HDMI Screen On + Tablet Screen Off – Possible?

dalinian

New Member
Messages
7
Location
London, UK
I'm using Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit on a Samsung tablet PC [1], connected to an HDTV [2] by an HDMI cable. I've set up 'Multiple displays: Extend these displays' in the Windows control panel.

When I'm watching a movie on the HDTV screen, I'd like to be able to switch off the tablet PC screen (to reduce distraction, save energy, prevent screen burn in, and prolong its usable lifespan).

I've incorporated a Windows command line utility called NirCmd into a batch file, pinned to the desktop taskbar, which allows me to switch both screens off with a single tap (nircmd.exe monitor off >nul), while leaving the PC running. A tap on the tablet PC screen then switches both screens back on.

Does anybody know of a way to do something similar, but with only the tablet PC screen switching off, while the HDMI-connected HDTV screen stays on?

Thanks in advance for your time, attention, and assistance.


[1] A Samsung tablet PC – Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK

[2] An HDTV – Panasonic 50-inch plasma screen, TH-50PZ700B


PS: My current workaround is using IrfanView to display a 1920x1080px black rectangle full-screen-wise on the tablet PC screen, but I'd much prefer to be able to switch off the tablet PC screen completely when it isn't needed, such as when movie watching on the the HDMI-connected HDTV screen.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 (3rd Gen) 3317U / 1.7 GHz ( 2.6 GHz )
    Motherboard
    Mobile Intel HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1. Mobile PC Display, 2. Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    Keyboard
    Touch-It OSK, detachable hardware keyboard
    Mouse
    Belkin Bluetooth mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~23 Mbps down, ~16 Mbps up (on 2014 Sep 29)
    Browser
    Firefox 33 (at 2014 Sep 29)
    Antivirus
    McAfee Security Scan Plus
Even I have the same kind of set up. I just swipe in from the right > Devices > Project > Second Screen only.
Or do Win+P.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Even I have the same kind of set up. I just swipe in from the right > Devices > Project > Second Screen only.
Or do Win+P.

Thanks for your suggestion, subi54, which I've tried out.

Unfortunately, like many Microsoft "features", it seems to be cumbersome, unwieldy, and a real hassle to undo, in order to return to dual screen operation (for instance, to briefly consult the IMDb [1] in Firefox on the tablet PC screen, while the movie continues to play on the HDTV screen). To clarify, I'd still like to be able to occasionally and easily use the tablet PC screen as a 'second screen' while watching a movie.

What would seem to me to be an ideal solution would be a Windows command line utility which simply allows me to switch screen 1 off, while leaving screen 2 on; eg:

cleverness.exe monitor1 off

When incorporated into a batch file and pinned to the desktop taskbar, this would provide a one-tap Tablet-PC-Screen-Off button. With VLC playing a movie on the HDTV screen, I could then tap the tablet PC screen to switch it back on, briefly consult the IMDb in Firefox on the tablet PC screen, then tap the taskbar-pinned Tablet-PC-Screen-Off button again to switch off just the 'second screen'.

Does anybody have a pointer to such a piece of cleverness?


[1] The IMDb - Internet Movie Database, at IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities

PS: If this appeal fails, I'll be writing to the NirCmd folks, to ask if this functionality can be added to their utility.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 (3rd Gen) 3317U / 1.7 GHz ( 2.6 GHz )
    Motherboard
    Mobile Intel HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1. Mobile PC Display, 2. Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    Keyboard
    Touch-It OSK, detachable hardware keyboard
    Mouse
    Belkin Bluetooth mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~23 Mbps down, ~16 Mbps up (on 2014 Sep 29)
    Browser
    Firefox 33 (at 2014 Sep 29)
    Antivirus
    McAfee Security Scan Plus

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 (3rd Gen) 3317U / 1.7 GHz ( 2.6 GHz )
    Motherboard
    Mobile Intel HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1. Mobile PC Display, 2. Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    Keyboard
    Touch-It OSK, detachable hardware keyboard
    Mouse
    Belkin Bluetooth mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~23 Mbps down, ~16 Mbps up (on 2014 Sep 29)
    Browser
    Firefox 33 (at 2014 Sep 29)
    Antivirus
    McAfee Security Scan Plus
You're welcome.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WinXP, WinVista, Win7, Win8.1, Win10, Linux Mint 20
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Customs and 12 OEM/Brands
    CPU
    AMD and Intel
Conversations with a pair of programmers who have written multi-display utilities [1] are indicating that there probably isn’t currently a function call to power down one monitor in a Windows extended desktop multi-display setup.

