NEC P241W monitor, no force standby-mode >.<

jabroni5 · 01-16-2013, 04:35 PM

Hi, I bought a 15" MacBook Pro Retina a few months back, to use in my home office, and on the road. I thought about buying a 27" Apple Thunderbolt display for the office, but I didn't need such a big screen, so I bought an NEC MultiSync P241W 24" display, instead.

It's a very nice screen. It has good connectivity (nearly equivalent to NEC's highest end display models), good color reproduction compared to Apple's screens, and a USB hub...and that's where I have a problem. Bear with me here while I explain...

As confirmed by my best research efforts, and a discussion with NEC technical support, for the P241W to enter standby-mode, the selected video signal must be interrupted somehow (as best as I can figure, that means I have to sleep or turn off the Mac). There is no force-standby feature on the screen itself, or in the on-screen menu, just the power-off button. Since I have an HDTV hooked up to the Mac as well, for watching video, I often don't NEED to keep the P241W powered up. In fact, in a dark room, I'd prefer to turn it off (or in this case, set it to standby). And there's the catch. If I turn the screen off, instead of setting it to standby somehow, I lose power to the USB hub, and amongst other things, the keyboard and mouse that are usually plugged into it. And of course I can't sleep/turn off the computer because I'm using it!

And so, none of this is a deal-breaker. I can always route my critical USB devices through a different hub, while the P241W is off, but it's still kind of frustrating.

Can anyone think of any way (maybe by use of a script, or some system preference that I'm unaware of) by which OS X might be able to cut the signal to a specific monitor, in this case to trigger standby-mode on my P241W?

Here's hoping!

DeltaMac · 01-16-2013, 05:35 PM

You could unplug the display video cable when you don't need it, although perhaps that's not a good practice in the long term for that little mini Display part connector.

agentx · 01-17-2013, 07:13 AM

This is normal behaviour for a screen and an external powered hub will get rid of your issue and then you just power off screen.

I have seen a "few" mini display ports and even a few TB ports get damaged with extensive cable pulling and strain.

jabroni5 · 01-18-2013, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agentx


	This is normal behaviour for a screen and an external powered hub will get rid of your issue and then you just power off screen.

You may be correct that many monitors operate this way. However, my old Apple Cinema display (that I gave away along with its retired 2006 Mac Pro counterpart *sigh*), a 20" Model A1081, was much better integrated. Opening System Preferences/Displays, I could select functionality for the display's power button; Power off computer, or Standby display. THAT kind of integration is obviously too much to expect from a different manufacturer, but I'm still disappointed that NEC didn't anticipate a need for the P241W to be set to its standby/power-save mode manually (a mode that DOES maintain power to the USB hub). This monitor has a REALLY comprehensive on-screen menu for setting preferences; Why not add that seemingly basic feature?

DeltaMac · 01-18-2013, 07:39 AM

I bet you would have had the same manual-standby challenge with the Apple Cinema display, if you had tried it with a Windows system.

Your feature request could be presented to NEC. They would be the only folks who could redesign the display, or provide software driver support for that feature...

jabroni5 · 01-18-2013, 09:46 AM

It's funny that you say that about driver support, DeltaMac. My "level 2" NEC tech rep said the same thing about my operating system... "If they can't do it, nobody can" haha. From a technical standpoint, do you suppose it's even possible for a piece of software (regardless of who writes it) to perform this task?

DeltaMac · 01-18-2013, 11:18 AM

Did the L2 NEC tech tell you that your display (the hardware) does, in fact, support what you want (standby, screen off, but USB ports stay powered)?
Perhaps that's only available on Windows.
With THIS: http://www.nec-display.com/dl/en/dp_...ler/index.html

"If they can't do it, nobody can"
Is the word "they" referring to NEC, or Apple?
Apple doesn't make the display, and they don't supply the drivers for configuration.
So, the only way that statement makes sense, is if the tech was referring to NEC.

