• Blackmagic Design

  Screen Saver Choke… minor… but it could help someone.

  Posted by Paul From jkt on September 21, 2005 at 3:57 pm

  I decided for the 1st time to activate my screen saver to play photos so that clients could have something to watch while they where waiting. I noticed that every time I selected a photo screen saver, the g5 would just choke. It would act as if it couldn’t keep up with the demand. I finally found that in the system pref decklink control, the video desktop required to be unselected, and the machine restarted. This solved the problem. I guess it’s trying to play the screen saver on both screens, even though one doesn’t exist. Not sure, but this is the case.

  Please reply if you can to verify my findings.

  Thanks,

  -paul

  Luke Maslen replied 20 years, 11 months ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
• 3 Replies

• 

  Luke Maslen

  September 26, 2005 at 6:53 am

  Hi Paul,

  Does this also happen if you disconnect one of your two Apple displays? Each display, including the DeckLink display, has its own desktop and (I think) it’s own screen saver setting. It may be that three displays is too much but that two displays is fine. Try re-enabling the desktop on the DeckLink card and temporarily disconnect one of your Apple displays. I think you will find that the problem no longer occurs.

  Regards,

  Luke Maslen
  Blackmagic Design
• 

  Paul From jkt

  September 26, 2005 at 3:10 pm

  [Luke Maslen] “It may be that three displays is too much but that two displays is fine”

  Thanks for the info Luke… Really appreciate you taking the time.

  I do have only two monitors both 23″ apples. That also leads me to this question so I understand exactly how this works.

  I am using one monitor connected to the graphics card (nvidia 6800). The video desktop is enabled by default, so I left it like that.

  I also have a HD Link with a 23″ apple display, but I usually keep it off when not in use, and it has not had any influence on this problem that I could notice.

  Question: What is the proper way to power down or toggle on/off the HD link unit, and if power is disconnected but monitor is still physically connected, could this be part of my problem?

  The screen save works, but not when video desktop is active. Could this be a glitch with the new drivers? I haven’t thought of that possibility yet.

  Best Regards,

  -paul
• 

  Luke Maslen

  September 27, 2005 at 7:45 am

  Hi Paul,

  I noticed in your profile the reference to “Twin 23″ Apple Displays” and assumed you had both of these connected to your NVIDIA graphics card in addition to the DeckLink output. Regardless of whether or not you have the HDLink connected to the DeckLink, your Mac will treat the DeckLink as an extra display if the desktop is enabled. In other words it really should not matter how you go about shutting down the HDLink and the LCD monitor which is attached to it.

  I will see if we can test out your scenario to see if we can replicate it using one monitor attached to the G5 and the other to the DeckLink card and HDLink.

  Regards,

  Luke Maslen
  Blackmagic Design

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