So I guess that obliges me to bring this issue to the attention of Microsoft and Samsung, as a future feature recommendation... all in good time.


[1] A pair of programmers who have written multi-display utilities:

“I don't know about any way to programmingly turn off a single monitor in multi-monitor systems.”
~ Nir Sofer – NirCmd and MultiMonitorTool, at NirSoft
» http://www.nirsoft.net

“Wizmo, and I guess NirCmd as well, use the Windows Power Management API to power-down the screens. What I don't know is if this API allows you to specify a particular monitor or if always applies to all monitors. If I have time next weekend, I'll take a closer look at this API.”
~ Gerald Evans – Dual Monitor Tools, at SourceForge
» http://dualmonitortool.sourceforge.net
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 (3rd Gen) 3317U / 1.7 GHz ( 2.6 GHz )
    Motherboard
    Mobile Intel HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1. Mobile PC Display, 2. Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    Keyboard
    Touch-It OSK, detachable hardware keyboard
    Mouse
    Belkin Bluetooth mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~23 Mbps down, ~16 Mbps up (on 2014 Sep 29)
    Browser
    Firefox 33 (at 2014 Sep 29)
    Antivirus
    McAfee Security Scan Plus

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 (3rd Gen) 3317U / 1.7 GHz ( 2.6 GHz )
    Motherboard
    Mobile Intel HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1. Mobile PC Display, 2. Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    Keyboard
    Touch-It OSK, detachable hardware keyboard
    Mouse
    Belkin Bluetooth mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~23 Mbps down, ~16 Mbps up (on 2014 Sep 29)
    Browser
    Firefox 33 (at 2014 Sep 29)
    Antivirus
    McAfee Security Scan Plus
Well, I’m now 100% confidant that it’s currently impossible to achieve a ‘HDMI Screen On + Tablet Screen Off’ state on my Samsung Win8.1 tablet PC (and presumably it’s impossible on any other Win8.1 tablet PC, too).

This arises from two recent interactions with staff at Microsoft and Samsung, the gist of which follows.


1. Microsoft – Buck-Passing Evasiveness
Since your operating system is pre-installed, your OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version of Windows should be covered by the manufacturer. We usually ask our customer to contact the PC manufacturer, which should be your primary support contact.
Samsung is your OEM.
You can contact them directly for better assistance.”
~ Cj R, Microsoft Answer Tech, at Microsoft Technical Support (online chat, Thu 18 Oct 2014 09:57)


2. Samsung – Straightforward Honesty
Unfortunately the feature required is not possible to perform within the tablets specifications, I have already escalated the case to one of our engineers for a confirmation, I am afraid that the engineer’s reply confirmed that the required task cannot be achieved with the tablet.”
~ Amr Hassouna, Samsung Customer Service Representative (email reply, Fri 17 Oct 2014 17:44)


I generally avoid buying into a new technology straight away, to avoid the early-adopter blues of becoming an unwitting and unpaid beta tester. Since Microsoft’s foray into tablet computers dates from 26 Oct 2012 (the release date of both Windows 8 and the first gen Microsoft Surface, including micro-HDMI out port, nearly two years ago), I had thought that this kind of rather obvious omission would have been noticed and dealt with in, say, Windows 8.1 (release date 27 Aug 2013). Seems I was wrong, so my next step is researching how to bring this lacuna to Microsoft’s attention.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 (3rd Gen) 3317U / 1.7 GHz ( 2.6 GHz )
    Motherboard
    Mobile Intel HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1. Mobile PC Display, 2. Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    Keyboard
    Touch-It OSK, detachable hardware keyboard
    Mouse
    Belkin Bluetooth mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~23 Mbps down, ~16 Mbps up (on 2014 Sep 29)
    Browser
    Firefox 33 (at 2014 Sep 29)
    Antivirus
    McAfee Security Scan Plus
>>>1. Microsoft – Buck-Passing Evasiveness

Having worked for nearly a decade with an OEM (Dell) I can tell you it's not a buck passing thing.
Dell pays very little (compared to retail versions) for the license they use for Windows with the acknowledgement and agreement from Microsoft that any support for the operating system on that device comes from Dell.

