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I am currently wrestling with a configuration headache involving my RPi4, Kodi and an audio receiver (and a TV that doesn't support CEC standby)…

Even after installing an HDMI splitter to separate hdmi going to TV and SPDIF going to receiver, I cannot seem to find a way to only turn off the display signal (only way to get the TV to eventually go to sleep) without also turning off audio (which I want to keep playing, when using Kodi for music).

Both tvservice and vcgencmd simply shut down the power to the HDMI out, which obviously shuts down the audio.

Unfortunately I cannot set hdmi_blanking = 0, as it would then start going to sleep in the middle of videos playing in Kodi…

Mirroring HDMI output so that shutting down one (the TV) doesn't affect the other (receiver) also seems impossible when running Kodi on a Pi…

Is there any command or workaround I can use, to stop sending a video signal while keeping audio on?

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  • Pretty sure this is an absurdly irritating oversight in the HDMI protocol itself -- you cannot "disable" the video side. External smart TV boxes with no separate audio out have the same problem -- when running an audio app you can't turn the screen off while listening if you need the HDMI for sound. – goldilocks♦ Dec 28 '20 at 17:13
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    google linux hdmi sound bar – jsotola Dec 28 '20 at 17:17
  • I stand corrected. Someone please tell Amazon. – goldilocks♦ Dec 28 '20 at 17:18
  • @goldilocks well, in the case of a TV, it stands to reason that putting the device to standby will cut off the sound anyway. Merely turning the screen black is fairly easy (and has limited impact)… My use case is a bit different, since I'm trying to keep feeding audio through the HDMI splitter to the AV through TOSLink… – Dave Dec 28 '20 at 21:27
  • @jsotola was your comment directed at the other commenter? if it was meant for me, I'm afraid I can't find anything particularly useful to my specific case… – Dave Dec 28 '20 at 21:27

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