[mythtv-users] Screen Goes Blank on Standby, Then Never Wakes Up

[Tom Wheeler]

I observed another interesting clue that seems to have led me to a solution.

The Onkyo receiver displays a small banner in the upper-left corner of the
screen showing the input name (such as "DVD" or "DVR"), plus the resolution
and refresh rate. This afternoon, I noticed that the blue screen said
"720x480/60p" but after I rebooted the frontend (i.e. so it starts working
correctly again), it says "1920x1080/60p" instead.

Looking through the Nvidia X configuration utility, I saw that the
resolution was set to "auto" so I explicitly set it to 1920x1080 at 60Hz. I
used to see the blue screen after about 60-90 minutes of idle time, but
after making this change, it's been working fine after four hours of idle
time.

I'll report back If it acts up again, but otherwise this seems to have
fixed it, and maybe it will help someone else too.

On Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 12:37 PM, Tom Wheeler <tomwheel at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've been running a combined backend/frontend machine for several months,
> but am setting up a connected frontend-only machine before getting rid of
> cable for good. I've hit a very annoying problem and thought I'd ask for
> help since it's likely that I'm not the first to have encountered it.
>
> The frontend machine works great when I first boot it up. When I am done
> watching TV and come back later (after an hour or more), all I see is a
> plain blue screen. The screensaver and power management features are
> disabled. I am using the NVIDIA proprietary drivers (version 304.117) with
> VPDAU high quality setting.
>
> Upon further investigation, it seems that an important factor is that my
> frontend is routed through my AV receiver/amplifier. In other words, the
> HDMI out from the NVIDIA GeForce GT-610 on my frontend goes into the DVR
> HDMI input on my Onkyo HT-S3500, and from the HDMI out on the Onkyo into
> the HDMI input on my Samsung TV.
>
> Here is what I know:
>
> 1. The problem seems specific to the frontend. I can watch any other
> device (e.g., DVD, Roku, etc.) plugged into other HDMI ports on the Onkyo
> without problem.
>
> 2. It does not seem to be a bad HDMI cable. I have replaced the HDMI cable
> between the frontend and the Onkyo, but the problem persists.
>
> 3. It does not seem to be the HDMI port on the stereo. I have tried making
> the frontend go through another HDMI input on the Onkyo (i.e. the DVD
> input), but the same thing still happens.
>
> 4. It seems to be related to X-Windows. When I see the blue screen,
> hitting keys on the attached keyboard or clicking the attached mouse has no
> effect (i.e., it does not "wake up" the screen). The machine is responsive
> when I log in via ssh, and I can also hit Ctrl+Alt+F1 and log in through
> the virtual console.
>
> If I reboot the machine, it works fine again until it goes idle for a
> while.
>
> When I plug the HDMI cable from the frontend directly into the HDMI port
> in the back of the TV, this doesn't happen.
>
> Another perhaps interesting fact is that the Onkyo seems to make a
> periodic clicking noise (sounds like a relay) when watching the frontend
> that I do not hear when video from other devices is playing through it.
>
> I'm grateful for any ideas.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tom
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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