SVideo works fine, Component gives no video at all

[v1rtu0s1ty]

Originally Posted by philipl

You need to add the modeline like you did, but you must name the modeline "720x480" and then it should be able to validate correctly.

How come my modelines are named as 1920x1080_60i,1920x1080_72,1920x1080_72i and it works well. The only difference is that, my wire/cable is coming from VGA out from 6600GT towards HDTV's RGBHV(rca ports). This labels won't work anymore if I change the output to the proprietary svideo port.

Here are few custom modelines which I created and used before without issues:

Modeline "1920x1080_59i" 76.11 1920 1952 2240 2272 1080 1104 1110 1135 interlace
Modeline "1920x1080_60i" 77.60 1920 1952 2240 2272 1080 1104 1110 1135 interlace
Modeline "1920x1080_61i" 79.08 1920 1952 2248 2280 1080 1104 1110 1135 interlace
Modeline "1776x1000_60i" 65.91 1776 1808 2056 2088 1000 1023 1028 1051 interlace

In my current VGA-RGBHV setup(it works without issues), I have it listed as

Section "Screen"
Identifier "NVIDIA CRT"
Device "NVIDIA GeForce GT6600 CRT"
Monitor "Monitor CRT"

DefaultDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1920x1080_i"
EndSubsection
EndSection

However for the svideo component dongle output, from your advice below, I can try changing it to

Section "Screen"
Identifier "NVIDIA CRT"
Device "NVIDIA GeForce GT6600 CRT"
Monitor "Monitor CRT"

DefaultDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1920x1080"
EndSubsection
EndSection

I will keep you posted.

[philipl]

Modeline "720x4803" 26.72 720 736 808 896 480 481 484 497 -HSync +Vsync

If that's what you really have, then your problem is that you named the modeling "720x4803"...

[levander]

1.) I've still got my last test of what phil suggested up and running. With X already started, I plug an S-Video cable into the graphics card, leaving the Component cable plugged into the graphics card. I cycle through all the inputs on my monitor. The S-Video input is in color, the Component input is in black and white. My guess is that the video card is still sending out an S-Video formatted signal, which does display on a monitor connect to a component cable, but it displays in black and white.

2.) Page 25 of the manual for my video card, a Leadtek Winfast A6200 says that the 480i mode is displayed on the monitor, only over an S-Video or D-Connector (I think a D-Connector is either a D-Sub, or a DVI connector). When I put 'Option "TVOutFormat" "Component"', the modes that that page of the manual are supported by S-Video or Composite cables. This is another thing that makes me think that the nvidia driver (or the graphics card itself) is still in some mode that only sends S-Video or Composite modes out my graphics card.

I tried to copy and paste from the manual, but it's in PDF and there are some weirdness about copying from PDF. Here's a link to the manual if anyone wants to check page 25:

ftp://ftp.leadtek.com.tw/entertainme...ng_General.zip

3.) Here's a quote from osxdude on this thread in the Ubuntu Forums:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...a+tvout&page=6

My nVidia card came with one of those S-Video to Compsite adapters; you actually have to change a special setting to get color. It is inside the nVidia's Advanced display properities. (on the Windows platform.)

Jus' wanted to give my part.

Which says to me that the Windows driver is doing some switching between modes. This guy is talking about switching to Composite mode to get color, but it's not a far reach to say something similar could be happening in the whole nvidia driver/ graphics card chipset for Component mode.

That whole thread, they're bitching about cables. I'm kind of extrapolating from that conversation and thinking that if I wire my component cable kind of the way an s-video cable carries color, that I'll then get color.

I realize 3.) is pretty speculative, but it's backed up by 1.) and 2.). If I'm right, I really wish an nVidia developer would look at this post and include some setting in the next release of the nvidia driver so that people with video cards like mine can put their video cards in component mode. Or, at least some technically-oriented explanation of why it is too difficult to put it in the Linux driver - even though it's already in the Windows driver. Not just some explanation crying about lack of resources...

[levander]

Oh hell, I wrote all that stuff running my mouth before virtuosity and phil replied for me. I am going to try it now. Get a smoke first, then I'll try.

[levander]

Relevant parts of Xorg.conf:

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Television" # currently, the S-Video In port on the SyncMaster 215TW
	Modeline 	"720x480"  26.72  720 736 808 896  480 481 484 497  -HSync +Vsync
#	HorizSync	30-50
#	VertRefresh	60
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Television Screen"
	Device		"Television Device"
	Monitor		"Television"
	DefaultDepth	24
#	Option		"TVOutFormat" "COMPONENT"
	Option		"TVStandard" "HD480i"
	SubSection 	"Display"
		Depth		24
 		Modes		"720x480"
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Relevant part of Xorg.0.log:

