess to false
end try

if audioSuccess is true then
display dialog "SUCCESS: Displays Restored & Audio Set." with title "System Restored" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
else
display dialog "Displays fixed, but Audio failed. Check if Mixer is ON." with title "Audio Issue" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
end if

on error errorMsg
display dialog "Error: " & errorMsg buttons {"OK"}
end try

Export: Go to File > Export.
* Name it: Reset Displays
* File Format: Application
* Where: Applications Folder

Phase 4: Create the "Panic Button" (Alt + F1)
1. Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts.
2. Select App Shortcuts (left sidebar) and click the (+) button.
3. Application: All Applications.
4. Menu Title: Reset Displays (Must match your app name exactly).
5. Keyboard Shortcut: Hold Alt and tap F1.

Phase 5: Set to Run on Startup
To ensure the Mac checks itself every time you log in:
1. Go to System Settings > General > Login Items.
2. Click the (+) and select your Reset Booth app.

Why this works:
* Hardware-Based: It uses hardware IDs, so it won’t get confused if you swap cable ports.
* Coordinate Origin: It forces the (0,0) coordinate, ensuring the Dock/Main Display stays on the desk monitor.
* Hard Paths: Using /opt/homebrew/bin/ ensures the script remains stable after macOS updates.

Sorry, Phase 5, 2. should say "...select your Reset Displays app".