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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:39 pm 
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Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:04 am
Posts: 173
Location: Canton, MI USA
First, let me say that the site that Jarod Wilson has for making MythTV work is excellent, and I would not have attempted this without having the knowledge that it was done by someone else successfully. Kudo's to all your hard work Jarod and your excellent write-ups.

What I will do here is to streamline what he has done for you out there that may have a similar configuration.

The goal is to quit using the SVIDEO OUT on my rig and instead send video to the Component (HDTV) IN on my set. I own a Sony KP-61HS10 rear projection that can handle either 480p or 1080i for HDTV signals. I also use my Myth box to browse the web from my family room, but the quality of the screen when at the X desktop looks terrible for browsing...it's just too fuzzy. By using the VGA port and correctly sending it to the Component in (Input 5 on this TV), the clarity is much better. Also, you get a bigger desktop.

Here is what I am using:

PC: Shuttle SN41G2B, using the on-board GForceMX class video.
TV: Sony KP-61HS10, input 5 component (1080i)

In order to correctly send the VGA output to the set, I need a VGA to Component converter. Here is the one that I bought that was described o Jarod's site (http://www.wilsonet.com):

Audio Authority 9A60

It's a bit pricey at nearly $110.00 at the time of this writing, but I can say that it worked for me.

Next, in order for this to work, you will need to tweak your /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file to look like this:

Quote:
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "XFree86 Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "PS/2 Mouse" "CorePointer"
# Serial Mouse not detected
# USB Mouse not detected
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowMouseOpenFail" "true"

EndSection

Section "Files"
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/PEX"
# Additional fonts: Locale, Gimp, TTF...
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/75dpi"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/latin2/100dpi"
# True type and type1 fonts are also handled via xftlib, see /etc/X11/XftConfig!
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/ttf/western"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/ttf/decoratives"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/openoffice"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-bitstream-vera"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/latex-ttf-fonts"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/defoma/CID"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/defoma/TrueType"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "ddc" # ddc probing of monitor
# Load "GLcore"
Load "dbe"
Load "v4l"
Load "extmod"
Load "glx"
Load "bitmap" # bitmap-fonts
Load "speedo"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "record"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"

EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Serial Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "PS/2 Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "auto"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "70"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "USB Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Buttons" "5"
EndSection

# Auto-generated by KNOPPIX mkxf86config

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Panasonic"
ModelName "47in HDTV via AA 9A60"
HorizSync 33.75
VertRefresh 59.94
#VertRefresh 60.0
Option "dpms" "true"
# My 960x540p mode
Modeline "960x540p" 37.26 960 976 1008 1104 540 542 548 563 +HSync +Vsync
# My 880x480in540p mode
Modeline "in540p" 37.26 880 944 1048 1104 480 506 520 563 +HSync +VSync
# My 1920x1080i mode
Modeline "1920x1080i" 74.52 1920 1952 2016 2208 1080 1084 1096 1126 -HSync -VSync Interlace
# My 1760x960in1080i mode
Modeline "in1080i" 74.52 1760 1888 2096 2208 960 1012 1028 1126 -HSync -VSync Interlace
EndSection

Section "Device"
### Available Driver options are:-
# sw_cursor is needed for some ati and radeon cards
Option "sw_cursor"
#Option "hw_cursor"
#Option "NoAccel"
#Option "ShowCache"
#Option "ShadowFB"
#Option "UseFBDev"
#Option "Rotate"
Identifier "Card0"
# The following line is auto-generated by KNOPPIX mkxf86config
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "All"
BoardName "All"
# BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultColorDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "960x540p" "in540p" "1920x1080i" "in1080i"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection


DISCLAIMER: Please be careful when you hook up your PC to your TV set. Although I got this to work the first time out without a problem, I keep reading where it is possible to damage your TV set with the wrong settings. If you get a weird picture or something that does not look right, disconnect your PC immediately to avoid damaging your TV set.


The above config works, but there needs to be a tweak to get the aspect ratio correct as circles look squished. I'll update it as soon as I figure this out.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:30 am 
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Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:09 pm
Posts: 71
Location: Mounds View, MN (burbs of MSP)
SnapperDragon,
I have close to the same setup I use a GeForce 440MX with an 9A60 hooked up to a sony KP46WT510. I have been having problems getting a 1080i modeline working after trying several times, so I tried the one you posted, but I still get a little vertical bounce up and down. I was wondering if you saw the same thing. My 480p and 540p modelines are rock steady.

As for Squishyness. I've never bee a big fan of slightly changing the resolution. If you change your resolution to something that isn't identical or a multpile of the stream your watching, you get aliasing. I actually get a better picture wattching using my 480p modeline than my 540p modeline. The real solution is to change the size in your TV's service menu. But without the Service manual trial and error can be fatal. I've been lucky so far, but I haven't been able to find the setttings just to change the input I'm on, not all of them.

I've also tried a DVI cable. I don't really understand the results though. On my TV it says that it doesn't accept DVI from a computer, but that turns out to be less than truthfull. It's just really overscanned. What I can't figure out is the VGA =normal mode when I boot up looks crystal clear, clearer than through the 9A60, but when it comes time to display through X11, all the modelines look blurrier. HMMMM...

_________________
FRONTEND 1 - R5A16, Athlon 3000+, NVidia Motherboard, SB live, GeForce 5200, AA 9A60
FRONTEND 2 - R5A16, Athlon 2500+, Nvidia Motherboard, SB Live, GeForce 440MX, TV-OUT
BACKEND - R5A16, Althon 1700+, Nvidia MB, 2- HD3000's, 450GB LVM partition


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:58 am 
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Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2004 10:08 am
Posts: 1637
Location: Virginia, USA
Quote:
I tried the one you posted, but I still get a little vertical bounce up and down. I was wondering if you saw the same thing. My 480p and 540p modelines are rock steady.


