TV-OUT on Linux

guigouz · 08-13-03, 06:41 AM

Hi
I'm currently using a Toshiba laptop with a GeForce 4 420 Go card (16mb ram)
Everything works fine, except that when I'm using twinview to watch a dvd movie on my tv set, high action scenes don't get refreshed properly ... it seems to refresh 1/6 of the screen at a time or so, very strange.
After much work, I figured out the following:

- When not using twinview, everything's fine (with twinview image gets corrupted even on the LCD screen)
- If I start X with the TV plugged on, the LCD is disabled and there's no image corruption at all, unfortunatelly, the only way to turn the LCD back on is rebooting the machine

Have any of you had any of this problems ? I guess I'm getting close to fixing it, but would like to share experiences.

Thanks a lot

gui

joaorf · 08-13-03, 10:00 AM

Hi!

I also have a Toshiba laptop with a GeForce 4 420 Go card (16mb ram). I am on holidays and unfortunately I forgot to take the TV-Out cable with me so I cannot make experiments. I tested TV-Out shortly a couple of times just to check it was working, but I haven't made extensive tests. As soon as I get my TV-Out cable I will make some experiments with action scenes.

This may be a little off-topic but it may be useful for you to know about aKpi, a nice GUI for ACPI. Check the attached screenshot to see how it look like and what functions does it have.

The only program I cannot run with my GeForce4 420 Go is the demo of Return to the Castle Wolfenstein. Have you tried it, by the way?

guigouz · 08-15-03, 07:50 AM

akpi seems nice ... but evrytime I compiled ACPI support on 2.4.x kernels, much system cpu load was high, and the fan was always on (that didn't happen with 2.5.x kernels but they were way too unstable for working with), will try again with the new patches (maybe compile 2.4.22-pre). As I said before, tv out runs perfectly if it's the only monitor plugged in (lcd is disabled).
I haven't tried running return to castle wolfenstein on linux... are you using nvidia's drivers ?

joaorf · 08-15-03, 08:30 AM

I am using SuSE 8.2 which comes with all the ACPI patches available at the time of its release. Monitoring the battery status is very useful, as well as being able to change LCD brightness.

I am using the latest NVidia drivers. All OpenGL programs work fine, including games like Unreal Tournment 2003. But Return to the Castle Wolfenstein is the only one which doesn't. I have tried this game on other Linux system with the same drivers (but different NVidia model) and they work :-(
If you have broadband Internet connection, you may download the Wolfenstein Linux installer from:
http://www.3dgamers.com/dl/games/ret...b.x86.run.html
It's very quick to install.

Regarding TV-Out, I once configured NVidia drivers to display on the LCD and TV at the same time. And even movies were displayed on both screens (something that on Windows isn't possible). When I get the cables back, I will test it again and post here my config.

The only annoying thing about TV-Out is that when I have TV output only, the LCD screen is not black as it should be, but it shows strange color patterns and lines. Do you notice this?

mweissen · 08-16-03, 05:09 AM

a have the Toshiba Satellite 2430-402 with the Geforce4 440Go.
i tried hard to get a solution for this problem, but i guess there is no other solution than using only tv when watching movies.
i think the lcd is fixed to 60Hz while PAL requires 50Hz. that may be the reason that the pictrues flicker, most noticable in action-scenes or while panning.
it would be great if the driver could be synced to the 50Hz of the tv-out OR to the 60Hz of the lcd so that at least one of the two doesn't flicker. but i guess that the nvidia driver doesn't support this.

guigouz · 08-16-03, 04:48 PM

I managed to write a XF86Config that booted tv-only when a TV was connected and LCD if it was not... but I lost that (trying a dozen configurations) ... How is your box working ? Currently, I have to set ConnectedMonitor = "tv" when using tv ... if yours is working properly, can I have a copy of your xf86config ?

mweissen · 08-16-03, 05:54 PM

i have created a second XF86Config file for the tv-out mode. so when i want to use the tv-out i just copy it over and restart the x-server.
in some startscript (eg bootmisc.sh) i put a line that re-activates the "normal" config for the lcd screen.
i am attaching my tv-out activated XF86Config.

have you ever tried the nvtv tool? it should help to get rid of the black borders, but it does not seem to work with the 420 Go. maybe there is another solution?

guigouz · 08-17-03, 08:26 PM

I created another XF86config file too, the only problem is that when I quit the X server, the system hangs

To get rid of the blackborders, I use the "TVOverScan" property, setting its value to 0.6 ... You should test what works best for you (anything between 0 and 1)

I tried nvtv but it didn't work ... maybe with the "nv" drivers ... will try and tell you later.