Microsoft is following their licensing agreement by referring the user back to the OEM. Which is 100% correct.

If you insist Microsoft help with an OEM version, you would need to pay for the support. Plain and simple.

I am not debating on whether this is cool or awesome or bad or what have you. Each of us has our opinion
on this. But, I am letting you know the order of things. This is how it works, and should work, in an OEM
environment.

Microsoft's take is if someone is going to buy a full retail version, we will fully support them. If someone gets
a discounted version from an OEM, it's supported by the OEM.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Nokia Lumia 2520
    CPU
    Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800
    Memory
    2GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    10.1"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    32GB SSD
    Case
    Asus Case
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wedge Keyboard
    Mouse
    Bornd Bluetooth Mouse
    Browser
    IE 11
>>>1. Microsoft – Buck-Passing Evasiveness

Having worked for nearly a decade with an OEM (Dell) I can tell you it's not a buck passing thing.
Dell pays very little (compared to retail versions) for the license they use for Windows with the acknowledgement and agreement from Microsoft that any support for the operating system on that device comes from Dell.

Microsoft is following their licensing agreement by referring the user back to the OEM. Which is 100% correct.

Hi orlandotek, and thanks for your response. You’ve illuminated a sharing of responsibility for Windows tech support of which I was unaware, and for which I am grateful.

On reflection, an element of my “Buck-Passing Evasiveness” remark was more to do with the rest of my online chat with Microsoft Answer Tech Cj R, which isn’t worth repeating verbatim. It seems obvious to me (although I’m aware I may be wrong) that if a ‘HDMI Screen On + Tablet Screen Off’ state is to be achieved on a tablet PC designed around running Microsoft Windows 8, then it will be as a result of calling a function call which is a built-in part of Microsoft Windows 8 – for example, such function calls as underlie the multi-monitor functionality of the Microsoft Windows 8 multi-monitor utility DisplaySwitch.exe. On this basis, after two weeks of discovering a growing consensus among free-thinking multi-monitor utility coders that no such function call exists, it seems to me to be reasonable to ask Microsoft tech support whether or not such a ‘HDMI Screen On + Tablet Screen Off’ Microsoft Windows 8 function call exists. But rather than admit that it doesn’t, or that he’s ignorant of whether or not such a function call exists and routing my query to a colleague with more suitable expertise (as occurred at Samsung), Cj R urgently wanted to avoid the question. When I asked about a corporate feedback mechanism for bringing such a sin of omission to Microsoft’s attention, he time-wastingly directed me to three wildly inappropriate forum threads, then terminated our chat session. Needless to say, the feedback I left on his non-support effort was far from positive.

I’ve yet to really sink my teeth into researching a corporate feedback mechanism for bringing such a sin of omission to Microsoft’s attention, but a first look revealed Microsoft Connect:

“Microsoft Connect was launched in July 2005. Since then millions of users have joined the site to improve the quality and impact the direction of future releases of Microsoft products by providing their feedback. To date, more than 90,000 defects have been fixed and more than 7,000 ideas have been implemented in Microsoft products thanks to people like you!”
~ About Connect » https://connect.microsoft.com/intro/

Trouble is, as far as I can see, Microsoft Windows 8.1 makes an appearance on neither the “Connect products currently accepting feedback” list (» https://connect.microsoft.com/directory/ ) nor the “Connect products currently not accepting feedback” list (» https://connect.microsoft.com/directory/non-feedback ). So if yourself or anybody else knows of the corporate feedback mechanism for bringing such a sin of omission to Microsoft’s attention, I’d be grateful if you could point me in the right URL direction.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, XE700T1C-A05UK
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 (3rd Gen) 3317U / 1.7 GHz ( 2.6 GHz )
    Motherboard
    Mobile Intel HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1. Mobile PC Display, 2. Panasonic HDTV via HDMI cable
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    Keyboard
    Touch-It OSK, detachable hardware keyboard
    Mouse
    Belkin Bluetooth mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~23 Mbps down, ~16 Mbps up (on 2014 Sep 29)
    Browser
    Firefox 33 (at 2014 Sep 29)
    Antivirus
    McAfee Security Scan Plus
Back
Top