Two monitors, tv-out and a couple of more fps for games...

Botsinge · 09-02-04, 06:35 PM

Hello,

I haven't written anything here before, but read quite a lot threads. Anyways, I've seen more than one question regarding tv-out and two monitors so I thought I would share my setup.

I've two CRT-monitors connected to my computer (a FX5600 graphics card) as well as the TV (nice thing to at least have enough physical connectors). Normally I just have an ordinary TwinView setup with 1152x864 on each screen, but in case of tv or games (WineX that is) I start up another X server. In the TV case, a tv-only output (to get XV) and in the games case, a monitor single view (even though I've the normal TwinView X running in the background this gives a couple of hundred fps more in glxgears and a few in Battelfield 1942).

To make to whole tv-out handling a bit simpler I've just associated movies with a tv-out start script, as seen below (it's in swedish, but I guess your able to figure it out).

I've also attached a script I use to start movies with subtitle (in case it exists) in Totem. It's quite ugly and could proberly be made a whole lot better, but it works. I never really intended for anyone to see this, so I've commented it in swedish. But if anyone is really interested I could of course translate it.

The scripts I associate with movies for tv-out are

~/bin/dvdmax-50

Quote:

#!/bin/sh

export FILE=$1

startx -geometry 50x50+0+1000 -e /home/henrik/bin/initiera-dvdmax-x -- :1 -layout "DVDMax-50"

and

~/bin/dvdmax-60

Quote:

#!/bin/sh

export FILE=$1

startx -geometry 50x50+0+1000 -e /home/henrik/.bin/initiera-dvdmax-x -- :1 -layout "DVDMax-60"

The script which these call, "initiera-dvdmax-x" is as follows

~/bin/initiera-dvdmax-x

Quote:

#
# Sets the brightness and contrast for XV (which tends to be kinda strange when
# no XV is available).
#
gconftool-2 --set /apps/totem/brightness --type "int" 32768
gconftool-2 --set /apps/totem/contrast --type "int" 32768

#
# Sets volume to 100%
#
amixer sset Master 100%,100%

#
# Starts windowmanager
#
metacity &

#
# Calls a script which starts Totem with the given file and it's subtitle (if
# it exists).
#
#if [ "$FILE" == "" ]; then
# /home/henrik/.bin/totem-sub --fullscreen
# else
# /home/henrik/.bin/totem-sub --fullscreen --subtitle-file "$FILE"
#fi

#
# Starts Totem with the given file (in case you don't have my totem-sub script :-)
#
if [ "$FILE" == "" ]; then
/usr/bin/totem --fullscreen
else
/usr/bin/totem --fullscreen "$FILE"
fi

and the script with which I start Point2Play (WineX) is:

~/bin/new-x-singleview

Quote:

#!/bin/sh

startx -geometry 40x25+0+1000 -e /home/henrik/.bin/initiera-point2play-x -- :1 -layout "SingleView"

which calls "initiera-point2play-x"

~/bin/initiera-point2play-x

Quote:

metacity &

xsetroot -solid '#336c96'

Point2Play

My XF86Config-4 is as follows

/etc/X11/XF86Config-4

Quote:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "TwinView"
Screen "TwinView" 0 0
InputDevice "USB_MOUSE" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "PS2_KEYBOARD" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "SingleView"
Screen "SingleView" 0 0
InputDevice "USB_MOUSE" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "PS2_KEYBOARD" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "DVDMax-50"
Screen "DVDMax-50" 0 0
InputDevice "USB_MOUSE" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "PS2_KEYBOARD" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "DVDMax-60"
Screen "DVDMax-60" 0 0
InputDevice "USB_MOUSE" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "PS2_KEYBOARD" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/CID"
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
FontPath "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "PS2_KEYBOARD"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "logicdn"
Option "XkbLayout" "se"
Option "XkbCompat" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "USB_MOUSE"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Buttons" "6"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "ADI_GT56"
HorizSync 30.0 - 95.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
Modeline "1152x864_85" 119.65 1152 1224 1352 1552 864 865 868 907 -HSync +Vsync
Modeline "1152x864_89" 121.5 1152 1216 1312 1520 864 865 868 911 +Hsync +Vsync
Modeline "1280x960" 131.38 1280 1336 1616 1728 960 962 974 1000 #86Hz
Modeline "800x600_120" 83.95 800 856 944 1088 600 601 604 643 -HSync +Vsync
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "TV"
HorizSync 28.0 - 36.0
VertRefresh 43.0 - 65.0
# PAL resolutions.
ModeLine "720x576_50" 27.5 720 744 800 880 576 581 583 625
ModeLine "720x576_60" 32.7 720 744 816 912 576 577 580 597
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "FX5600"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "no"
Option "DigitalVibrance" "30"
Option "CursorShadow" "yes"
Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "3"
Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt"
Option "SWCursor" "yes"
Option "HWCursor" "no"
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "true"
Option "RenderAccel" "true"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "FX5600_TwinView"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "no"
Option "DigitalVibrance" "20"
Option "TwinView"
Option "SWCursor" "yes"
Option "HWCursor" "no"
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "true"
Option "RenderAccel" "true"

Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "31-70"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "50-160"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf"
Option "Metamodes" "1152x864_89,1152x864; 1152x864_89,NULL; 1024x768,NULL; 800x600,NULL; 640x480,NULL"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt,crt"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "FX5600_TV"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "yes"
Option "DigitalVibrance" "128"
Option "CursorShadow" "yes"
Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "3"
Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2"
Option "TVOutFormat" "Composite"
Option "TVStandard" "PAL-B"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "tv"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "TwinView"
Device "FX5600_TwinView"
Monitor "ADI_GT56"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "SingleView"
Device "FX5600"
Monitor "ADI_GT56"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864_89"
#Använder XRandX istället
#"1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "DVDMax-50"
Device "FX5600_TV"
Monitor "TV"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "720x576_50" "720x576_60"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "DVDMax-60"
Device "FX5600_TV"
Monitor "TV"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "720x576_60" "720x576_50"
EndSubSection
EndSection

zorinlynx · 09-03-04, 10:18 PM

I tried this (well, a similar setup) and it seems to work, with one minor... okay, MAJOR showstopping problem:

There seems to be a 1 out of 4 probability that every time I invoke the second X server to watch video on the TVout, the machine locks up completely, requiring a hard reboot.

It's probably a driver bug, but it effectively makes this method useless for me.

You haven't had any lockups at all? This is very strange.

-Z

Botsinge · 09-04-04, 05:29 AM

No, I haven't seen any lockups. The only bug (I guess) is that my overlay fails to initialise (no video, just a blue screen) the first time it's invoked. It's quite irritating, but not more, I just have to restart the second X-server.

What does your XFree86.1.log-file say?

If it's of any help, here is my setup:

Debian Sid
Kernel 2.6.7
GeForce FX 5600, 6111-drivers, (4xAGP, with fast writes and SBA enabled)

realm01 · 09-04-04, 01:00 PM

I got my left one working, and my right one turns off. How can I turn it on, now that it's not garbled? Here is my xorg.conf:

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "TwinView"
Screen "TwinView" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "SingleView"
Screen "SingleView" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "DVDMax-50"
Screen "DVDMax-50" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "DVDMax-60"
Screen "DVDMax-60" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"

# RgbPath is the location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Red Hat 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "ADI_GT56"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "SyncMaster"
DisplaySize 380 310
HorizSync 30.0 - 81.0
VertRefresh 56.0 - 85.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "TV"
HorizSync 28.0 - 36.0
VertRefresh 43.0 - 65.0
# PAL resolutions.
ModeLine "720x576_50" 27.5 720 744 800 880 576 581 583 625
ModeLine "720x576_60" 32.7 720 744 816 912 576 577 580 597
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "FX5600"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "no"
Option "DigitalVibrance" "30"
Option "CursorShadow" "yes"
Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "3"
Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt"
Option "SWCursor" "yes"
Option "HWCursor" "no"
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "true"
Option "RenderAccel" "true"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "FX5600_TwinView"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "no"
Option "DigitalVibrance" "20"
Option "TwinView"
Option "SWCursor" "yes"
Option "HWCursor" "no"
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "true"
Option "RenderAccel" "true"

Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "31-70"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "50-160"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf"
Option "Metamodes" "1152x864_89,1152x864; 1152x864_89,NULL; 1024x768,NULL; 800x600,NULL; 640x480,NULL"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt,crt"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "FX5600_TV"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "yes"
Option "DigitalVibrance" "128"
Option "CursorShadow" "yes"
Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "3"
Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2"
Option "TVOutFormat" "Composite"
Option "TVStandard" "PAL-B"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "tv"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "TwinView"
Device "FX5600_TwinView"
Monitor "ADI_GT56"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "SingleView"
Device "FX5600"
Monitor "ADI_GT56"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864_89"
#Använder XRandX istället
#"1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "DVDMax-50"
Device "FX5600_TV"
Monitor "TV"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "720x576_50" "720x576_60"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "DVDMax-60"
Device "FX5600_TV"
Monitor "TV"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "720x576_60" "720x576_50"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Botsinge · 09-04-04, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by realm01

I got my left one working, and my right one turns off. How can I turn it on, now that it's not garbled? Here is my xorg.conf:
<cut>

I ain't sure I quite understand what you mean. Do you mean that your primary monitor works, but your secondary (the one to the right) doesn't? Or do they both work as expectet untill you invoke and close the second X-server (the one for tv-out)?

What do you mean by "now that it's not garbled", has the second monitor been garbled?

zorinlynx: Maybe I also should have said that I don't use x.org, but Xfree86 4.3.0

realm01 · 09-05-04, 12:14 PM

Sorry for not being more detailed. When I first installed Fedora 2, the left screen worked fine, while the right one would only display garbage. Couldn't use it at all. I tried activating it through the Display properties, but that only made X crash. I installed the Nvidia drivers and used a config file from here, and managed to make a little progress. Now, my left monitor is still fine. However, the right monitor shows the Nvidia logo, than not only goes blank, but there is no signal (the monitor power LED flashes). I figure that's a bit better than seeing garbage on the screen, but I'd love to be able to use it!
Any ideas?

