Mini Dual Display Turning off Main Monitor Problem

[fletch33]

first off i am trying to explain the situation as best as possible here so please ask if this doesnt make sense.

i have 2 LCD's hooked to the new Mini as such:

1 going mini display port to DVI adapter to DVI on 19" Monitor (standard monitor)
1 going mini DVI to DVI adapter to a DVI to HDMI on 52" LCD (Samsung TV)

i just sold me iMac and switched to the Mini not only to be able to hide the Mini which i couldn't do with the iMac but also when i watch a movie full screen on the 52 i was never able to turn off the iMac monitor and would have to cover it with a towel so that it was dark in the room except for the 52 showing the movie.

my thought was that with 2 monitors separately hooked up to the Mini that i could solve the turning off the second monitor problem as they would now both have power buttons. besides making it dark in the room i also like to have the monitor off and so that i can have Plex on the 52 always in full screen mode so my wife can just hit "Watch Plex" on the logitech remote and the TV and Stereo switch to the proper inputs and away she goes to watch whatever without having to touch the computer which when both monitors are on works perfectly.

Scenario:

i have the 19 setup with the Dock and menu bar and the 52 as an extended desktop. this allows me to keep EyeTV and Plex full screen and still have full functioning OS on the 19 regardless of whether we are watching something or not. this also allows me to remote desktop in which is what i usually do from the macbook on the couch and enjoy the fullscreen movie or whatever and setup downloads or what have you on the second monitor. hope that made sense.


Problems:

1. when the 19 is connected to the mini-DVI port and 52 to the mini-Display port and a movie is going on the 52 and i go to turn off the 19 which is where i keep my menu bar and dock i get a stuttering movie on the 52 and when i turn the 19 back on it goes away. this happens regardless of whether the movie is running in Plex, VLC, etc.. or even if i am watching EyeTV.

2. if i switch then around so that the 19 is on the mini-Display port and 52 on the mini-DVI port and turn off the 19 then i get the blue screen like you just plugged in a monitor and then i get my menu bar/dock on the 52 and loose the movie all together but still hear it. i have to reopen Plex or whatever to get it full screen on the 52 again but this negates my original plan to have the 19 with the dock/menu bar so that i can do other things while watching the 52 full screen as extended.

i appreciate anyone that took the time to read through this and could give me any possible solutions or idea on how to get this setup working the way i wanted it to.

thanks

 

[geoffreak]

You will need one of these for each display to trick your computer into thinking the displays are always connected. You could get away with only having one connected to your 19".

 

[fletch33]

thanks geoffreak

i will look at that as a last resort as i was hoping there would be a free solution

i will keep this link and order it if thats what it comes down to.

the manual for the LCD says it has a sleep/power saving function but has to be activated by the computer. would be nice if it was possible to sleep just one display but i am not holding my breathe on that one.

 

[geoffreak]

You can't turn off your main display (the one with the menu bar) and continue using the secondary display without problems. The only free solution is to make the large TV the main display by moving the menu bar over to it.

 

[fletch33]

ok so if i order that switch you linked to then:

1. i will be able to turn off the 19 and still have my extended desktop?
2. if i remote in which i usually do will i still see both monitors and then also choose to just show the one that is tricked into be turned off? i hope that made sense.
3. so basically turning the 19" off or on will have no effect on the mini other than enjoying the monitor being off?

thanks for your help

 

[geoffreak]

1) Yes, turning off the monitor that has one of those devices on it will have no effect on the OS
2) I don't have two monitors on any computer I remote into, so I don't know the behavior. It will do whatever it normally does.
3) No effect whatsoever.

 

[fletch33]

ok sold hahaha

thanks for your help

 

[reebzor]

If you still had the imac, or if you were using an Apple Display, you could just turn the brightness all the way down. It makes the screen black but doesnt turn it off. I don't know why you bought a new computer instead of doing that.

 

[fletch33]

If you still had the imac, or if you were using an Apple Display, you could just turn the brightness all the way down. It makes the screen black but doesnt turn it off. I don't know why you bought a new computer instead of doing that.

well i have many a mac at the house and this one is my entertainment center mac and i wanted it hidden away from site and with the iMac it wasnt possible.

i actually sold my 2.0GHz Core 2 iMac for a nice price and bought a 2.0GHz Core 2 Mini , 19" monitor, EyeTV 250 Plus, Bluetooth Keyboard/Trackpad Combo, and the needed mini-display port to DVI adapter and had $400 left over. thats a pretty good reason

i also had 2 x 1GB DDR3 sticks laying around the house so i bought the $599 mini to get the 256MB shared video with the 2GB ram.

the iMac was great but as you can see from the picture below i can now hide everything.

 

[fletch33]

You will need one of these for each display to trick your computer into thinking the displays are always connected. You could get away with only having one connected to your 19".

it arrived and i hooked it up today. took 5 minutes and works perfectly.

thanks for the help