Troubleshooting

Start with the symptom below, follow the checks in order, and compare the preview with the illustrated examples. For audio reactions, confirm that the track plays, the meters move, and a reaction changes the selected layer. A working screen preview does not confirm a projector connection or safe laser output.

Canvas Is Black / No PreviewCopy Anchor Link

Cause: Hardware-accelerated graphics are unavailable in your browser.

Fix: Use Chrome or Edge with hardware acceleration enabled (check chrome://gpu).

The 2D ILDA Viewer has the broadest browser support. For the 3D Beam Viewer and Cinema mode, use a current Chrome or Edge browser with hardware acceleration enabled.

Export Won't Play on My DACCopy Anchor Link

Cause: Your DAC only supports Format 0 (indexed color), not Format 5 (true color).

Fix: Re-export with Format 0 selected. SD card projectors and some older hardware DACs only understand Format 0. In Export options, switch from Format 5 to Format 0.

See ILDA Format Versions for a full comparison.

Audio Isn't ReactiveCopy Anchor Link

Cause: No audio file loaded, or no mapping rows configured. BT Laser Studio's audio features are file-based — Animation Studio analyzes an uploaded track (MP3, WAV, OGG, M4A), it never listens to your microphone, so there is no permission to grant.

Fix:

1. Open AUDIO → AUDIO CHAIN in Animation Studio and load a track under 1 SOURCE. Wait for the analysis to finish.
2. Under 3 MODULATION, click + ADD REACTION. Choose a Source and Target, then use Drives to select the layer that should move.
3. Give Min and Max different values. Equal values keep the target fixed even while the meters move.
4. Press Play in the bottom Timeline. Preview selection in Audio Trim plays the sound and meters without running the composition.

See Audio-Reactive Features for the complete reaction controls and a reproducible TALK example.

File Opens But Shows No FramesCopy Anchor Link

Cause: The ILDA file has a missing or malformed terminator header, or uses an unsupported format code.

Fix:

1. Check the Validation panel for specific format errors
2. Ensure the file ends with a terminator header (records = 0)
3. If the file uses an unusual format code, contact the original software vendor

3D Viewer Shows "WebGL Unavailable"Copy Anchor Link

Cause: The browser cannot start the 3D graphics view, usually because hardware acceleration is disabled or a graphics driver needs attention.

Fix: Enable hardware acceleration, restart the browser, and check chrome://gpu for reported problems. The 2D viewer remains available while the 3D view shows the static error message.

For Cinema mode, use the latest Chrome or Edge release.

SVG Conversion Produces Too Many PointsCopy Anchor Link

Cause: The SVG has excessive intermediate points from the export tool (common from Illustrator, Figma, and web fonts).

Fix:

1. Raise Trace → Simplify from its 2.0 default and use Show Point Density to see whether long runs become sparse without losing visible curves
2. Use Smooth curves only when the source actually contains curved paths; it does not round straight logo corners
3. If the SVG still contains thousands of meaningful nodes, run a Simplify Path operation in the source editor before export

Still Image Adds Vertical Lines at the SidesCopy Anchor Link

Cause: The image contains real contrasting edge pixels, or the background-removal/crop settings are exposing content at the boundary.

Fix: Start with the default Trace → Silhouette, turn Crop off, and check EDGE MAP. Still PNG and JPEG sources keep their aspect ratio, and a uniform background that reaches the image edge should not become a pair of side rails. If the rails remain in EDGE MAP, crop the unwanted edge pixels or make the source background uniform before tracing.

Video Conversion Is SlowCopy Anchor Link

Cause: Large file size, high resolution, or complex content.

Fix:

1. Lower the Max Frames Limit in the left panel and reload — fewer frames means less to extract and trace
2. Trim your video in an external editor to only the section you need before uploading
3. Lower the target FPS (15 FPS is often sufficient)
4. Use SVG Parser instead of ImageTracer if your content is motion graphics (it's significantly faster)

Animation Studio Keyframes Not SavingCopy Anchor Link

Cause: Project auto-save may not have triggered, or the browser session was closed before save.

Fix: Animation Studio auto-saves in the current browser — there is no manual save step. Clearing site data removes the session, and sessions do not sync to another browser or device. Give edits a moment to persist before closing the tab.

LaserCube: Mirrored, Red Too Dark, or StutteringCopy Anchor Link

Cause: The cube's own Flip X / Flip Y, the red diode's ~30% turn-on threshold, or a Wi-Fi link.

Fix: BeamTracer's output matches LaserOS's test pattern when the cube's Flip X / Flip Y are off. Red needs about 30% power on this cube where green shows at 2%. Use Ethernet. All three, with the cube settings and what the cube does when the stream stops, are on the LaserCube page.

Further ReadingCopy Anchor Link