Muting the TV during advertisements used to be enough to quiet the god-awful din, but now modern ads flash the screen so hard it still grabs all the attention in the room. How about a TV mute function that dims the screen to 50% (or whatever)?
-- lubbit, Nov 13 2015

I think you could easily bake this with a Harmony remote.
-- notexactly, Nov 13 2015


Most TVs have a button marked <power> which does that.

Alternatively there is a housebrick.
-- pocmloc, Nov 13 2015


I don't see a power button anywhere on mine. There is this weird little 1/0 button though.
-- RayfordSteele, Nov 13 2015


Good idea.
-- doctorremulac3, Nov 14 2015


My flatscreen TV uses LED illumination and when I first set it up I set the default brightness at 50%, and haven't changed it since. On my CCF* computer screens (haven't updated them in years) I set the default brightness to Zero, and almost never encounter an image or video so dark that I need to adjust it. I'm expecting the respective light- sources to last lots longer than if I kept them at (or near) max brightness all the time.

*Cold Cathode Fluorescent, common before more- efficient and longer-lasting and much-lighter-weight LED lighting came along
-- Vernon, Nov 14 2015


Actions should be to mute the sound, dim the image, but also minimise the image to a 1:16 "PIP" window. [+]
-- 8th of 7, Nov 14 2015


Or to activate a motorised turntable that rotates the set to face the wall?
-- pocmloc, Nov 14 2015


I liked the think that lowered the volume on commercials.
-- travbm, Nov 14 2015


Make it go out of focus too. I don't know why, just do it.
-- doctorremulac3, Nov 14 2015


I want this so bad...
-- 21 Quest, Nov 15 2015



random, halfbakery