vga and new xboxfb.

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jungec
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vga and new xboxfb.

Post by jungec »

Shallax.

I got a x2vga adapter worked perfectly with pro and home 2.x now I just tried 3.0 and I get fuzzy screen as if linux we're displaying 480i rather than 480p. Please advise. wondering if we need a diff parameter cause I believe we had to set tv=vga in linuxboot.cfg in vesafb. :oops: please advise.
Terra
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Post by Terra »

I too am in the middle of installing Gentoox 3.0c with an x2vga adapter, and faced with the fuzzy screen.

In addition to getting the video back into 480p mode, since x2vga + 480i don't play nicely with each other, does anyone know how to set the Conexant chip to 720p for Gentoox? I think the new xbox video driver has support for Component Video resolutions (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i), but I'm not 100% for sure if it is fully implemented or not.

ShaLLax, do you have an x2vga adapter?

If not - would you like one as a donation? :wink:
(If you are using PAL, then it won't be much use to you since x2vga is NTSC only)

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ShALLaX
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Post by ShALLaX »

Edit linuxboot.cfg, change 800x600 to 640x480
The original Xbox adaptation of Gentoo
Terra
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Post by Terra »

Well, that did change the resolution from a fuzzy 800x600 to a still fuzzy 640x480. :shock:

The issue is that x2vga does not support interlaced (480i) output and requires it to be emitted in progressive (480p) mode.

With Gentoox 2.1, the following thread was a tremendous help, especially the post by:
detroit
Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 10:42 pm
viewtopic.php?t=57&highlight=vesafb

It would seem that the new xboxfb driver can be put into progressive mode, since there are HDTV defines in the Conexant types header file - but darned if I can figure out the correct settings on how to frob the Conexant chip to get it to switch to progressive mode. Not to mention the bt869 specs are a bit fuzzy in that area, e.g. NI_OUT.

What really bites is that one needs to be a rocket scientist to plow through all the video documentation/specs, with a lot of time just spent on learning/understanding the vast breadth of technology, terminology and lingo associated with NTSC, PAL, HDTV. I'm all for reading the source and generally figuring it out on ones own - but dang this video stuff is a bitch - and for every one thing I've figured out I get swamped with 10 more new things to figure out (and so on and so on).

Anyhow, I'm not yet ready to admit defeat and fallback to the 'detroit' trick of getting this x2vga adapter to work. I'll keep digging in deeper until I either blow up my monitor or eyeballs one.

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ShALLaX
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Post by ShALLaX »

It might be wise for you to get rid of the xboxfb driver and go back to rivafb. This is as simple as recompiling your kernel. Go to VGA console drivers > framebuffer, then deselect XboxFB and reenable rivafb... recompile, reinstall and youre done. :)
The original Xbox adaptation of Gentoo
detroit
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Post by detroit »

I recommend recompiling the kernel, but add vga text console support, and remove the xboxfb support. Do not add the rivafb support. Then edit local.start to prevent xbv from running. This tested out great for me on HOME 3c . I had trouble with the windows manager so I'll be going back to the tried and true ICEWM.
jungec
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Post by jungec »

for those that don't want to recompile adding the tv=vga tag worked well for me and disabling xbv. Only problems are screen is a bit magenta, whites appear as magenta. and xfree uses about 2/3 of the screen. I have been playing around a bit trying to figure the rest of it out. Shallax I think we should have -vga support in xbv. the place that got me close is http://unmodded.mine.nu/docs/VgaOutput. Think I am going to recompile any ways but my recompile has some errors any hints/tips?
Terra
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Post by Terra »

I think the best solution will be to get the Conexant chip to push out in 480p mode.

I have the Conexant register dumps for when it was in 480p mode, and now the 480i mode.

I am not sure how ShallaX would feel about posting up both dumps into this thread as they are a bit large. If he wants to keep the forum clean, I could post links to the files - though I really despise having information referenced by external links - and those URLs are later changed or the domain goes belly up. It nukes continuity.

Hopefully by frobbing the Conexant chip with xbv, we can get the output in a form that x2vga likes - namely 480p.

One more note, you can find the bt869 (Conexant compatible) specsheet here:
http://www2.lm-sensors.nu/~lm78/pdfs/bt869.pdf

Most likely I will mirror this file, since it has dropped like flies from all the old mirrors.

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jungec
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mirror of pdf

Post by jungec »

detroit
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Post by detroit »

the solution i've been using is to use two separate kernels. I put together a small bootloader to choose the kernel, one is for vga the other is for regular tv. the vga kernel produces good 480p using the compile method described in the earlier post.
Terra
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Post by Terra »

Grrrrr.

detroit, how are you able to get this to work with GentooX-3.0 using the method you did before?

I have found that the new 'gentoox.xbe' fries the video on startup by resetting the video. :evil:

I used the old GentooX-2.1 'gentoox.xbe' and it did not reset the video, however it also would not go beyond:
"Setup...done.Starting kernel..."

However I can see the video clear as day, up until 'gentoox.xbe' tries to start the kernel.

ShaLLaX, Is the source code for 'gentoox.xbe' available anywhere for download?

My initial thought is to setup the D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS structure for 480p, then call IDirect3D8::CreateDevice forcing the desired mode directly from 'gentoox.xbe'.

From what I can see with GentooX-2.1 and using detroit's method - it works by sheer nature that EvoX sets the initial mode to 480p. When gentoox.xbe starts, it reads the video settings and sets up the framebuffer correctly. During the startup is the video ever reset - this is why one must disable 'xbv' from executing.

In short, don't touch any video settings after EvoX has set 480p and it will work fine just like it did with GentooX-2.1 or force it directly during the execution of 'gentoox.xbe'.

If there is another way to get vesafb into 640x480x32 mode, instead of the default of 800x600x32 - this may be what is screwing the video up. I've tried adding vga=786 to the kernel boot line, but it has no effect. :(

Hope someone can chime in with valuable insight.

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Sniper Fox
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Post by Sniper Fox »

Would directFB work (once you got your drivers working, of course)

drectFB is an alternative to loading X http://www.directfb.org
Terra
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Post by Terra »

Please view:
viewtopic.php?t=422

Where I have a potential solution posted that needs testing/assistance.

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Last edited by Terra on Sat Nov 08, 2003 12:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
jungec
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Post by jungec »

:oops: I wish that link actually existed so I could fix mine. for now I am using pro without the updated kernel. The new kenel breaks stuff for me.
Terra
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Post by Terra »

The previous linked post was removed upon request in an effort to keep the discussion focused and on track.

I have reposted and adjusted the URL.

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