[bertieb]

Hi all. I am having trouble with getting Kodi to change output to a second
monitor, via Settings → System → Display.

I have Kodi running on a machine attached to an old Samsung TV capable of 720p
max, and it works fine on that alone. However, when I attach a second display
(an equally old 1024x768 15" monitor†), Kodi displays on that monitor but will
not change back to the TV.

The options on the System → Display → Monitor menu are:

- Default (15" monitor)
- DP-1 (15" monitor)
- HDMI3 (seems to change aspect ratio of output to be widescreen 720p, but Kodi
  remains on the monitor)

I am happy to provide more info as needed. I know I'm on a slightly oldish version and I can update if pressed to, but this is a 'bedroom TV' scenario and I'd like to keep it where things are -- this post notwithstanding -- otherwise working :-)

Is there anything I can do to get a nice switch from one monitor to another? As a bonus: could I trigger the change of output/display/monitor via script, if Kodi can be managed from scripts or has an accessible API?

Thanks in advance!

† My motivation is switching to the second monitor at night when I sometimes
fall asleep with the TV on. The plasma consumes ~325-350W, the monitor consumes
9W. Unfortunately the TV does not turn off when it loses signal, nor does it
have a 'sleep timer' or similar.


--------- Sticky thread info below -------------

Debug log:

https://termbin.com/bqtj

Screenshots:





Distro: Arch

Hardware: x86_64 - Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8350  CPU @ 1.44GHz

Kernel: 5.9.1-arch1-1

Install method: Distro

[bertieb]

I was able to eventually get this working via xrandr directly†, though there is a significant issue: Kodi loses UI text elements in menus and on the OSD after playing a video or after going to screen-dimmed mode. Changing the resolution / output -- even to the same resolution/monitor -- restores the text until it disappears again. This did not happen before I started changing displays with xrandr.

----

†: Fairly standard xrandr:

Monitor: xrandr --output DP-1 --primary --mode 1024x768 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal --output HDMI-1 --off --output DP-2 --off --output HDMI-2 --off --output DP-3 --off --output HDMI-3 --off
TV: xrandr --output DP-1 --off --output HDMI-1 --off --output DP-2 --off --output HDMI-2 --off --output DP-3 --off --output HDMI-3 --primary --mode 1280x720 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal

[bertieb]

It seems this was a known issue, and was fixed in PR #19258. Guess that means it's upgrade time for me!