ATI rage128 tv-out on mdk 9.0 [WAS: Re: [MPlayer-users] Re: RH8: Can't Use VESA, Even As Root]

[Dan8827]

On Thu, 2003-02-13 at 09:41, Jaanek Oja wrote:

> [Automatic answer: RTFM (read DOCS, FAQ), also read DOCS/bugreports.html]
> Hi Dan,
> 
> What I have done is that I have connected the ATI RCA (composite) out 
> with my TV antenna input (not Video in with RCA plug) with tv antenna 
> cable. Or should I connect into Video in (RCA plug on TV side)? But if I 
> do that then I cannot see a thing, also no motion anymore that was if 
> connected ATI RCA out with TV antenna in. Maybe someone can comment 
> whether this is right way to connect card with PC? I assume the correct 
> way is connect ATI RCA out with TV Video in (RCA plug) but as I said I 
> cannot see nothing if connected so. P.S. I can see video via VCR.

Well, if you're connecting the computer in a similar way to how you're
connecting the VCR, that should eliminate a few sources of error (wrong
channel, wrong port on TV, etc.)  You should be connecting from the
TV-out on the video card to a TV-in on the TV.  I've used both an RCA
cable and an S-video cable.  Again, if what works with the VCR does not
work with the computer, then it's probably not related to how you're
making the connections.

Double check the connections.  Even when you know exactly what you
should do, it's easy to plug the cable into the wrong port, then go
crazy troubleshooting everything else.

> Dan, you said that you can see text messages on TV screen as your PC 
> boots? I cannot see anything if my system boots, I see the above 
> mentioned motion after I execute the above mplayer command. Before that 
> there is only a rustle on my TV screen & also after the mplayer command 
> finishes.
> I seems you have installed some kind of video driver that can activate 
> also Video out in boot time?

During boot up, I believe the computer is outputting a VESA signal. 
(I'm sure others on this list can confirm/deny this assumption.)  With
the video card receiving this signal, and connected to the TV, it passes
the signal right to the TV.  There are no special drivers loaded yet; in
fact, the OS isn't even loaded yet - I can see the messages that the
BIOS prints before it gets to LILO or GRUB.  Once Redhat starts to boot,
I get some more text messages (don't know what a Mandrake boot looks
like...)  Towards the end of the boot process, X starts.  Here it's very
easy to lose the tv signal, which is why you have to do one of the three
things I mentioned in my previous note.  Not doing one of these (for me
at least) crashes the display, both to the TV and monitor.

Short story - you can configure X and/or mplayer to output a VESA
signal, but if you're not getting any output earlier in the boot
process, that might mean problems elsewhere.

Also keep in mind that some (including myself) have been having trouble
getting mplayer's vesa driver to work with on newer Linux distros. 
Francisco León seems to have determined the cause to be an
incompatibility between the mplayer vesa code and newer versions of
glibc.  (I think, but most of that discussion was a bit over my
head....)

Any chance of that incompatibility being patched?  I literally have no
idea how much work that involves, so I don't know if I'm asking for a
big or small favor.  :)  

--
Damian
Increasing The Entropy Of The Universe Since 1972