That's kind of the difference between interlaced modes and progressive modes. You'll see "bouncing" vertical lines with interlaced modes unless they're (a) thick enough, or (b) blurred.


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 10:03 am 
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Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:04 am
Posts: 173
Location: Canton, MI USA
I only tried this long enough to prove to myself that it would work. I have not tested this hard-core. However, except for the stretching, when I was at the desktop outside of the MythTV interface, it looked very solid for me. Not sure, but tweaking the modelines slightly may work, but I'm not really sure what you would need to change them to. There seemed to be some hints here:

http://www.wilsonet.com/mythtv/mythhd.php (you may have already looked at this info).


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 4:48 pm 
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Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:04 am
Posts: 173
Location: Canton, MI USA
I need to verify if I was, in fact, running an interlaced mode. From the looks of the config file, it seems like it, but it looked fine on my set.

Here is some info on the subject from another site:

Read this: http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/expertti ... guide.html

Here is a quote:


Quote:
Interlacing must be done for 960i and 1080i. However, interlacing is not good for computer text - this causes a lot of flickering! Also, most people prefer 480p or 540p when it comes to playing back DVD's on a HDTV set. Those who are lucky enough to have true 720p HDTV sets will prefer to use 720p for DVD playback.

Also, some GeForce cards do not do interlaced properly; they simply vibrate even scanlines up/down rather than interlace between both odd and even scanlines. This means you've lost half of vertical resolution, and the even scanlines are simply vertically pixel doubled. There should have been more vertical resolution during stationary computer desktop images (if the GeForce interlace was working properly). This may or may not be fixed in newer GeForce drivers or newer versions of PowerStrip. Currently, most people never try to do 960i or 1080i, especially for GeForce video card setups.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:13 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:09 pm
Posts: 71
Location: Mounds View, MN (burbs of MSP)
That's interesting. I remember running into Mark's tips a while ago, but forgot about the problems with the Geforce cards. That would seem to explain what is happening in my situation. Now does anybody know what cards the interlace out actually works properly with, or is it a case of the drivers?

I actually was about to upgrade my mx440 to a 5200 FX, in preparation for buying a pcHDTV-3000, but I'm going to have to poke into this issue more. I would like to get full 1080i resolution out of my box eventually (I know the 3000 isn't fully working yet, but I have faith it will be)

I keep reading about how 540p is the same as 1080i, but I don't buy it. I understand how if your tv is 1080i capable you can display 540p, but 1080i is just that 1080 scan lines and 540p is 540 -- you only have half the resolution. I want the other half. Yeah next TV is definitely going to be 1080p.

_________________
FRONTEND 1 - R5A16, Athlon 3000+, NVidia Motherboard, SB live, GeForce 5200, AA 9A60
FRONTEND 2 - R5A16, Athlon 2500+, Nvidia Motherboard, SB Live, GeForce 440MX, TV-OUT
BACKEND - R5A16, Althon 1700+, Nvidia MB, 2- HD3000's, 450GB LVM partition


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:34 pm 
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:38 am
Posts: 4978
Location: Nashville, TN
Well first thing what isn't working on the 3000? I haven't had any problems with mine.

Second the Nvidia is going to be as close as you can get to proper output for hdtv. The only tvout that I know that does interlace exactly right is pvr350, but it can't go to hdtv resolutions. nvidia can output interlace on the fx series cards. it's just that it's very difficult to get it's interlace output to match up exactly with the interlace of the recorded stream.

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Have a question search the forum and have a look at the KnoppMythWiki.

Xsecrets


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 1:40 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:09 pm
Posts: 71
Location: Mounds View, MN (burbs of MSP)
Quote:
The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set supports all standard VGA and
VESA modes, as well as most user-written custom mode lines; double-scan
modes are supported on all hardware. Interlaced modes are supported on
all GeForce FX/Quadro FX and newer GPUs, and certain older GPUs; the X
log file will contain a message "Interlaced video modes are supported
on this GPU" if interlaced modes are supported.

After re-reading the Nvidia Driver Readme, I found some information I missed. Since my Xfree log file doesn't contain the above line I bet my MX440 isn't a "certain older GPU" It seems that buying that 5200 fx is probably the right choice.

_________________
FRONTEND 1 - R5A16, Athlon 3000+, NVidia Motherboard, SB live, GeForce 5200, AA 9A60
FRONTEND 2 - R5A16, Athlon 2500+, Nvidia Motherboard, SB Live, GeForce 440MX, TV-OUT
BACKEND - R5A16, Althon 1700+, Nvidia MB, 2- HD3000's, 450GB LVM partition


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:42 pm 
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Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:04 am
Posts: 173
Location: Canton, MI USA
I ran my Chaintech 7nif2 board on my HDTV rear projector and it worked. This isn't my myth box, though, but I was able to set it using powerstrip as per some instructions. I set the resolution to 1440x540p, 60Hz vert, and 33.75KHZ horiz and it was rock steady.

However, I think I understand what you are saying...you want 1080 instead of 540 to have more vertical resolution. I think in this case, you will have to run true interlaced mode. I'm not sure what that will do to vertical lines, though. I'll have to give this a shot later and see what my results are. Normally, I think any interlacing makes thin lines dance around if they are stationary...I'm still reading up on this stuff, so excuse any glaring errors I made with any of my comments above :)


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