[MPlayer-users] OSX: disable "auto-sleep" while playing a video?

[The Wanderer]

gabor wrote:

> hi,
> 
> i use mac osx.
> 
> the problem is that when i'm watching something in mplayer, the
> system seems to interpret it as 'nothing is happening', and acts
> accordingly:
> 
> 1. lowers the brightness of the screen after some time
> 2. probably would later turn off the display, but i never wait so
> long.

I've observed the same type of behaviour, in Linux (with various VO
methods). The problem did not always occur, but it's been around for
quite some while, and I've got no idea when it first cropped up - or,
for that matter, even whether the cause was a change in MPlayer or in my
own system.

In my case, the "blank screen when idle" functionality is handled by
(apparently) xscreensaver; I just work around it by using 'xset s off'
and 'xset s on' before and after every video-watching session I expect
to last longer than about ten minutes, that being the trigger time.

I'd be interested in seeing a proper solution provided; if there's
anything I can do to help in that (testing, etc.), short of attempting
regression testing over the past three years to see if it actually *was*
a change in MPlayer that caused the problem to start appearing, just let
me know.

-- 
       The Wanderer

Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.

Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.