Getting S-Video out working with X on an 8800GS
#1
I have an 8400GS that has an S-Video out. If I connect the card to my TV via an S-video cable without connecting the monitor at all, I can watch Linux (Arch-i686) boot on the TV. Problem for me is when I start X. The TV goes blank. If I plug in a CRT monitor, X is being displayed there rather than on the TV. I ran nvidia-xconfig to generate my /etc/X11/xorg.conf and I even tried messing around with it a bit (adding the tvout options) but still have nothing on the TV.

If I have the TV connected and I also connect a CRT monitor, I can get into X just fine. The nvidia-settings program doesn't detect my TV at all. Arch uses xorg-server v1.7.2 if that matters. I'm using the nvidia driver v190.42.

EDIT: I should say that if I switch out the 8400GS (PCI) for an older 6200 (AGP) everything just works without any modifications to the /etc/X11/xorg.conf at all!

Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 33.0
    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes "800x600"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Help is appreciated!
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#2
x cannot detect anything connected to svideo out, as there is no edid data to check.. you would have to fiddle with the "connectedmonitor" setting in your xorg.conf.. i

this is how i got it to work, so busid is not the same as yours, but you should get the point Smile also i have my 8400gs setup using twinview, so you might want to skip those parts.. the bold lines are the most important and will tell the nvidia driver to assume that a monitor is connected.. you will have to say which modes you want to display on the tvout, in my case pal-b(g)..

Code:
# ..
Section "Device"
    Identifier    "AddOn TwinView Graphics"
    Driver        "nvidia"
    VendorName    "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName    "GeForce 8400 GS"
    BusID        "PCI:2:0:0"

[b]    Option    "UseDisplayDevice"        "TV, DFP"
    Option    "metamodes"            "TV: 720x576, DFP: 1280x720_60"[/b]    Option    "CoolBits"            "1"

    Option    "TwinView"            "1"
    Option    "DynamicTwinView"        "1"
    Option    "TwinViewOrientation"        "TV Below DFP"
    Option    "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder"    "DFP, TV"
    Option    "NoTwinViewXineramaInfo"    "1"
EndSection

# ..

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "SVHS/Composite"
    Option         "TwinView"                   "0"
    Option         "DynamicTwinView"        "1"
[b]    Option         "TVStandard"            "PAL-B"
    Option         "TVOutFormat"        "SVIDEO"[/b]
    Option         "TVOverScan"                 "0"
[b]    Option         "metamodes"            "TV: 720x576"[/b]
EndSection

# ..

hope that helps Smile
Intel Core2 Q8200 - GigaByte GA-E7AUM-DSH2 - 8GiB DDR2 - Recom 8b - Hauppauge PVR150 - 2* Acer AL2216w - Philips 26" CRT - Sanyo PLV-Z5
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#3
for some reason i'm unable to edit the previous post (not the only forum that does not cooperate well with chromium Smile ), but i mentioned "connectedmonitor" where i should have said "usedisplaydevice".. also, the identifiers i used are most likely different from the ones you used in your own xorg.conf..
Intel Core2 Q8200 - GigaByte GA-E7AUM-DSH2 - 8GiB DDR2 - Recom 8b - Hauppauge PVR150 - 2* Acer AL2216w - Philips 26" CRT - Sanyo PLV-Z5
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#4
Thanks for the reply. I just switched out the 8400GS (PCI) for an older 6200 (AGP) everything just works without any modifications to the /etc/X11/xorg.conf at all! WTF?
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#5
If you want VDPAU back try the 185.18.14 drivers with this patch if you're using karmic.

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=224668
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#6
@dj - thanks for the post. No joy after following the advice. What I find maddening is that the AGP board works fine w/ the xorg.conf I posted, but the PCI card does not.
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#7
I also tried adding just these three lines:

Option "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO"
Option "TVStandard" "NTSC-M"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "TV"

But that too gave just a black screen.

