Connecting to TV Requires Reboot?

Hi,

I have a multifunction flatscreen TV. You probably know what i'm on about, its a cheap flatscreen that has everything (SCART, AV, HDMI, VGA, DVD Player, USB etc).

I'm not going to say the model name or anything because I know its rebranded. Its a "Techwood" which I think is a rebranded Samsung, and was purchased from "Currys" in the UK.

I have a MacBook Pro 5,5 (Mid 2009), and have the connector plug in a VGA monitor. As a laptop, I like to be able to take it around, which involved unplugging the TV.

However, I found that when you connect it to the TV, you MUST reboot the computer before it will accept a connection. The laptop knows there is a connection, because the screen flashes blue as it connects and adjusts to the new display, but it doesn't get "detected" and the TV just says "No Signal Through PC". However, after booting, just after the apple sign disappears, both monitors turn the same blue, followed by the default Aurora Wallpaper.

I find it EXTREMELY annoying that I have to restart the computer every time I want to reconnect to the TV.

Is there any kind of "hack" or "mod" that you know of that will let you connect to these displays without reboot? Maybe some sort of shell script or AppleScript I could run to make it detect the monitor without rebooting?

I appreciate any help you can give me.

PS. It definitely isn't the computer that requires reboot, because I had a 19" monitor before and that would reconnect immediately.

tv reboot vga connection mini-displayport hack display

asked Feb 13 '11 at 08:32

SkinnyBill
656●14●18●27

UPDATE: This doesn't happen in OS X Lion :)

(Sep 11 '11 at 14:33) SkinnyBill

3 Answers:

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1	A reboot takes like a minute answered Feb 13 '11 at 12:08 Ben Grant 2.0k●3●13●37 i know, but like i say, it is extremely inconvenient to reboot all the time. you have to re-open all your apps and files etc again (Feb 13 '11 at 15:50) SkinnyBill

I wonder if it would happen the same w/a PC laptop? If not, that would be a clue. Also if your 2009 Macbook Pro is dual core than that could be a problem. WiDi t.v. works best seamlessly i5 processors and Apple only updated the unibody line in April 2010. I've been researching this because I plan to do this w/a Laptop (i5 to i7 processor) & a newer flat panel t.v. Your experience is one I want to prevent by preplanning. Thanks for sharing.

answered Feb 13 '11 at 16:15

systerwoody
86●10●11●15

no, its ANY computer (according to the manual).

It says as part of the instructions:

Power off both devices Connect the VGA cable (not included) to the TV and then the Computer Power on both devices.

This is not strictly required, you just have to reboot the computer only while connected. So its not the actual laptop.

(Feb 13 '11 at 17:39) SkinnyBill

I've never had this issue connecting a second monitor to a laptop, so maybe it's a mac thing.

answered Feb 13 '11 at 16:35

Duodave
4.6k●40●49●98

(see the above comment)

its ANY computer (according to the manual).

It says as part of the instructions:

Power off both devices Connect the VGA cable (not included) to the TV and then the Computer Power on both devices.

This is not strictly required, you just have to reboot the computer only while connected. So its not the actual laptop.

and also, as i say, i have a 19" monitor that connected every time without reboot.

And to be perfectly honest, dual-screening is much easier on mac than windows. You never get windows stuck "off screen", say if you have a window on screen 2, and you disconnect screen 2, windows tends to maintain the window position and you have to do the faffy "right click, move, use arrow keys to move the window back onto the other monitor". On mac, the screen just turns blue as the monitors re-config and everything moves back to the correct monitor.

(Feb 13 '11 at 17:42) SkinnyBill

Odd, I have never had said problem with dual screens on a IBM Compatible PC, and connect to projector will usually turn a laptops vga port on with out rebooting.

(Sep 11 '11 at 15:34) NeoHavock

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