4.0.{4,5} blankscreen(FALSE) doesn't reliably unblank screen

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3 total messages Started by Stuart Levy Mon, 14 Dec 1992 23:01

Author: Stuart Levy
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 23:01

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We sometimes use the console of a VGX Iris here, running 4.0.5,
for single-frame video recording.  The recording software used to call just
	blanktime(0);
at the beginning of a session to ensure that (a) the screen was not blanked
and (b) it would stay that way.  (Since the screen is unviewable while
recording, we'd often run recording jobs remotely, so the console could well
have been idle long enough to go blank.)

Calling blanktime(0) alone worked under 3.3 and (I think) 4.0.1.
But, when we upgraded to 4.0.4, it stopped working.  Apparently if the
display was already blanked, blanktime(0) would *not* re-enable it, and we'd
spend hours recording only to find black video.  So I changed that to
	blankscreen(FALSE);
	blanktime(0);
but this was (sometimes? always?) ineffective -- the screen would remain blank. 

Often we'd then find it impossible to *unblank* the screen -- pounding on the
keyboard had no effect, and we'd have to kill the X server or reboot.
(Yes, /etc/config/system.glGammaVal was intact.)

After some frustrating months I stumbled on this workaround (!):
	blankscreen(TRUE);
	blankscreen(FALSE);
	blanktime(0);

You wouldn't think asking the screen to go blank would be essential to
unblanking it, but so it goes.  Don't know if this always works, but
it sometimes does.

    Stuart Levy, Geometry Center, University of Minnesota
    slevy@geom.umn.edu

Re: 4.0.{4,5} blankscreen(FALSE) doesn't reliably unblank screen

Author: Michael M Cohen
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 12:50

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In article <1992Dec14.230140.8608@news2.cis.umn.edu> slevy@noneuclid.geom.umn.edu (Stuart Levy) writes:
>.....>
>After some frustrating months I stumbled on this workaround (!):
>	blankscreen(TRUE);
>	blankscreen(FALSE);
>	blanktime(0);

for me (4.0.5 vgx),

system('blanktime 0');
blankscreen(0);
... and afterwards ...
system('blanktime 20000');

always works

-- 

======================================================================
=   Dr. Michael M. Cohen                   mmcohen@dewi.ucsc.edu     = 
=   Program in Experimental Psychology     mmcohen@fuzzy.ucsc.edu    =
=   433 Clark Kerr Hall                    408-459-2655 LAB          = 
=   University of California - Santa Cruz  408-459-2700 MSGS         = 
=   Santa Cruz, CA 95064                   408-459-3519 FAX          = 
======================================================================

Re: 4.0.{4,5} blankscreen(FALSE) doesn't reliably unblank screen

Author: Dan Wallach
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 05:36

17 lines
1303 bytes

In article <1992Dec14.230140.8608@news2.cis.umn.edu> slevy@noneuclid.geom.umn.edu (Stuart Levy) writes:
>Calling blanktime(0) alone worked under 3.3 and (I think) 4.0.1.
>But, when we upgraded to 4.0.4, it stopped working.  Apparently if the
>display was already blanked, blanktime(0) would *not* re-enable it, and we'd
>spend hours recording only to find black video.  So I changed that to
>	blankscreen(FALSE);
>	blanktime(0);
>but this was (sometimes? always?) ineffective -- the screen would remain blank. 

Try using the xset command:

    xset s noblank

--
Dan Wallach               "One of the most attractive features of a Connection
dwallach@cs.berkeley.edu  Machine is the array of blinking lights on the faces
Office#: 510-642-9585     of its cabinet." -- CM Paris Ref. Manual, v6.0, p48.

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