Your TV or monitor screen is blank while connected to your Xbox 360 console

Your television (TV) screen or monitor remains blank or black when you start your Xbox 360 console. The green power light on your console is lit and you might hear sound. The circle of lights surrounding the power button might be flashing red.

Typically, this problem occurs if the audio/video (A/V) cable is not connected correctly, or if the A/V cable is faulty.

Solution 1: Set the television or monitor to the correct input

Make sure that the TV or monitor is set to the correct input for the console. Check the TV or monitor's manual to see how to configure the video inputs, or try to use the console on a different TV or monitor. 

If the screen is still blank, try the next solution.

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Solution 2: Connect the A/V cable securely

Sometimes, you can insert the A/V cable far enough to prevent any red lights from flashing on the Xbox 360 console but not far enough for the console to transmit images or sounds to the screen.

If the screen is still blank, try the next solution.

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Solution 3: Switch the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable to the correct setting

Make sure that the TV/HDTV switch on the cable is set correctly.

• For standard-definition TVs with only the yellow connector plugged in, set the switch to TV.
• For high-definition TV or monitors with the red, blue, and green connectors plugged in, set the switch to HDTV.

If the screen is still blank, try the next solution.

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Solution 4: Reset the display settings on the Xbox 360

1. Make sure the disc tray is empty.
2. Turn on the console.
3. Press and hold the right trigger and the Y button on the controller.
   
   
   
   
   
   The console will reset the display settings to the factory default settings, and restart automatically.

If the screen is still blank, try the next solution.

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Solution 5: Connect the A/V cable correctly

There is a circle of lights (Ring of Light) around the power button on the Xbox 360 console. If four red lights flash, the A/V cable might not be connected to the console correctly.

Disconnect the cable, reconnect the cable, and then start the console again. For more information, read the following article:

906652  Four lights flash red on the front of the Xbox 360 console

You can also use the following diagrams to make sure that the A/V cable is connected correctly between the console and the TV or monitor.

Xbox 360 Standard AV Cable (composite) connected to a TV by a composite A/V input
Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable connected to a TV by an RGB input
Xbox 360 S-Video AV Cable connected a TV by an S-Video input
Xbox 360 VGA Cable connected a TV by a VGA video input
Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable connected a TV by a composite video input
Xbox 360 HDMI Cable connected to a TV by an HDMI input

If the cable is connected correctly, try the next solution.

Xbox 360 Standard AV Cable (composite) connected to a TV by a composite AV input

Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable connected to a TV by an RGB input

Note If you have an audio receiver with an optical audio input, connect your optical audio cable (by using a TOSLINK connector).

Xbox 360 S-Video AV Cable connected a TV by an S-Video input

Xbox 360 VGA Cable connected a TV by a VGA video input

Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable connected a TV by a composite video input

Note If you have an audio receiver with an optical audio input, connect your optical audio cable (by using a TOSLINK connector).

Xbox 360 HDMI Cable connected to a TV by an HDMI input

Note If you have an audio receiver with an optical audio input, connect your optical audio cable to the HDMI Audio adapter (by using a TOSLINK connector).

Note If you have an audio receiver with analog audio input, connect your audio cable.

The HDMI Audio adapter is included with the Xbox 360 HDMI AV Kit.

If this solution did not work, try the next solution.

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Solution 6: If you can hear sound, but the screen is blank, the TV or monitor might not support HDCP

If you experience a black screen only when playing movies over an HDMI connection, the TV or monitor might not support High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). If the HDMI port does not support HDCP, you might hear sound but not see any picture when you play movies or games. The HDMI Audio adapter is included with the official Xbox 360 HDMI AV Kit.