[MPlayer-users] VESA stopped working with Radeon.
Dan
ayahuasca at internode.on.net
Wed Jun 25 12:21:17 CEST 2003
TJ wrote:
<snipped>
> I'm becoming desperate, having lost TV-out totally on Linux :( It's so
> frustrating to boot to Windows, and I have only about 10% of the HDD
> dedicated to Win so I can't even keep a lot of video files there, either.
<snipped>
There are a number of alternatives for getting tv-out working still.
While some of them bite, here they are anyway:
1) Use the DirectFB driver.
Pros:
- Accelerated.
- Very easy to set up.
Cons:
- You have to pick the right versions of mplayer & directfb. For example
the latest version of each don't seem to work together. But the latest
mplayer with the previous directfb seem to work.
- The directfb driver is a little more flakey than the vesa driver -
audio sync doesn't seem to be as good, and it sometimes screws up the
terminal I'm using.
2) Use the XDirectFB server.
Pros:
- You get a GUI! Not such a big deal for me, but my girlfriend
appreciates it.
- Relatively easy to set up.
Cons:
- No acceleration. You need a VERY fast computer, and even then, it
isn't so good.
3) Use the atitvout utility under X.
Pros:
- You get a GUI.
- Accelerated.
Cons:
- Only works with XFree86-4.2.x, and then under _very_ special
circumstances. See the Gatos mailing list for details ...
4) Use the 'devel' branch of the ati.2 driver to provide tv-out support.
Pros:
- Accelerated.
- GUI.
Cons:
- A complete bitch to set up. Probably won't compile with any recent
version of X.
- Against the law in the US and other countries with idiotic legal systems.
5) Trick your Radeon into leaving tv-out activated when entering X.
Pros:
- Accelerated.
- GUI
Cons:
- Very time consuming and annoying to set up. See the Gatos mailing
list for details. Others swear it works. I haven't tested, but believe
them ...
In conclusion, there are plently of alternatives for when the vesa
driver doesn't work.
Personally I use the DirectFB driver. It _seems_ to be faster than the
vesa driver to me. And it 'just works' - as long as you don't use a
version of DirectFB which is incompatible.
Hope this helps someone!
Dan
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