Issue: Guest video appears as a black frame instead of the participant’s video.
Zoom Account Setup
Please ensure that your Zoom account is set up correctly. Please refer to the Zoom Account Configuration guide.
The Zoom clients QLStudioPro, QLStudioPro1, QLStudioPro2, and QLStudioPro3 are responsible for capturing and outputting the raw video of guest participants. These clients must have the correct permissions in order to output video successfully.
If the required recording permissions are missing, Zoom will send only a black frame instead of the guest’s video.
Required Zoom Permissions
To output guest video correctly, each Zoom client must be one of the following:
- Host
- Co-host
- A participant with “Local Recording” permission
If the Zoom client does not have host/co-host status or local recording permission, the output will fail and appear as a black frame.
How Zoom Indicates Proper Output Status
When the Zoom client begins “recording”:
- Guest participants will see and hear a “Recording Started” notification
- The QLStudioPro client will display a record icon in the participant list
No actual media files are saved—this process only activates Zoom’s raw video access.
Allow up to 20 seconds per output for the target resolution to reach full quality.
What Causes Black Frames & How to Fix Them
Causes:
- Recording permission removed
- Host/co-host role revoked or reclaimed
When this happens, the Zoom client:
- Loses the record icon
- Outputs a black frame instead of video
Recovery Steps:
- Right-click the Zoom QLStudioPro client in the participant list
- Reassign Co-host
- Re-enable “Allow to record to computer”
This will restore proper output and re-trigger the record state.