Are there any digital signage playback monitors that can flag remote screen failures and missing spots in real time?

Yes. What you’re describing is usually called screen proof-of-play / screen health monitoring / display monitoring in digital signage, and some platforms can alert you in near real time when a display goes offline, freezes, loses its player, or stops receiving scheduled content.

What to look for

A good system may monitor for:

• Player offline / screen not responding
• Black screen / no signal
• Content not playing on schedule
• Stuck playback / frozen frame detection
• Missing ad spots or skipped playlist items
• Proof-of-play logs and screenshots
• Remote alerts via email, SMS, Slack, Teams, etc.

Common approaches

1. Integrated digital signage CMS with monitoring

   • Some signage platforms include device health and screenshot auditing.
   • Good for basic uptime and proof-of-play.

2. Dedicated monitoring overlays / watchdog solutions

   • These are more specialized for detecting failures, especially for advertising networks.
   • Can generate alerts when a screen is dark, stuck, or missing content.

3. Network/endpoint monitoring + signage analytics

   • Combines player heartbeat monitoring with playback verification.
   • Best when you need stronger SLA-style reporting.

Vendors/features to search for

Look for terms like:

• “real-time signage monitoring”
• “proof of play with alerts”
• “screen health monitoring”
• “remote screenshot capture”
• “black screen detection”
• “playback verification”

Some signage ecosystems and third-party tools offer these capabilities, but availability varies by platform and hardware.

Important limitation

If you mean detecting a missing ad spot on the actual display the moment it fails, that’s usually possible only if the system:

• has access to the player/device telemetry, or
• captures periodic screenshots / video frames and analyzes them.

If you want, I can help you with one of these next:

1. a shortlist of products/vendors,
2. a feature comparison table, or
3. a recommendation based on your setup (Windows/Android players, number of screens, cloud vs on-prem).