[infraction]

[LIVE] All Who Read This,

I am an XBMC Noob pure and simple, though I am not a newbie to Ubuntu. Here are some important facts up front:

- My box is running an Intel Core 2 2.2 GHz
- I have an ATI Radeon 3450 Video Card
- I have XBMC LIVE 9.11 installed -- NOT running from CD


THE PROBLEM:

XBMC works very well on this configuration, save one thing. All video, regardless of file format, is displayed in Black and White. Still photos, the Confluence skin I'm using, audio visualizations all display in vivid color. Video of any kind does not (avi mpeg vob you name it), and I desperately need help.


WHAT I DO NOT KNOW...

- what the underlying version of Ubuntu is that I have here.
- what version of ATI driver I have.


SO WHAT AM I ASKING FOR??

- I need to understand why only video is misbehaving in this configuration.
- I need to understand how to update the underlying Ubuntu OS with the latest necessary software.
- I need to understand how to update to the latest video card driver (ATI).


Any and all insight and information is appreciated. I'm sure there are many out there that have the experience. PLEASE HELP.

Many thanks,
infraction

[tomolac]

you need to go to the xbmc start screen, go to the shutdown menu and select the X (should say 'exit xbmc').
this should bring up a login prompt, enter in the login details you either entered when installing or the default (which I think is user 'xbmc' and pass 'xbmc').
then type
uname -a
to get your linux version, then run
sudo apt-get update
you'll need to wait for it to finish, then
sudo apt-get upgrade
you may also need to run
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
if it says that there were some not upgraded, now depending on your linux version, you may just need to run
sudo apt-get install envyng envyng-core
then
sudo envyng -t
however envy doesn't work on the latest lucid release and I don't have an ati card so I don't know the procedure for that driver I'm afraid, but hopefully this should help you a bit.

[voyager2]

Just get yourself a nvidia 9300 or better and save yourself al lot of trouble. Works out of the box, cheap, good vdpau support, etc etc

[wyild1]

Just get yourself a nvidia 9300 or better and save yourself al lot of trouble. Works out of the box, cheap, good vdpau support, etc etc

Really? A guys asks whats the problem and you say go get new hardware? Maybe you should help troubleshoot his problem first before just saying to go buy something new...just a thought..

Is it only XBMC that plays videos with no colour? Does mplayer or xine play the videos in colour? Least then you can narrow it down to an XBMC issue or a unbuntu/hardware issue.

What is your box connected to (as in TV or Monitor, SVIDEO or HDMI..etc). I have had issues trying to SVideo and only got black and white

tomolac is correct, make sure you have the updated driver. envyng is an app for ubuntu which will install the correct ATI approved drivers for you. That is a good place to start

Cheers!

[vikjon0]

As already mentioned envy is not maintained anymore.
Probably best to download the correct driver from the spplier and install manually.

check ubuntu forum or supplier homepage for instructions.

[infraction]

Many thanks to all who have replied!

I have installed Lucid with XBMC on top of it. The B/W problem went away, but really bad mouse control in XBMC replaced that problem. I went from using the open source video driver to the proprietary ATI driver, and the mouse problem went away but the B/W problem reappeared.

This seems to be strictly a XBMC problem. Mplayer plays in color just fine. I am connected to a monitor via DVI, which is exactly how I intend to connect to my television (someday, maybe). Perhaps I don't understand how to configure Video playback in XBMC. I'd be curious to hear some comments on that subject. Maybe someone could post their Video Playback settings from the XBMC Settings section.....that just might to the trick.

Or perhaps voyager2 is correct and I just need to get a decent nVid card. Using envy is not an option at this point, and I don't think it would help me with an ATI card anyway.

All of your responses have been greatly appreciated, and I thank you all for being kind in your writings....not condescending.

Happy Viewing,
infraction

[infraction]

Final solution..........

Turns out voyager2 was correct. I got a cheap nVidia 9500 card, installed it, installed the proprietary driver into Ubuntu Lucid, and all of my woes were gone. XBMC just doesn't play nice with ATI hardware, apparently.

Again, thanks to all that responded to my post. In the end, you all educated me to one degree or another, and my difficulties have been put to rest.

Many thanks,
infraction

[pix2]

That solution doesn't really work for me. This is a gaming machine and I've recently upgraded from a hd4870 to a hd5870. On my 4870, xbmc would refuse to start, I'd get a black screen with a mouse cursor. With the 5870, xbmc is working fine but all video is in black and white, I'm still searching for a solution. (Haha, it's 2010 and I can't play colour video on a $500 video card!)

I'm a student, I have a dual boot setup (windows and Ubuntu) Ubuntu is the default OS, work/movies/media, where I boot to windows to play the odd game. The computer lives in my room and I have a remote to use with xbmc, when I watch movies from my bed with the other half, it's really handy being able to shut it all down with a remote. I do have a 6600gt sitting on my desk here, but I don't fancy switching video cards everytime I wish to watch a movie/use linux.

So in short, I'll continue to look for a solution - shall I find one, I hope I remember to post here

[poofyhairguy]

Really? A guys asks whats the problem and you say go get new hardware? Maybe you should help troubleshoot his problem first before just saying to go buy something new...just a thought..

Maybe because that is the best advice to give?

Maybe because the real problems are issues with the ATI driver in the Xserver that few people around here are qualified to troubleshoot?

Maybe because anyone with a history with the Xserver knows that Nvidia's offering in this area are FAR superior to anything ATI has?

Maybe because VAAPI support was JUST added to XBMC, while VDPAU support has been hammered out over more than a year?

Maybe because

USE NVIDIA STUFF WITH XBMC LIVE

is one of the most commonly given pieces of advice on the forum?

In my opinion, the first piece of advice should be "get an Nvidia card." Saves a lot of headache.

ATI+ Linux has always been junk. I love that they opened their documents for the development of open drivers, but that does nothing to help the XBMC crowd. Truth be told of the 20 smartest Xorg hackers in the world, at least a third work for Nvidia, and at least one has made perfect VDPAU support his goal in life. ATI has nothing like that....

[Locutusweb]

poofyhairguy, thanks for your explanation. After 2 weeks of fighting with my ATI 3870 (noisy fan, no s-video) I am dropping ATI and I will buy me tomorrow a GF9500GT.