08-13-03, 06:41 AM	#1
guigouz Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 8	TV-OUT on Linux Hi I'm currently using a Toshiba laptop with a GeForce 4 420 Go card (16mb ram) Everything works fine, except that when I'm using twinview to watch a dvd movie on my tv set, high action scenes don't get refreshed properly ... it seems to refresh 1/6 of the screen at a time or so, very strange. After much work, I figured out the following: - When not using twinview, everything's fine (with twinview image gets corrupted even on the LCD screen) - If I start X with the TV plugged on, the LCD is disabled and there's no image corruption at all, unfortunatelly, the only way to turn the LCD back on is rebooting the machine Have any of you had any of this problems ? I guess I'm getting close to fixing it, but would like to share experiences. Thanks a lot gui

08-13-03, 10:00 AM	#2
joaorf Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Portugal Posts: 12	Hi! I also have a Toshiba laptop with a GeForce 4 420 Go card (16mb ram). I am on holidays and unfortunately I forgot to take the TV-Out cable with me so I cannot make experiments. I tested TV-Out shortly a couple of times just to check it was working, but I haven't made extensive tests. As soon as I get my TV-Out cable I will make some experiments with action scenes. This may be a little off-topic but it may be useful for you to know about aKpi, a nice GUI for ACPI. Check the attached screenshot to see how it look like and what functions does it have. The only program I cannot run with my GeForce4 420 Go is the demo of Return to the Castle Wolfenstein. Have you tried it, by the way? Attached Thumbnails

08-16-03, 05:09 AM	#5
mweissen Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 8	i guess there is no other solution a have the Toshiba Satellite 2430-402 with the Geforce4 440Go. i tried hard to get a solution for this problem, but i guess there is no other solution than using only tv when watching movies. i think the lcd is fixed to 60Hz while PAL requires 50Hz. that may be the reason that the pictrues flicker, most noticable in action-scenes or while panning. it would be great if the driver could be synced to the 50Hz of the tv-out OR to the 60Hz of the lcd so that at least one of the two doesn't flicker. but i guess that the nvidia driver doesn't support this.

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08-15-03, 07:50 AM	#3
guigouz Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 8	akpi seems nice ... but evrytime I compiled ACPI support on 2.4.x kernels, much system cpu load was high, and the fan was always on (that didn't happen with 2.5.x kernels but they were way too unstable for working with), will try again with the new patches (maybe compile 2.4.22-pre). As I said before, tv out runs perfectly if it's the only monitor plugged in (lcd is disabled). I haven't tried running return to castle wolfenstein on linux... are you using nvidia's drivers ?

08-15-03, 08:30 AM	#4
joaorf Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Portugal Posts: 12	I am using SuSE 8.2 which comes with all the ACPI patches available at the time of its release. Monitoring the battery status is very useful, as well as being able to change LCD brightness. I am using the latest NVidia drivers. All OpenGL programs work fine, including games like Unreal Tournment 2003. But Return to the Castle Wolfenstein is the only one which doesn't. I have tried this game on other Linux system with the same drivers (but different NVidia model) and they work :-( If you have broadband Internet connection, you may download the Wolfenstein Linux installer from: http://www.3dgamers.com/dl/games/ret...b.x86.run.html It's very quick to install. Regarding TV-Out, I once configured NVidia drivers to display on the LCD and TV at the same time. And even movies were displayed on both screens (something that on Windows isn't possible). When I get the cables back, I will test it again and post here my config. The only annoying thing about TV-Out is that when I have TV output only, the LCD screen is not black as it should be, but it shows strange color patterns and lines. Do you notice this?

08-16-03, 04:48 PM	#6
guigouz Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 8	I managed to write a XF86Config that booted tv-only when a TV was connected and LCD if it was not... but I lost that (trying a dozen configurations) ... How is your box working ? Currently, I have to set ConnectedMonitor = "tv" when using tv ... if yours is working properly, can I have a copy of your xf86config ?

08-17-03, 08:26 PM	#8
guigouz Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 8	I created another XF86config file too, the only problem is that when I quit the X server, the system hangs To get rid of the blackborders, I use the "TVOverScan" property, setting its value to 0.6 ... You should test what works best for you (anything between 0 and 1) I tried nvtv but it didn't work ... maybe with the "nv" drivers ... will try and tell you later.