Troubleshooting: USB-C video problems

The USB-C input is “plug and play” — you don’t need to do anything on the projector. As soon as you plug in the cable, the projector will switch to it.

Note that there are two USB-C ports: one only for charging, and one only for video. The correct one for video is shown below:

If it’s not working, try the following:

  • Are you using the supplied USB-C cable, or another cable? If you’re using another cable (e.g. the charging cable of your notebook), please first try with the included cable.
  • Are you plugging into the correct USB-C port on the PicoPix Max? There’s one only for charging, and one only for video. Please use the video port!
  • Is an HDMI cable also plugged in? If yes, unplug all cables and then plug the USB-C cable back in. The projector automatically switches to the last-plugged input.
  • Have you enabled USB-C video output on your laptop?
  • If you have any other devices with USB-C video output, does plugging them into the PicoPix work fine?

You can also try upgrading the USB-C video chip firmware by following the instructions here.

If nothing works, it’s possible that your device does not support “DisplayPort Alternate Mode” for USB-C video output.

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Not working properly with Surface Laptop 3, usb c detecting the device every 15 seconds

I cannot get the USB-C Video port to recognize either of my laptops (MacBook Pro 15 or Surface Laptop 3).

I know the USB-C ports are working on the devices because they are connected to my USB-C monitors all other times when I am home.

I was having same issue, be careful of the USB-C cable you are using as well as the power source. You need to be using a cable that is equipped to handle high resolution Video. The standard cable that comes with the macbook pro may not be capable of transmitting video to PicoPix, although it does work with monitors. The cable provided with PicoPix IS capable but you will need another one if you want to use both USB-C ports for charging/video.

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Got it… good thing I also have a TB cable laying around

Just got my PPM and also got Problems with USB-C Video. - Didn’t get it to work. Used the included cable - the left USB-C Video port and connected it with my Xiaomi Airbook and also my Redmi Note 8. On the Xiaomi Airbook the 2nd display seems to be recognized also the PPM switches to USB-C Input, but it alway displays “no signal” eveb with switched to the second Display in Windows 10 Settings.

@Philips_Support_P
Qustion: Would content like iTunes movie on iPhone/iPad be visible if iPhone/iPad is connected thru (in my case Xr) a Apple Lightning to USB-C Cable? To the USB-C Video port of PPM obviously! If so than probably the ZiggoGo app (Live TV channels on the go) can be played also if this is a valid path to “transport” the video stream. Or do you need more than just the physical connection with the suggested cable interface? Thkx for looking into this.

Hi @chat54, no, iPhones don’t support USB-C video. That cable is for charging only. You can use the Lightning-to-HDMI adaptor to connect your iPhone to PicoPix Max through the HDMI port instead of USB-C. This will work correctly for all content, encrypted as well.

If you have an iPad Pro, you can use the supplied USB-C cable directly without any adapter.

Thkx voor fast reply. I found the LDAV-adapter as well at Apple site. I also saw 2x video iPhone/iPad with PPM on 1) LDAV link and 2) thru AirPlay. Does this imply that sound is now by default by PPM (at least if I understand remark under HDMI 4CC/Zoom/BT not supported)? For standard TV / Sports not an issue, but when playing a movie I would like to pair to eg BT Headphone. Note: When using ATV 4K (Apple TV, living room) this is not an issue, because you can pair Headphone to ATV. However ATV3 (attic or holiday use) only has only optical link for audio out, so lot more hassle for HomeCinema sound experience. Hopefully I am wrong with my conclusion because aslo read in PPM standard mode with internal apps you can even pair 2x BT … Btw is YouTube in HD? That could be an alternative on renting a movie… Thkx for checking out.

Please see INFO: Limitations of features for HDMI and USB-C inputs.

  • there’s no BT audio support when playing external video. You can plug speakers into the audio out jack on the PPM though. So if you want you can also plug a Bluetooth or FM transmitter to this jack to get wireless audio of HDMI content too.
  • yes YouTube is in full HD, but due to lack of Google services, it’s not guaranteed that rented/purchased YouTube content will really play. You can log into your Youtube account, but we’ve not tested playing purchased content in Youtube.

I can’t manage to get the usb-c input working. I tried different cables (PPM, Mac, Dell), different laptops (MBP16, Dell Latitude) and all I get is a yellow screen with no signal on the PPM. I tried a factory reset as well…

Hi @pconort,

At least for the MBP16, I’ve read here that it’s a known issue, but it seems that MBP15 for example is OK.
On my side, I’ve tested with success my MBA 2019 13" with the provided PPM cable.
Have you people around you with such equipment in order to test ?
Or maybe you can find an adapter which converts USB-C to HDMI ?

I think it should work with the 2 laptops I mentioned. Both of those laptops are well known and follow the usb-c standard. Is the usb-c limited somehow?

I assume you’ve applied the test protocol at the top of this thread (have you ?).

As said in the (quite long) thread below, connection with MBP 2019 16" seems to have an issue :

Yes, I’ve applied the protocol.

Now, I’ve just tested with an iPad Pro, and it works on it. So there is an known issue on MBP16, and a new issue on Dell Latitude 7390. The 2 only laptops I use :frowning:

Here is the error I get on the Latitude 7390 on W10E 1809:
PPM_USBC_Error

I know it’s a half-solution, but while waiting for a lasting solution you can use as a workaround an adapter USB-C/HDMI, as said by @trappm in the same thread :

I think it was confirmed that PPM uses alt-mode HDMI on its type-C port instead of alt-mode DisplayPort.
Maybe you can check your laptops which alt-mode it supports.

So this is a new hardware limitation of the USB-C PPM input, it should be written somewhere.

Probably or your connected device’s limit :sweat_smile:
It’s not really common for devices to indicate which technology they are using for this.
I’ve actually searched for what the Samsung S8 uses because it’s not working on my PPM but works on my portable monitor via type-C and I read somewhere that S9 works on PPM. In the end, I was not able to see anywhere that confirms which alt-mode it supports :smile:

DisplayPort is the most widely implemented alternate mode, and is used to provide video output on devices that do not have standard-size DisplayPort or HDMI ports, such as smartphones and laptops.
USB-C - Wikipedia

I think it’s Okayish for a device to not support all the modes, but not for a monitor or a projector. Or at least it should be very clear that USB-C is HDMI alt-mode only.