RCA/Composite output not displaying

[GrantJDub]

Hi all,

I'm having a problem where my new Raspberry Pi isn't displaying on my old CRT TV that i have connected it to, i can see it booting up and so on but then just the single red power LED is on and nothing is displaying on the screen.

I have read up on what little i can find on this problem but it seems to be very unique to me, everything Ive read says i need to change the configuration file in Raspbian but that is impossible as there is no image at all.

Unfortunately i do not have an HDMI screen to connect it to so i cant troubleshoot it properly. if anyone has an idea of how i can resolve the problem i would greatly appreciate it.

[FTrevorGowen]

Are you using an SDHC card with a pre-installed O.S? If so did it just contain Raspbian, or was it NOOBS based? Likewise, if you wrote the SDHC card yourself, by which method? It's rare for the composite output to fail, but it could be that the default configuration of your installed image is to "force" HDMI output. It is possible to edit and change the configuration file on another computer (not necessarily Linux based, but that ways easier) but more info. is needed before detailed help can be given.
Trev.

[kramnotrub]

I now see that NOOBS requires a blind keypress to activate RCA video out. No way to know that when one cannot see the menu. Bad design in my opinion. Better to have had a PCB switch. Anything that a user could actually see. I sent one back because it didn't work. Put this big yellow connector on a PCB and let the user figure out why it doesn't work.

[FTrevorGowen]

I now see that NOOBS requires a blind keypress to activate RCA video out. No way to know that when one cannot see the menu. Bad design in my opinion. Better to have had a PCB switch. Anything that a user could actually see. I sent one back because it didn't work. Put this big yellow connector on a PCB and let the user figure out why it doesn't work.

That information is clearly stated in the NOOBS installation instructions and quick start guide: see http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads (and also in my "NOOBS installation process" guide at http://www.cpmspectrepi.webspace.virgin ... stall.html)
Trev.

[IrishFramboise]

Thanks for these exchanges. Was most useful

In a nutshell : *Just press 3* (for PAL,..... 4 for NTSC)

[bob p]

Evidently, this bug never got fixed.

I am trying to first boot a brand new RPi using NOOBS with an analog TV as the video output. I'm sorry to say that I'm having the exact same problem as the OP -- at boot I get a blank screen and there's nothing that I can do about it. I'm happy to have found the reference to the "blind keystroke" for changing video modes, but pressing "4" to force analog NTSC output isn't doing anything.

That information is clearly stated in the NOOBS installation instructions and quick start guide: see http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads (and also in my "NOOBS installation process" guide at http://www.cpmspectrepi.webspace.virgin ... stall.html)

Well, no -- it's not. It might have been clearly stated in the NOOBS installation instructions and quick start guide back in 2013 when you wrote your post, but it's 2014 now and the information just isn't there.

Your NOOBS installation guide at "http://www.cpmspectrepi.webspace.virgin ... stall.html" isn't helpful either -- the link is now 404.

Unfortunately I don't own an HDMI monitor and it appears that one can't perform a first install without one.

Any ideas? TIA.

[FTrevorGowen]

Evidently, this bug never got fixed.
I am trying to first boot a brand new RPi using NOOBS with an analog TV as the video output. I'm sorry to say that I'm having the exact same problem as the OP -- at boot I get a blank screen and there's nothing that I can do about it. I'm happy to have found the reference to the "blind keystroke" for changing video modes, but pressing "4" to force analog NTSC output isn't doing anything.

That information is clearly stated in the NOOBS installation instructions and quick start guide: see http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads (and also in my "NOOBS installation process" guide at http://www.cpmspectrepi.webspace.virgin ... stall.html)

Well, no -- it's not. It might have been clearly stated in the NOOBS installation instructions and quick start guide back in 2013 when you wrote your post, but it's 2014 now and the information just isn't there.
Your NOOBS installation guide at "http://www.cpmspectrepi.webspace.virgin ... stall.html" isn't helpful either -- the link is now 404.
Unfortunately I don't own an HDMI monitor and it appears that one can't perform a first install without one.
Any ideas? TIA.

W.r.t. the link to (one of my) webpages - that appears to have got "corrupted" (possibly by the "quotation mechanism" or a "duff copy & paste" - this should work:
http://www.cpmspectrepi.webspace.virgin ... ellow.html
The main NOOBS installation instructions are at:
https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs
(This is linked to from the briefer documentation at http://www.raspberrypi.org/documentatio ... n/noobs.md - NB: NOOBS does (still) presume the majority of users will be using HDMI, issues with using composite or VGA via an HDMI-to-VGA adapter have been logged and, AFAIK, are planned to be addressed, along with others, in the next "major" release.)
What sort of keyboard are you using - wired or wireless? Some wireless keyboards aren't recognised quickly enough for key presses to be picked up before NOOBS starts to re-size what becomes the "recovery partition" (this can take some time and, possibly, depends upon the size of the SDHC card) as noted in my webpage above. Once that activity (ie. no flashing {green} led) has finished, video-mode selection key detection is again active.
Were you using NOOBS full or the network only, NOOBS lite (ie. the smaller download)? That needs a working network to be detected.
Trev.

[bob p]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I've looked at the NOOBS documentation, and following all of the links, I can't seem to find where they discuss the secret keystrokes that are required for composite video booting. It would be very helpful if this information were more conspicuously located in the NOOBS installation guides, so that users who need the information don't have to resort to Google to try to find the blind keystroke information.

Your web page on the corrected URL is helpful, thanks. Knowing how to coordinate the keystrokes with the status lights, and knowing about the wireless keyboard problem, were both helpful in troubleshooting my problem.

Thanks for your help!

[FTrevorGowen]

Thanks for the prompt reply.
I've looked at the NOOBS documentation, and following all of the links, I can't seem to find where they discuss the secret keystrokes that are required for composite video booting.
...

Just to clarify things further for other readers of this thread, the first time the "display mode selection keys" are mentioned is just after the first screenshot, in the "About" section of the main NOOBS documentation, ie. at:
https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs/bl ... E.md#about
Trev.

[bob p]

That's exactly what I meant about needing these boot-to-alternate-display instructions to be more conspicuously documented. The user has to jump through several hoops to find them. I think that there's a weak point in the documentation -- nobody who buys a brand new Pi and can't get NOOBS to work is going to go to straight to Github looking for documentation. A new user is going to go to the Raspberry Pi Foundation's website at raspberrypi.org, and they're going to look at the NOOBS Setup Guide, but they won't find the answer there:

http://www.raspberrypi.org/help/noobs-setup/

When the NOOBS Setup Guide doesn't give them the answer, they might follow the link at the bottom of the page that says "Refer to our Documentation for more information." Unfortunately, when they refer to your documentation, they won't find the answer there either:

http://www.raspberrypi.org/documentatio ... n/noobs.md

To find the answer, they're going to have to follow another link in the second document, which refers them to a third document. Then in the third document they'll find something helpful beneath the first screenshot, as you mentioned.

It might be easier for more people to find the answer if they didn't have to jump through the third hoop just to find out how to make the Pi work when booting with an analog TV as the display. Just my $0.02.

thanks again.