Dual monitoring with a TV, weird issues

[Xeogred]

So I just got a newer TV and it's been doing a few weird things that my last TV never did with this setup:

- When I turn the TV off, my monitor also flickers and the USB plug and play sound hits, like it's being unplugged. But the monitor flickers back on, and then I can still move my mouse over to where my TV is located, as if it knows it's still detected. So why does it have to flicker? Always messes with my windows open and such.

- This has been a weird one, but I think when my monitor powers off after 10 minutes, sometimes I can't get it to come back on with the desktop picture... both on my monitor and TV. You know, moving the mouse or hitting some keys but the monitor isn't detecting input. This has happened a few times while playing games on another input source. So I have to unplug the HDMI cable from my computer, so it then just detects my monitor and I can get picture again.

I don't have a screen savor set, but in Power Options my monitor does shut off after 10 minutes. I'm not sure if these options are maybe messing with it?

I'm on Win7 with a Radeon HD 7900 series card. I can't seem to find anything in regards to this stuff going through the ATI options, same with the TV itself.

My old TV never had this issue. I could turn it off and my computer just knew it was still there.

[Ziggy587]

I also have an HDTV hooked up to my Windows 7 desktop as a second monitor. When I turn my TV on or off, my desktop monitor will blank for a few seconds and I'll hear the hardware inserted / removed sound. My old HDTV, which was hooked up via VGA, didn't do this. My new TV is DVI-to-HDMI. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it.

To avoid other issues (mainly having new windows opening on the wrong screen) and since I rarely use the TV with the PC anymore, I just turn the TV off in the resolution options. I'll turn it on when I wanna use it, then turn it back off when I'm done. But even doing this, my monitor will still blank and I'll still hear the hardware sound when turning my TV on or off. What's even stranger is that my TV isn't connected directly to the video card, I output to a receiver first. Turning the receiver on or off doesn't do this, just the TV itself.

I don't have any of the other issues you mentioned, but I have had some strange issues with my monitor on my Windows 7 desktop. For the longest time, my screen saver refused to work. It magically started working again after I recently upgrading my video card. Another problem that I've had for a while, and still have, is randomly on a cold start when I log in the screen will dim like a laptop on battery. Power settings aren't to blame, and I have to log off and back on to fix it.

And FWIW, I have nVidia.

[Xeogred]

Interesting, definitely some similar weirdness going on. My monitor (Acer) is DVI and I use HDMI directly from my PC to my TV (Samsung).

But I use the TV daily pretty much, usually to watch shows or stream videos. Guess I could turn the second monitor off via Windows options when I'm not using it, but yeah. I just wish it acted like my last TV, which was also just a smaller Samsung.

I know exactly what you mean about your last paragraph there. It happens to me sometimes too and I've also only been able to fix it with a restart as well. Something to do with LCD's in general, or Acer? Or maybe something to do with Win7's Aero/desktop features. It's pretty weird. I usually just turn off my monitor directly when I go to sleep so the blue light isn't even on or anything. The darker screen thing is pretty random though, I haven't seen it happen in awhile. But apparently I'm not the only one that's had that issue.

[Ziggy587]

Funny, I had an Acer monitor as well. I just recently upgraded to a larger Asus though.

The dimming thing, it'll only happen when I first log on. I'll log on, then a split second after I can see the desktop the screen dims. Only way to fix it is to log off, or restart (which logs you off). It'll only sometimes happen when I first log on though. If the screen doesn't dim, it'll be good as long as I have my computer on, and I stay logged in.

[isiolia]

My guess for some of those behaviors is HDMI audio. Some can/will support that even with a DVI to HDMI adapter (I think you can disable it in the nVidia control panel at least). It's recognized as a separate audio device, which might be where the add/remove hardware alerts are coming from. Usually it'll just see the receiver if you're plugging into one though, so I'm not 100% sure.

[Xeogred]

My guess for some of those behaviors is HDMI audio. Some can/will support that even with a DVI to HDMI adapter (I think you can disable it in the nVidia control panel at least). It's recognized as a separate audio device, which might be where the add/remove hardware alerts are coming from. Usually it'll just see the receiver if you're plugging into one though, so I'm not 100% sure.

Interesting find, my PC was definitely detecting the TV HDMI for audio. I disabled it but looks like it's still thinking something is being unplugged when I turn the TV off. Double checked the listing and it's still disabled so it didn't activate again or anything. This is a 2015 TV so maybe it has other HDMI features like this that might be doing it?

[isiolia]

Newer standards also support ethernet over HDMI, but I don't really have experience messing with that, and I don't know if that works through an adapter too. Possibly something to check though. Maybe it gets passed through for Smart TV stuff.

[Xeogred]

Newer standards also support ethernet over HDMI, but I don't really have experience messing with that, and I don't know if that works through an adapter too. Possibly something to check though. Maybe it gets passed through for Smart TV stuff.

Was worth a shot, I tried turning off SmartHub on my TV but still a no go. Do you know where I'd maybe find options for this on the computer?

I'm also not sure what any of this AnyNet stuff is, but I tried messing with those options and it didn't still do anything.

Wonder if it has anything to do with this TV connecting to the wi-fi, since my last one didn't do that.

[isiolia]

Was worth a shot, I tried turning off SmartHub on my TV but still a no go. Do you know where I'd maybe find options for this on the computer?

I'm also not sure what any of this AnyNet stuff is, but I tried messing with those options and it didn't still do anything.

Wonder if it has anything to do with this TV connecting to the wi-fi, since my last one didn't do that.

Not sure really. Just another thing potentially passed over HDMI. It'd probably be in your GPU control panel if there were an option to fully enable/disable it.

AnyNet+ is Samsung's name for HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). Basically lets devices talk to one another, auto-power on, that kind of stuff. Last I'd seen, it's not something graphics cards or Windows tend to do anything with.

[Anapan]

I use a splitter and it fixed all those issues mentioned above.
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8204.
Works great.
Mine isn't a smart tv, but having a regular LCD and a big screen plasma into 2 different hdmi ports on my computer was causing all kinds of headaches just like OP. As long as the computer thinks I only have one display, all is fixed.