topic Re: Screensaver vs Eco option? in Android TV

Screensaver vs Eco option?

Jecht_Sin — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 13:25:57 GMT

In my old, cheap Samsung I had this behaviour:

TV Eco option set to two hours
I could play with the PS3 or PS4 2+ hours without interruption
Turning off the HDMI device (PS3) after 2 hours the TV was going into standby

This is what I get with my 49XD8099 (Android 6.0.1 or 7.0 doesn't matter):

TV Eco option set to two hours
Playing with the PS3 or PS4 at the end of the 2 hours (without ever touching the TV remote) I get a message that the TV is going to turn off
I need to press any button on the TV remote to make the message disappearing and start the 2 hours cycle again
I suppose that if I don't do anything the TV after the 2 hours turns off while the PS4 stays on if an app/game is running.

Obviously the Samsung solution makes more sense to me.

Also, in Android TV there is the screensaver. Which I have set it up like this:

Screensaver set to appear after 5 minutes
Turn off the TV after 30 minutes running the screen saver

I get this scenario:

Actively playing with the PS4 the TV Screensaver never starts (because there is an HDMI signal unlike with the Eco option?)
With the PS4 idle (DS4 is off) after 5 minutes the PS4 screensaver dims the screen. The TV Screensaver doesn't start
While in Leanback launcher the Scrensaver starts after 5 minutes of inactivity
If I watch a video the Screensaver doesn't start

Now my question would be which is the best combination of all these settings to have the TV switching off after 2 hours if no activity from either HDMI or Android without being bothered by annoying messages if I am actually using/watching the TV.

Also as usual I wonder if it isn't a bug that the TV considers there is no activity while an HDMI signal is actually active..

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 13:51:45 GMT

Hiya

Are you referring to 'Daydream' as screensaver? As far as I believe, Daydream does not turn the TV off, it merely turns the screen off.

The Idle TV Off is kinda like a deadmans switch. You have to keep tapping something before the set time period or its game over.

Whats better - Neither. I have all eco/power saving features disabled and use the remote control to turn the TV off.

The lack of detection when using HDMI inputs - bug or by design..... If you are not using 'bravia sync' features and all inputs are only interpreted by the end device (i.e. PS4 Controller to PS4) then there is no input feedback getting to the TV - how could one program for that? Previous TV models before Android used to have a 'presence sensor' of which it detects movement in the room before turning off. But these TVs dont have that. So my thoughts is that its by design rather than a bug.

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Jecht_Sin — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 09:38:33 GMT

Let's go step by step. I'll set the TV in English so we both know what we are talking about..

I am talking about Settings/Screen saver. Actually I'll grab a screenshot:

I changed it from 5 to 15 minutes. This does turn off the TV after 15 (to start Backdrop)+30 minutes of inactivity.

Then I do like the Eco option. I like to go to sleep putting some relaxing white noise in YouTube. I switch the display (just the display, not the TV) off and after a couple of hours it turns off. But it doesn't have to do it while playing the PS4!!

Which takes us to the second point. The Screen saver/Backdrop doesn't start when there is HDMI signal. Why instead the Eco option must start? And yes, Bravia Sync is always enabled. It has been the first thing I did after installing the PS4 or the new TV. So it doesn't recognize the DS4 inputs either (which I don't know if via Bravia Sync it can manage to).

The point is that I could do in this way:

The PS4 timer is already set to switch off the PS4 after two hours
I could use just the TV Screen saver
If there is no activity the PS4 after two hours switches off
After 45 min the TV would switch off

The problem is that it won't work while using the TV as a.. (Smart) TV. So I need the echo option. But the echo option tells the TV is switching off after two hours using any HDMI source!

You say it is by design. But on Samsung it was the opposite: HDMI was ON, or better, playing with the PS4/PS3, the TV stayed on. Which seems the most logical option to me. I don't know what happened if the controller was off (thus if the Sammy was getting the activity from HDMI CEC. Which would be the best solution if possible). Thus if such is the case, I am afraid Samsung design is ahead of Sony's (the Heresy!!! lol).

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Anonymous — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 10:17:02 GMT

Ahh

Theres the difference between mine and your TV - im running Marshmallow and you're on Nougat. For me, screensaver = Daydream, which only turns screen off. It specifically says 'When to sleep' - 'Screen turns off after this period of inactivity'

What Samsung model are you referring to by the way?

