The iMac drives the telly brilliantly - too brilliantly !
January 8, 2011 7:11 AM Subscribe
iMac is connected to the HD Telly but there are two issues ...
So taking advantage of the awesome pre Christmas sales here in the UK I snagged a very nice 37" HD telly at a seriously steep discount (60% off - whoot!). Purchased the necessary HDMI cables from the Apple Store on Regent Street and we're up and running fine.
Currently I've got a late 2006 iMac driving video only across to the telly, which suits up fine as the Mac has an external sound system (subwoofer and flat panel speakers). We can watch DVDs or stream content from LoveFilm without trouble and its a very sweet setup, but here are two relatively small problems that are driving me mad.
I keep the brightness very low on the iMac's internal display, as our lounge is kind of dark. Whenever we finish watching telly and power it off the iMac's displays flips to full on, 100% brightness. I'd like to find a way to stop that, if at all possible.
Second, while we're watching telly the iMac's internal display won't sleep. It I hot corner both the internal display as well as the telly blank. So effectively I'd like to disable the internal display while we're watching telly.
I'm not using display mirroring, rather the telly shows up as a desktop extension, but I've tired mirroring and it doesn't make a difference.
Any help that doesn't involve purchasing a new iMac would be appreciated (I got this iMac in 2006 at an awesome Apple sale, it works fine and I'd rather not replace it).
So taking advantage of the awesome pre Christmas sales here in the UK I snagged a very nice 37" HD telly at a seriously steep discount (60% off - whoot!). Purchased the necessary HDMI cables from the Apple Store on Regent Street and we're up and running fine.
Currently I've got a late 2006 iMac driving video only across to the telly, which suits up fine as the Mac has an external sound system (subwoofer and flat panel speakers). We can watch DVDs or stream content from LoveFilm without trouble and its a very sweet setup, but here are two relatively small problems that are driving me mad.
I keep the brightness very low on the iMac's internal display, as our lounge is kind of dark. Whenever we finish watching telly and power it off the iMac's displays flips to full on, 100% brightness. I'd like to find a way to stop that, if at all possible.
Second, while we're watching telly the iMac's internal display won't sleep. It I hot corner both the internal display as well as the telly blank. So effectively I'd like to disable the internal display while we're watching telly.
I'm not using display mirroring, rather the telly shows up as a desktop extension, but I've tired mirroring and it doesn't make a difference.
Any help that doesn't involve purchasing a new iMac would be appreciated (I got this iMac in 2006 at an awesome Apple sale, it works fine and I'd rather not replace it).
What I meant is that I have not tried using the key combo with a TV connected as well.
But I think it should work, if you treat the TV as a second display instead of a desktop extension.
posted by theKik at 7:54 AM on January 8, 2011
But I think it should work, if you treat the TV as a second display instead of a desktop extension.
posted by theKik at 7:54 AM on January 8, 2011
Best answer: The program ScreenShade can help you keep your display dim, very dim.
posted by darkgroove at 8:57 AM on January 8, 2011
posted by darkgroove at 8:57 AM on January 8, 2011
Best answer: I have the same setup with my 27" iMac connected to the TV. You cannot use the control+shift+eject trick, as that will turn off both the internal monitor and the signal going to the TV. In my case, the video players I use (VLC and EyeTV) both have a "blank other monitors" option which puts a black screen up over the iMac's built-in display while showing video on the TV. The display isn't off, but it is entirely black and that's good enough for me. You should see if the apps you're using have a similar option.
posted by Nothlit at 9:33 AM on January 8, 2011
posted by Nothlit at 9:33 AM on January 8, 2011
I should have mentioned the default Apple DVD Player app also has this option, under Preferences > Full Screen > Dim other displays while playing.
In VLC, it's under Preferences > Video > Black screens in Fullscreen mode.
In EyeTV, it's under Preferences > Full Screen > Black out other screens.
Hope that helps.
posted by Nothlit at 9:37 AM on January 8, 2011
In VLC, it's under Preferences > Video > Black screens in Fullscreen mode.
In EyeTV, it's under Preferences > Full Screen > Black out other screens.
Hope that helps.
posted by Nothlit at 9:37 AM on January 8, 2011
Response by poster: Ah many thanks, SleepShade does the trick, big help. Still have the problem of brightness reseting to 100% on the internal once the telly is powered off, but we'll take what we can get. Great, thanks again.
Oh yeh - confirming what was mentioned unthread - control+shift+eject doesn't work properly on a late 2006 iMac as it does indeed turn off all connected displays.
posted by Mutant at 5:00 AM on January 9, 2011
Oh yeh - confirming what was mentioned unthread - control+shift+eject doesn't work properly on a late 2006 iMac as it does indeed turn off all connected displays.
posted by Mutant at 5:00 AM on January 9, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
the key combination: 'control' + 'shift' + 'eject button" switches the display off.
hope it works for ya.
posted by theKik at 7:51 AM on January 8, 2011