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Video display issues on Windows with multiple GPUs

Windows systems with both integrated graphics and a dedicated GPU (NVIDIA/AMD), or with many monitors connected, may cause Videosync to display video incorrectly. This article explains the two most common symptoms and how to resolve them.

Scenario 1: Video Monitor and Video Recorder devices show a black screen​

What’s happening​

Both Video Monitor and Video Recorder use Max’s Jitter objects to display video textures from Videosync inside Ableton Live. Because Max runs inside the Ableton Live process, Videosync and Live must use the same GPU to share textures successfully.

If Videosync is rendering on one GPU while Live/Max is running on another, the textures reside in different GPU memory spaces. Windows cannot share those textures directly between GPUs, which results in a black screen in the Max for Live devices.

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You can check to see what GPU each application is using within Task Manager. In the Processes tab, right-click in the row that contains the headers of each displayed column, and add “GPU Engine.” This number will correspond to one of your graphics cards. To know which is which, go to the Performance tab, where each engine is labeled with the corresponding GPU.

How to fix it​

Ensure both Videosync and Live use the same GPU (preferably the dedicated GPU).

Windows 11 steps:​
  1. Open Settings and navigate to System > Display.
  2. Scroll down to "Related settings" and click on Graphics.
  3. If Ableton Live and/or Videosync are not listed, click on Add desktop app and look up the .exe files for both applications.
  4. Once both applications are listed, unfold their options, and under "GPU preference" select High performance for both applications.
  5. Restart Live and Videosync.
Windows 10 steps:​
  1. Open Settings and navigate to System > Display.
  2. Scroll down to "Multiple displays" settings and click on Graphics settings.
  3. If Ableton Live and/or Videosync are not listed, click on Browse and look up the .exe files for both applications.
  4. Once both applications are listed, select each one and click Options, then under "Graphics preference" choose High performance for both applications.
  5. Restart Live and Videosync
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  • Default location for Ableton Live: C:\ProgramData\Ableton\Live 12 Suite\Program\Ableton Live 12 Suite.exe.
  • Default location for Videosync: C:\Program Files\Showsync\Videosync 2\Videosync 2.exe.

Scenario 2: Videosync window is black on some screens of a multi-monitor setup​

What’s happening​

Ideally, Videosync performs all rendering on a dedicated GPU. When the Main Out window is moved to a monitor not directly connected to that dedicated GPU — such as a monitor connected to the motherboard’s video output or to a USB/DisplayLink adapter — Windows must copy the video frames between devices in order to display the content.

On some systems this works well, but with many displays or high workloads, Windows may not be able to keep up. In those cases, Videosync's Main Out window may appear black unless switched to fullscreen mode. This works because when entering fullscreen, Windows switches to a different presentation mode that avoids the heavy cross-GPU copying.

How to fix it​

Ensure that the Videosync window is always displayed on a monitor connected to the dedicated GPU.