I have x11vnc configured to run so it always runs when X is running (for this user). I can connect via vnc and I can see in nvidia-settings that TV-0 is detected and running @ 800x600, yet the TV itself is black as soon as X loads...Huh

I also don't see anything bad in my /var/log/Xorg.0.log

http://pastebin.com/f31176b9b
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#8
graysky I have exact same problem with my Sparkle PCI card, however this is not XBMC related issue so you may have no luck asking here, I suggest that you open the issue on ubuntu forum or google for solution elsewhere, I am currently away from home and have no chance to do any tests, if you find a solution please let me know
thx
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#9
Firstly thanks to all who replied. The problem isn't with X. The problem is the damn 8400GS! It's made by Sparkle and is model number: SFPC84GS512U2LP.

If you want a DVI out, it works fine. If you want S-Video out, you will be out of luck. I have two of these actually, and neither card's S-Video out works (the other one uses DVI out and I never tested the S-Video out). I think it might have something to do with the fact that the S-Video on this card is 9-pin (VIVO) but I don't know for sure. Other video boards have a 7-pin or 4-pin S-Video out. If you want to learn more about s-video flavors, see this wikipedia article on the subject.

I just purchased another brand of an 8400GS that has the 7-pin S-Video out and it just worked. I didn't need to tinker with the xorg.conf at all.

Here is the /etc/X11/xorg.conf that I used successfully with the new 8400GS that works for future reference:
Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 50.0
    VertRefresh    60.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes "800x600"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

I contacted Sparkle's tech support and here was their response:
Sparkle Tech Support Wrote:Thank you for contacting Sparkle, and we apologize for any confusion.

Unfortunately, our video cards have only been tested and approved Only under Microsoft Operating System by our company. So currently we do not provide support under Linux Operating System. All display outputs on the SFPC84GS512U2LP works automatically under Microsoft Windows, and is only approved to work on Microsoft Windows.

If you have further questions, please email us and we'll be more than happy
to assist you
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#10
F'ing junk Smile I got exact same card. First card that I ordered from newegg did not work at all and second one does not like my ubuntu setup. Great Smile
I guess dvi -> rgb will be used as output for sony CRT TV and server work I will do over nx-server.
thx for info

BTW,
Can you change the title of that thread to make it a warning about sparkle s-video performance?
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#11
*Ahem*

To reiterate, S-Video out WILL work on this garbage card if you use the 185.18.14 drivers, just nothing later. I'm throwing my 8400GS in the trash as soon as my HDTV shows up this week. Also the fan on the card has gotten extremely loud, so if you're going to be sticking with S-Video, I'd replace it for that reason alone.

Here's how to patch the 185.18.14 drivers to work on kernels newer than 2.6.28.
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=224668
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#12
Hold on guys, the card is fine performance wise. I have on outputting DVI--->HDMI and it's great. Only problem is that the 9-pin s-video doesn't work, but this is only an issue for SDTV's.
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#13
DDM123 Wrote:*Ahem*

To reiterate, S-Video out WILL work on this garbage card if you use the 185.18.14 drivers, just nothing later. I'm throwing my 8400GS in the trash as soon as my HDTV shows up this week. Also the fan on the card has gotten extremely loud, so if you're going to be sticking with S-Video, I'd replace it for that reason alone.

Here's how to patch the 185.18.14 drivers to work on kernels newer than 2.6.28.
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=224668

Nod
thank you, got it to work
I guess my earlier comment was too fast

still cannot setup proper resolution on TV, I see the background picture but can't see task bar, any tips?
thx
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#14
Hello

This might be in the wrong place but I thought it is related.

I am runnin xbmc live and I have a new ion netbook with hdmi out but i don't know how to get the hdmi port activated instead of the netbook display. Do any of you have any help for me with this?


This might be in the wrong place but I thought it is kind of related.

Thanks
John
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#15
uomiarz Wrote:Nod
thank you, got it to work
I guess my earlier comment was too fast

still cannot setup proper resolution on TV, I see the background picture but can't see task bar, any tips?
thx

You have overscan issues, which pretty much everybody has. Nvidia's overscan compensation is NOT in the 185.18.14 driver so you're stuck with Video Calibration in XBMC.

My HDTV is arriving tomorrow so goodbye 8400GS, overscan, and old drivers.
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