09-03-04, 10:18 PM	#2
zorinlynx Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 11	Re: Two monitors, tv-out and a couple of more fps for games... I tried this (well, a similar setup) and it seems to work, with one minor... okay, MAJOR showstopping problem: There seems to be a 1 out of 4 probability that every time I invoke the second X server to watch video on the TVout, the machine locks up completely, requiring a hard reboot. It's probably a driver bug, but it effectively makes this method useless for me. You haven't had any lockups at all? This is very strange. -Z

09-04-04, 01:00 PM	#4
realm01 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 2	Re: Two monitors, tv-out and a couple of more fps for games... I got my left one working, and my right one turns off. How can I turn it on, now that it's not garbled? Here is my xorg.conf: Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "TwinView" Screen "TwinView" 0 0 InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer" InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard" EndSection Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "SingleView" Screen "SingleView" 0 0 InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer" InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard" EndSection Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "DVDMax-50" Screen "DVDMax-50" 0 0 InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer" InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard" EndSection Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "DVDMax-60" Screen "DVDMax-60" 0 0 InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer" InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard" EndSection Section "Files" # RgbPath is the location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the # file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally # no need to change the default. # Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together) # By default, Red Hat 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of # the X server to render fonts. RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb" FontPath "unix/:7100" EndSection Section "Module" Load "dbe" Load "extmod" Load "type1" Load "freetype" Load "glx" EndSection Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Keyboard0" Driver "keyboard" Option "XkbModel" "pc105" Option "XkbLayout" "us" EndSection Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Mouse0" Driver "mouse" Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2" Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice" Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5" Option "Emulate3Buttons" "yes" EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "ADI_GT56" VendorName "Monitor Vendor" ModelName "SyncMaster" DisplaySize 380 310 HorizSync 30.0 - 81.0 VertRefresh 56.0 - 85.0 Option "dpms" EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "TV" HorizSync 28.0 - 36.0 VertRefresh 43.0 - 65.0 # PAL resolutions. ModeLine "720x576_50" 27.5 720 744 800 880 576 581 583 625 ModeLine "720x576_60" 32.7 720 744 816 912 576 577 580 597 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "FX5600" Driver "nvidia" Option "NoLogo" "no" Option "DigitalVibrance" "30" Option "CursorShadow" "yes" Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "3" Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2" Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt" Option "SWCursor" "yes" Option "HWCursor" "no" Option "UseEdidFreqs" "true" Option "RenderAccel" "true" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "FX5600_TwinView" Driver "nvidia" Option "NoLogo" "no" Option "DigitalVibrance" "20" Option "TwinView" Option "SWCursor" "yes" Option "HWCursor" "no" Option "UseEdidFreqs" "true" Option "RenderAccel" "true" Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "31-70" Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "50-160" Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf" Option "Metamodes" "1152x864_89,1152x864; 1152x864_89,NULL; 1024x768,NULL; 800x600,NULL; 640x480,NULL" Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt,crt" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "FX5600_TV" Driver "nvidia" Option "NoLogo" "yes" Option "DigitalVibrance" "128" Option "CursorShadow" "yes" Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "3" Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "2" Option "TVOutFormat" "Composite" Option "TVStandard" "PAL-B" Option "ConnectedMonitor" "tv" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "TwinView" Device "FX5600_TwinView" Monitor "ADI_GT56" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "SingleView" Device "FX5600" Monitor "ADI_GT56" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1152x864_89" #Använder XRandX istället #"1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" EndSubSection EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "DVDMax-50" Device "FX5600_TV" Monitor "TV" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "720x576_50" "720x576_60" EndSubSection EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "DVDMax-60" Device "FX5600_TV" Monitor "TV" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "720x576_60" "720x576_50" EndSubSection EndSection

09-05-04, 12:14 PM	#6
realm01 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 2	Re: Two monitors, tv-out and a couple of more fps for games... Sorry for not being more detailed. When I first installed Fedora 2, the left screen worked fine, while the right one would only display garbage. Couldn't use it at all. I tried activating it through the Display properties, but that only made X crash. I installed the Nvidia drivers and used a config file from here, and managed to make a little progress. Now, my left monitor is still fine. However, the right monitor shows the Nvidia logo, than not only goes blank, but there is no signal (the monitor power LED flashes). I figure that's a bit better than seeing garbage on the screen, but I'd love to be able to use it! Any ideas?

09-04-04, 05:29 AM	#3
Botsinge Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4	Re: Two monitors, tv-out and a couple of more fps for games... No, I haven't seen any lockups. The only bug (I guess) is that my overlay fails to initialise (no video, just a blue screen) the first time it's invoked. It's quite irritating, but not more, I just have to restart the second X-server. What does your XFree86.1.log-file say? If it's of any help, here is my setup: Debian Sid Kernel 2.6.7 GeForce FX 5600, 6111-drivers, (4xAGP, with fast writes and SBA enabled)