[mythtv-users] HDMI keep alive, maybe via sending silent audio?

[Douglas Sargent]

What video card do you have? Nvidia?

If so you may well have the card turning off the hdmi when something is not
connected/connected to another hdmi, when you switch back you get no
signal. This is well documented. There are several solutions and packages.
On May 15, 2016 7:53 AM, "John Veness" <John.Veness.mythtv at pelago.org.uk>
wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm having trouble with my soundbar, which also works as an AV receiver
> (AVR), going to sleep after a few minutes of no audio from MythTV, e.g. if
> paused or in menus.
>
> As the soundbar is working as an AVR, when it sleeps not only do I lose
> sound, but the picture also disappears, so this is quite annoying!
>
> The soundbar doesn't seem to do this with my Roku box or PS3, so I was
> wondering if there was something MythTV (or Linux) could do to avoid this
> happening too.
>
> To expand:
>
> The soundbar has several sockets, including analogue audio inputs, optical
> input, Bluetooth input, 3 HDMI inputs and one input/output socket for HDMI
> ARC, the latter of which plugs into the TV.
>
> The HDMI ARC socket is used as an output when HDMI 1, 2 or 3 are selected
> as the current input on the soundbar - the soundbar will play the audio
> directly from the HDMI 1, 2 or 3 input, and pass the signal onto the HDMI
> ARC socket for display on the TV. So the soundbar can be used as a switcher
> as well as speakers, if you run out of HDMI sockets on the TV.
>
> The HDMI ARC socket can also be selected as an input on the soundbar
> itself, in which case it will play whatever sound the TV is generating, for
> sources plugged into the TV itself, or when using the TV built-in tuner, or
> smart facilities.
>
> According to the soundbar manual, by design it will go to sleep after a
> few minutes of silence on the currently selected input. This certainly
> seems to be the case when the analogue audio inputs are used.
>
> As I say, if MythTV is plugged into one of the three HDMI inputs and the
> TV plugged into HDMI ARC, after a few minutes of no audio output from
> MythTV, the soundbar will go to sleep, turning off both sound and picture.
>
> This seems to be design, and I would have to live with it, if it wasn't
> for the fact that other HDMI sources plugged into the soundbar don't seem
> to cause this behaviour, so it seems technically possible to be overridable
> by the source.
>
> For example, if my Roku box is plugged into one of the soundbar HDMI
> inputs but is paused or in its menus, the soundbar won't go to sleep.
> Similarly with my PS3.
>
> Interestingly, when the HDMI ARC socket is selected as the input on the
> soundbar, this also causes the soundbar to not sleep (like with the Roku
> and PS3) even if the TV is not outputting any sound, as long as the TV is
> actually switched on (this may depend on the TV, but seems to be the case
> with a Panasonic and a Samsung at least).
>
> So one workaround is that I can plug MythTV directly into one of the TV
> HDMI inputs, and the sound will still come out of the soundbar and it won't
> go to sleep.
>
> However, my TV has limited HDMI inputs and for other reasons I might
> prefer to connect it via the soundbar. And anyway, I am now intellectually
> intrigued how this could be solved.
>
> So, is there anything I can set in MythTV, or elsewhere in Linux, to stop
> this? Do you think the Roku or PS3 are sending "silent" audio output
> continuously to stop this happening, and if so, can I do the same on the PC?
>
> Note that this is not being caused by the PC power saving, as I can be
> actively scrolling through menus etc., and the soundbar will suddenly sleep
> - it seems to be related directly to the soundbar detecting no audio after
> a few minutes.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> John
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