The two-minute checks
A console that boots (you hear the beep, the light comes on) but shows nothing is almost always a video handshake problem, not a dead machine.
Right input, right port
Confirm the TV is on the exact HDMI input the console occupies. Then check which port: on many 4K TVs only one or two ports carry full 4K/120 bandwidth — often the same port as eARC — and a console on a lesser port can black-screen at high modes.
Reseat, then swap, the cable
Fully reseat both ends. If you get intermittent black flashes in games, the cable itself is running past its bandwidth — use the Ultra High Speed (48 Gbps) cable that shipped with the console, not a leftover from the cable drawer.
Power-cycle everything in order
TV unplugged one minute, console fully off (not rest mode), then TV on first, console second. Half of handshake failures die right here.
Bypass the middleman
Console into a soundbar or receiver? Plug it straight into the TV once. If the picture returns, the AVR/soundbar can’t pass the signal format — keep the console direct and let eARC carry sound back down.
PS5: reset the video output from Safe Mode
Sony builds an escape hatch for exactly this. Power the PS5 fully off (hold power until the light stops blinking). Then hold the power button again and keep holding through the first beep — release after the second beep, about seven seconds later. That is Safe Mode. Connect the controller with its USB cable (wireless does not work here), press the PS button, and choose Change Video Output to drop resolution or change HDCP — Sony’s own recommended cure for a blank screen.
Xbox Series X: with the console off, hold the power and eject buttons together until you hear a second beep — it boots in a low-resolution mode any TV can show; then restore resolution under Settings → TV & display options. (The digital Series S has no eject button and its combo differs — check Xbox support for that model rather than guessing.)
Enable the port, not just the console
High-bandwidth modes need the TV’s permission, granted per port and buried under a different name on every brand: Samsung Input Signal Plus (Settings → General → External Device Manager), LG HDMI Deep Color (Settings → General → Devices → HDMI Settings), Sony HDMI signal format → Enhanced (Settings → Channels & Inputs → External inputs). If 120 Hz or VRR still drops frames after all of it, cap the console at 60 Hz — a stable 60 beats a flickering 120 every single evening.
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More guides: HDMI cables without the markup · TV says “No Signal” · Home theater installation
Quick answers
My PS5 beeps and the light is on, but the screen says no signal.
Classic video-handshake failure. Run the Safe Mode procedure above and pick Change Video Output — it renegotiates from scratch and cures the large majority of these.
Games flash black for a second every few minutes.
That is bandwidth, not the console dying: the cable or the TV port can't hold 4K/120. Certified Ultra High Speed cable, correct port, enhanced-port setting on — in that order.
Does HDCP cause blank screens too?
Yes — copy protection handshakes fail across older receivers and splitters, especially on streaming apps. Console direct to TV is the test; changing HDCP mode in PS5 Safe Mode is the lever.
Everything works except 120 Hz — TV problem or console?
Usually the TV's port permissions (the enhanced-input settings above), the port itself, or the cable. The console negotiates whatever the chain offers — it is rarely the guilty party.