[LIVE] Screen Standby\Sleeping\Energy Star\DPMS

thekod · 2008-11-09 14:59

I've got a laptop running XBMC Live (installed to a hard drive) outputting via VGA to a 37" LCD TV. I wanted to have it automatically blank the screen after 30 minutes so that I could have my XBMC screensaver run after 5 minutes of idle, but then have the screen turn off to save power. All of the following is while logged in via ssh, although you could do it on the local console.

1. Install cron by running `apt-get install cron`
2. Add the following line to your crontab with `crontab -e`: "@reboot ~/fixscreen.sh"
3. Create the ~/fixscreen.sh file,and put the following therein:

Code:

#!/bin/sh

sleep 60

xset -display :0 s off

xset -display :0 dpms 0 0 3600

All this does is wait until X has finished starting, then set the DPMS settings. You can change 3600 to however many idle seconds you want before the screen goes into standby.
5. Make the file executable by running `chmod +x ~/fixscreen.sh`

Warning:
This may cause your screen to blank during a movie or other playback. I'm working on a patch to resolve this, and will post more information here.

I know some may wonder why this is worth doing, but my electricity bill can tell you why...I'm forgetful, and leave the TV on. Smile