Telling my monitor to go to standby via a shortcut?

[aaronvvright]

I know how to tell my monitor to turn itself off after 20 minutes or however long I wish, but I'd like a way to turn it off whenever I pressed a key... I would rather NOT turn my hard discs off at the same time (so system standby/hibernation aren't options) because I usually just turn it off to watch TV (and I don't like the idea of my TV and monitor being on at the same time; they're about a foot apart. Pricey monitor, and am afraid it'll damage it). I'd also rather not press the power button on my monitor because booting the monitor that often can get strenuous, I'm sure.

So how, VB or otherwise, would I write something to do this for me? Would I be able to do it in a batch file, maybe?

Thanks for any help,
Aaron

PS: If I'm being paranoid, let me know I just dropped $800 on this beast and protect it, I must!

http://www.Aaron-Wright.com

 

[Homersim2600]

As for the programming part of the problem, I really don't know. As an Electronics Tech, and I can tell you that turning your monitor on puts a slight amount of stress on the capacitors within itself. You might be surprised to find out that a monitor coming back from stand-by does essentially the same thing as turing the monitor on, so there will be no difference whether you do it programatically or manually. If you spent $800.00 then one can only assume that you have a warranty, and that it was built well. Also, move the two units further away from each other by, at least, 3-feet if possible. I hope this sheds some light on this for you...

LF

P.S. this isn't the Aaron Wright that owns the BB in Orlando is it? If so, then you know who I am, hehe, think Magnetix! Take care.

 

[aaronvvright]

Causes just as much strain? Perhaps on the capacitors, but when I turn it on cold, it makes a "boiiiiing" sound as the screen degauses (that sort of sound). When it wakes from standby, it's silent.

I will try to devise a plan to move my television to another wall. Trouble is that my cable line pops out from the wall it's on now, but I suppose framing my room with coaxial cable will just add more of that geeky flare I'm so crazy about... Heh. Speaker wires and CAT-5 at the moment.

Thanks for your help Any further programming solutions will be appreciated too, of course.

And no, I don't own anything in Orlando, nor the States for that matter. Heh. I own offtone.com I suppose, but no "BB"s.

http://www.Aaron-Wright.com

 

[Homersim2600]

Hehe, Ok, BB stands for BackBooth, which is a nightclub in Orlando, Fl.

Yes, That "Booiiinnngg" that you speak of is the degaussing of the monitor, however, when the monitor goes into a standby mode all of the high-voltage devices are turned off via either a transistor switch or, in the case of cheaper monitors, a relay, and only a small logic circuit remains turned on so that the monitor knows when to energize the high-voltage circuit again. When the monitor is first powered on, the logic circuit is the first to be powered up. This is because of two reasons... One reason is that the high-voltage supply turns on only when a certain voltage has been achieved via the power supply, and the other is because the logic circuit must determine what state the input is in. Once everything checks out, then the logic circuit sends the command to the transistor/relay, which in turn, turns the monitor "on". I should also mention that Degaussing the monitor is not *that* stressfull on it. In fact, the noise you hear is the frequencies of the monitor mixing with the frequency of the degausser which causes a vibration; the degauser, itself, does not really draw that much current to be detrimental to the monitor over time.

I would agree that it would be nice to have a button to put the monitor into stanby, and so I too will like to see if there is a way to do this...

Anyway, Sorry if I bored you with the whole monitor discussion. Asking me an electonics question is like asking Eienstein about the universe--We'd be here all day!

lol

LF

 

[CubeE101]

>> just add more of that geeky flare I'm so crazy about...

HEY!!! Whats wrong with Speaker wires and CAT-5 ???

(my walls wouldn't be the same without em...)

LOL ;-)

Have Fun, Be Young... Code BASIC
-Josh

http://cubee.topcities.com

PROGRAMMER: Red-eyed, mumbling mammal capable of conversing with inanimate objects.

 

[aaronvvright]

Ah, heh. Well I suppose if it doesn't hurt it too much, I won't worry about it. But I'm still going to move my TV away from it. My last monitor is in the shop right now with some serious display issues, and I'm worried my TV may be the culprit. That, or my tiny LED alarm clock which, when near my monitor, makes it go flashy. So I've unplugged my alarm clock and tossed it in the closet. This monitor needs to live a long, healthy life at any cost. Heh. And it does have a 3-year warranty.

Thanks again for the help and info. I'm going to go grab the drill and some wood and see what sort of shelf-like object I can fashion for my television.

Regards,
Aaron

http://www.Aaron-Wright.com

 

[Homersim2600]

I cringe at the though of Cat-5 being used as Seaker wires. I can only hope that the power running through them is minimal, like less than 10-watts, and the run is short! If not, then you are probably experiencing all sorts of distortion when you turn the volume up. Sure, it works, but works well? Technically, NO! hehe. Anyway, Sounds like an interesting setup to say the least. Good luck in your venture.

LF

 

[aaronvvright]

No, no. The CAT-5 isn't speaker wire... I've got cat-5 lines running from my router (in the closet) and wires from my speaker satellites running to the back 3 speakers. Now I'm going to be added coax to the mix, as my TV will need cable

http://www.offtone.com

 

[CubeE101]

Same here... My computer surround sound wires are running up to the corners of the room, then the Computer has an S-Video cable running to the TV, and RCA>>headphone adapter running back from the tv to the line in on the pc, Then the coax is split running to the Digital Cable Box.. to the tv and to Cable modem, then the router... which goes to my computer, and the one I use for a "dedicated mp3 player" (that's all it's good for... old HP Win98) in the living room which is connected to the Big Screen (which has surround speakers)... which is connected to another stereo, which also has surround sound speakers...

That's just the main wires ;-)
(Not including the DVD players, DVR, VCR, PS1, PS2, XBOX, GAMECUBE, SEGA SATURN, etc... wires running everywhere )

Have Fun, Be Young... Code BASIC
-Josh

http://cubee.topcities.com

PROGRAMMER: Red-eyed, mumbling mammal capable of conversing with inanimate objects.