(II) NVIDIA(1): --- Modes in ModePool for NVIDIA TV Encoder (TV-0) ---
(II) NVIDIA(1): "nvidia-auto-select" :  800 x  600 @  60.3 Hz  (from: NVIDIA Predefined)
(II) NVIDIA(1): --- End of ModePool for NVIDIA TV Encoder (TV-0): ---
(II) NVIDIA(1): 
(II) NVIDIA(1): Assigned Display Device: TV-0
(II) NVIDIA(1): Requested modes:
(II) NVIDIA(1):     "720x480"
(WW) NVIDIA(1): No valid modes for "720x480"; removing.
(WW) NVIDIA(1): 
(WW) NVIDIA(1): Unable to validate any modes; falling back to the default mode
(WW) NVIDIA(1):     "nvidia-auto-select".
(WW) NVIDIA(1): 
(II) NVIDIA(1): Validated modes:
(II) NVIDIA(1): MetaMode "nvidia-auto-select":
(II) NVIDIA(1):     Bounding Box: [0, 0, 800, 600]
(II) NVIDIA(1):     NVIDIA TV Encoder (TV-0): "nvidia-auto-select"
(II) NVIDIA(1):         Size          : 800 x 600
(II) NVIDIA(1):         Offset        : +0 +0
(II) NVIDIA(1):         Panning Domain: @ 800 x 600
(II) NVIDIA(1):         Position      : [0, 0, 800, 600]
(II) NVIDIA(1): Virtual screen size determined to be 800 x 600
(==) NVIDIA(1): DPI set to (75, 75); computed from built-in default

Output on the monitor, cycling through the monitor's inputs, is the same. Great looking display on the DVI Input, blurry but color on the S-Video input, blurry and black and white on the component input.

X does think it's in 800x600, according to nvidia-settings and the Ubuntu Screen Resolution Utility. The monitor, according to what's display on the screen when you hit its "info" button, says 720x480i.

I did recheck all this stuff for the new try.

I did have that 3 on the end of the Modeline name before, sorry.

New nvidia-bug-report.log attached.

[philipl]

Ok. You should increase your verbosity and find out why your 720x480 modeline is failing. Is it a proper NTSC (or almost NTSC) modeline?

[levander]

In the gdm.conf server-standard, I have this line in there since before I posted any of the nvidia-bug-report.log files in this thread:

command=/usr/bin/X -br -audit 0 -logverbose 10

All the arguments except the logverbose were in there before I edited that file.

Where I've printed out excerpts from Xorg.0.log, that is my effort to determine why 720x480 is not being used by the X server.

Not sure if you're aware, but the nvidia-bug-report.log includes the full contents of Xorg.0.log and xorg.conf.

[levander]

And, I have no idea how to determine if it's a proper NTSC modeline. Those modelines I post were generated via the command:

gtf 720 480 60

I ran that command from a terminal that was in black and white because it was running off the component cable.

I also ran that command, on the same physical monitor, on X screens that were hooked up to a D-SUB cable as well as on an Xscreen that was hooked up to a DVI cable. All three gave the exact same modeline.

Maybe they were all the same because they were all run on the same physical monitor? Even though each time gtf was run, the monitor was using a different type of cable that was plugged into the monitor. One time it was DVI, another time it was D-SUB, the third time it was a Component cable.

I hope those last three paragraphs make sense.

[levander]

I am googling NTSC modelines on Google. No one has said, this is a working NTSC modeline for 720x480, but if you kind of read the post, it implies that's what they're using the modeline for. Still looking until I find a definite.

Thanks for your help phil. I'm losing hope this is gonna work, but it is really nice someone who is obviously more knowledgable than me about this stuff is looking at it.

[levander]

Well, after Googling for quite awhile, I found two 720x480 modelines, which the web pages claim are NTSC valid. Here's the relevant parts of xorg.conf for the changes. Where I got the modes from are in the comments:

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Television" # currently, the S-Video In port on the SyncMaster 215TW
	Modeline 	"720x480gtf"  26.72  720 736 808 896  480 481 484 497  -HSync +Vsync
	# from the bottom of http://www.realh.ukfsn.org/tvhowto/ar01s08.html
	ModeLine 	"720x480ukfsn"  27.5  720 744 800 872  480 483 485 525 	
	# from https://scifi.homelinux.net/mediawiki/index.php/MythTV
	Mode "720x480"
		# D: 34.563 MHz, H: 37.244 kHz, V: 73.897 Hz
		DotClock 34.564
		HTimings 720 752 840 928
		VTimings 480 484 488 504
		Flags	"-HSync" "-VSync"
	EndMode
#	HorizSync	30-50
#	VertRefresh	60
EndSection

The stuff in Xorg.0.log is the same as it was last time.

Still black and white on the component input.

When I tried a modeline, I did change its name to 720x480.

[levander]

Maybe I'll look for more NTSC valid modelines tomorrow, when I'm not so tired.

[philipl]

Here is the one I've used.

Modeline "720x480" 12.59 720 752 792 824 480 491 494 505 interlace