Linux DRM - Screen Blanking

[patrickpracht]

Hi,
I'm currently building a little application running on Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no Desktop Environment).
It uses the Linux DRM, is started by a systemctl unit and reacts to touch inputs. It works absolutely fine. :)

One thing I'm missing is a power saving option. I want the Display to be turned off after a period of no input.

I started a bit of research already (see my post in reddit) and came to the conclusion that the component in control of the DRM must handle the screen blanking too, since it also must be able to turn the display on again after input is detected.

My idea is that the Avalonia DRM Output gets a little extension to support screen blanking. Potentially off by default, in order to not break existing implementations.

DrmOutput.cs#L233 uses drmModeSetCrtc() already, and, according to a discussion I found elsewhere, the "off" mode works by setting certain parameters to null/0.

Notes

• The input events (mouse, keyboard, touch, ...) must reenable the output
• Screen blanking time should be configurable

What do you think?

Best
Patrick