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Jecht_Sin — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 10:34:36 GMT

Bah. It was an old 32" not even full HD. 2009 I think. Now don't dare to say that since then things improved because such isn't the case!

I still wonder if HDMI CEC recognizes any activity from the HDMI device(s), though. That would really be the most elegant solution. Meh.. Thinking better about it, how could it? Unless the devices are programmed to tell HDMI CEC "hey look! We are doing stuff in here!".

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Anonymous — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 14:55:58 GMT

@Jecht_Sin

Lets throw a theory here:

See this very old bug/issue:

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/android-tv-bugs-and-issues/m-p/2089584#M67

Could it be related.... Im saying this because Sony released the firmware PKG3.179.0100EUA - I could get information from a connected HDMI source when pressing the i+ button on the TV remote when using the HDMI device. Since the release of that firmware, there is no information being pulled by the CEC features and hence only displays the basic resolution

Could this and your issue be released somehow - on the fact that information is not being pulled/sent or whatever to the TV?

Your thoughts.

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Jecht_Sin — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 09:15:09 GMT

@Anonymous That's interesting. But since I don't know how the "i+" button was working previously I don't have an answer. What kind of extra info could it get via HDMI CEC from the PS4? Currently the banner shows the resolution but also if it is in Bitstream Dolby or DTS. I wonder if this last info is from HDMI CEC..

So I have disabled HDMI CEC in the PS4. This is what I get:

The TV doesn't (rightly) turn on switching on the PS4
Manually turning on the TV the TV doesn't go to the active HDMI 2 (my PS4's HDMI port)
I can't command the PS4 with the remote
The PlayStation 4 disappears from the list of available input (but HDMI 2 obviously is there)
The "i+" banner is identical (only the it shows the name I gave to HDMI 2 instead of the Bravia Sync's "PlayStation 4"), showing 1080p Dolby DIgital.

So it gets the Bitstream Doby info directly from HDMI and not from HDMI CEC.

I mean, yeah. If previously it could get some more info it may be related to this.

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 21:31:10 GMT

@Jecht_Sin wrote:

@Anonymous That's interesting. But since I don't know how the "i+" button was working previously I don't have an answer. What kind of extra info could it get via HDMI CEC from the PS4? Currently the banner shows the resolution but also if it is in Bitstream Dolby or DTS. I wonder if this last info is from HDMI CEC..

What I am referring to is - At current, you press the i+ button on the TV remote control, I get this:

It used to display this:

To get that info, I now have to use the devices remote control instead of the TVs. This is not just my device either, playing a bluray on a PS3 or BD player should display the timings etc etc.

And this is why im saying that maybe they are connected as certain information is not being passed via CEC. Alternatively, the i+ button on the remote control was being re-mapped for whatever HDMI device or input necessary.

Anyhow, as it clearly doesnt work, I could pass this onto Sony Support, or pass this onto another team as a suggestion for improvement - either way, I cannot see a quick fix to be honest.

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Jecht_Sin — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 11:32:14 GMT

Quinnicus wrote:

Anyhow, as it clearly doesnt work, I could pass this onto Sony Support, or pass this onto another team as a suggestion for improvement - either way, I cannot see a quick fix to be honest.

And when are we ever going to get one?

Interesting screenshots anyway. So HDMI CEC can actually transmit back quite a lot of info. Why Sony removed it is beyond my comprehension.

Re: Screensaver vs Eco option?

Jecht_Sin — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 11:53:22 GMT

@Anonymous Well... this is interesting.. Last night immediately after turning off the PS4 the message that the TV was soon going into standby appeared. Nothing wrong with that, the two hours were nearly due. What's wrong is that after (in the order):

Switching to HDMI 4
Going into the Help screen
Going to Home
Launching any app

the message was stuck there. It went away only pushing the central big button.

Hopefully at Sony they consider (by design) the launch of any Android app, as well as switching HDMI port, as TV activity. And yet it doesn't work. I mean, seriously. Is that possible that whatever I do I find a bug or another with this TV?? Sure, this one isn't a big deal. But it gets really annoying fast.