How to shutdown macbook screen when connected to TV

hey there, i wonder if anyone could help me with my problem ,
i want to shutdown the screen of the macbook pro when connected to an LCD TV without closing the lid , any ideas?

 

You could turn the back lite off.

 

+1 for decreasing the screen brightness to 0.
Although personally I prefer closing the lid.
InsominaX is a great little program for preventing the laptop from going to sleep when the lid is closed. The other advantage for closing the lid is that the laptop will drive the TV in single monitor mode, and can display it at the TVs native resolution, which if its a HDTV might be more than your mbp's.
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laptop gets hotter when i close the lid with sound and graphics demanding programs , i did a bench mark few month ago and found that when i leave the lid opened i get lower temp

 

yea the laptop will get hotter, but yea just turn off the backlight.

The LCD display it self wont burn in, or die and all macs are using led backlights now, so you wouldn't have to deal with the backlight dying either.

 

Since ingress and egress airflow for cooling is located at the front hinge gap created by the open case, the MB is going to have more difficulty in maintaining proper cooling when closed, as "Beige" has found. This is regardless of heat generated by the screen itself.

I would like to know the answer to his question as well.

Is their a means to TURN OFF the LCD & the backlight, or is the only option to dim?

 

While I haven't tried this myself (I would right now but the girlfriend has the olympics on the HDTV). Connect the laptop to the TV, make sure you have atleast an external mouse or even a keyboard hooked up to the MB. Close the lid and let it sleep. Then shake the mouse or push a button on the keyboard to wake the MB back up and the TV should be the primary monitor now.

While I use InsominaX (to like download a program or something) I just set the fan up a bit and haven't had much problem with temperatures. Leaving the screen open will help the temp no doubt.

 

updated steps: (thanks @mindinversion!)
to get the macbook to work on an external monitor only on OSX follow these directions:
1. Plug the computer into the wall
2. Start up the machine.
3.plug in an external monitor and/or mouse.
4. close the computer (computer should sleep)
5. while computer is shut, move mouse or it keys on the external keyboard.
6. the computer should wake up.
7. make sure the TV's display is on the right channel
8. the desktop and workspace you where on should be on the screen.
9. feel free to unplug the power if desired or open up the computer again if you think it is running hot, but I haven't had any issues.

Hope that helps!

 

good trick , i ll be sure to try it

 

You missed a step. This ONLY WORKS ON AC POWER! If you're not plugged into the wall the macbook screen comes back on @ wake.

 

good to know!