So, yes, software will perform the task - if (and only if) the hardware (NEC display) provides the capability.

Even your older Apple Cinema display could not respond to software settings unless those settings were supported by the hardware.
For example, your old Cinema display had no setting to turn off the power light. Yet, you can change the color of the power LED on your NEC, or even turn the light completely off.

01-16-2013, 04:35 PM	#1
jabroni5 Prospect Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 17	NEC P241W monitor, no force standby-mode >.< Hi, I bought a 15" MacBook Pro Retina a few months back, to use in my home office, and on the road. I thought about buying a 27" Apple Thunderbolt display for the office, but I didn't need such a big screen, so I bought an NEC MultiSync P241W 24" display, instead. It's a very nice screen. It has good connectivity (nearly equivalent to NEC's highest end display models), good color reproduction compared to Apple's screens, and a USB hub...and that's where I have a problem. Bear with me here while I explain... As confirmed by my best research efforts, and a discussion with NEC technical support, for the P241W to enter standby-mode, the selected video signal must be interrupted somehow (as best as I can figure, that means I have to sleep or turn off the Mac). There is no force-standby feature on the screen itself, or in the on-screen menu, just the power-off button. Since I have an HDTV hooked up to the Mac as well, for watching video, I often don't NEED to keep the P241W powered up. In fact, in a dark room, I'd prefer to turn it off (or in this case, set it to standby). And there's the catch. If I turn the screen off, instead of setting it to standby somehow, I lose power to the USB hub, and amongst other things, the keyboard and mouse that are usually plugged into it. And of course I can't sleep/turn off the computer because I'm using it! And so, none of this is a deal-breaker. I can always route my critical USB devices through a different hub, while the P241W is off, but it's still kind of frustrating. Can anyone think of any way (maybe by use of a script, or some system preference that I'm unaware of) by which OS X might be able to cut the signal to a specific monitor, in this case to trigger standby-mode on my P241W? Here's hoping! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by jabroni5; 01-16-2013 at 04:43 PM.

01-17-2013, 07:13 AM	#3
agentx Hall of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Brighton, UK Posts: 3,832	This is normal behaviour for a screen and an external powered hub will get rid of your issue and then you just power off screen. I have seen a "few" mini display ports and even a few TB ports get damaged with extensive cable pulling and strain. Last edited by agentx; 01-17-2013 at 07:16 AM.

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01-16-2013, 05:35 PM	#2
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,994	You could unplug the display video cable when you don't need it, although perhaps that's not a good practice in the long term for that little mini Display part connector.

01-18-2013, 07:39 AM	#5
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,994	I bet you would have had the same manual-standby challenge with the Apple Cinema display, if you had tried it with a Windows system. Your feature request could be presented to NEC. They would be the only folks who could redesign the display, or provide software driver support for that feature...

01-18-2013, 09:46 AM	#6
jabroni5 Prospect Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 17	It's funny that you say that about driver support, DeltaMac. My "level 2" NEC tech rep said the same thing about my operating system... "If they can't do it, nobody can" haha. From a technical standpoint, do you suppose it's even possible for a piece of software (regardless of who writes it) to perform this task?

01-18-2013, 11:18 AM	#7
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,994	Did the L2 NEC tech tell you that your display (the hardware) does, in fact, support what you want (standby, screen off, but USB ports stay powered)? Perhaps that's only available on Windows. With THIS: http://www.nec-display.com/dl/en/dp_...ler/index.html "If they can't do it, nobody can" Is the word "they" referring to NEC, or Apple? Apple doesn't make the display, and they don't supply the drivers for configuration. So, the only way that statement makes sense, is if the tech was referring to NEC. So, yes, software will perform the task - if (and only if) the hardware (NEC display) provides the capability. Even your older Apple Cinema display could not respond to software settings unless those settings were supported by the hardware. For example, your old Cinema display had no setting to turn off the power light. Yet, you can change the color of the power LED on your NEC, or even turn the light completely off.