Checking HDMI display status from Android app?

Question

I need to write an Android service that detects when an external HDMI monitor goes offline (or comes back online). The purpose of the service is to notify employees if one of the public TV screens (powered by Android) malfunctions. The problem - as far as I've been able to research - Android has no concept of an HDMI API (although some manufacturers have their own implementations).

The box in use is Android 2.3 HD 1080P Internet TV Box WIFI Media Player HDTV MP3/WMA. My best bet is using the Power or DisplayMetrics API-s to determine if the current screen is HDMI.

Can this be done on Android 2.3?

You can try this answer. I provided an example: http://stackoverflow.com/a/21383495/108742 — Ivan Morgillo, Jan 27 '14 at 14:33

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 14 '12 at 15:02

3

Only as of Android 3.0 the common sysfs location was included in the sources where you could check if the HDMI is ON or OFF - /sys/devices/virtual/switch/hdmi/state . Before that (like in Android 2.3) vendors were using custom methods. Try to check if your model has some sysfs location where the driver writes this information or check if there are sticky broadcasts related to swiching of HDMI that you can listen to.

answered Sep 14 '12 at 15:02

Sasha Nikolic

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does this suppose that the device must be rooted? – Adi Mar 12 '14 at 11:02

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 05 '14 at 04:58

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You can get the hdmi state from the location /sys/class/display/dispaly0.hdmi/connect. It gives the correct Hdmi connected and disconnected state.

answered Mar 05 '14 at 04:58

Aj_31

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does this suppose that the device must be rooted? – Adi Mar 12 '14 at 11:01

Checking HDMI display status from Android app?

2 Answers2