[mythtv-users] overscan problems with nvidia 8400 GS

[Dale Pontius]

Allen Edwards wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 5:00 AM, Dale Pontius <DEPontius at edgehp.net> wrote:
> 
>> Allen Edwards wrote:
>>> On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 7:59 PM, <jarpublic at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:49 PM, Allen Edwards <
>> allen.p.edwards at gmail.com
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>  noticed no difference between 0.0 and
>>>>>> 1.0 on the overscan setting in xorg.conf.
>>>>> For sure the xorg.conf TVOverScan will not work.  It has not worked for
>>>>> many months.  Although it is still in the documentation at Nvidia, I
>> was
>>>>> told July that it was "depreciated".
>>>>>
>>>>> Please, try this from the command line:
>>>>> nvidia-settings -1 TVOverScan[*TV*-0]=20
>>>>>
>>>> This gives a syntax error. I think you mean :
>>>> nvidia-settings -a TVOverScan[*TV*-0]=20
>>>>
>>>> but that still has no effect for me. Are you using an 8400 GS and if so
>>>> what driver are you running?
>>>>
>>> You are correct in what I  should have said.  I am not using a 8400GS
>>> although I have one in my windows machine.  I have a 6200.
>>>
>>> I wish I could remember what happened the last time I changed my system
>>> because I was sure that TVOverScan quit working. I remember calling my
>> son,
>>> who is the one who made the last set of changes, but he claimed to have
>> done
>>> nothing.  I think it started working after a reboot or perhaps after I
>> got
>>> something else fixed, I don't remember sorry.  At this point, if it were
>> me,
>>> I would put that command just before the exit 0 in  /etc/gdm/Init/Default
>>> and reboot.  If that didn't work, they you clearly have a board specific
>>> issue or another Nvidia update issue.  My Nvidia driver is 173.14.12 so
>> if
>>
>> Well that tears it. It appears that you can have proper overscan OR you
>> can have vdpau, but not both.  I recently set up a new laptop for work,
>> and found that I had to stick with the 173-series nVidia drivers -
>> there's a nasty timeout with the later ones.
>>
>> So if proper overscan requires 173.x and vdpau requires >180...
>>
>>> you have a later one, perhaps you can try that one.  Otherwise, it would
>>> have to be the board.  If it still doesn't work, let me know and I will
>> go
>>> down and play with my system and at least come up with a definitive test.
>> I need to get my Mythbox out of the basement and hooked to the TV, so I
>> can start working with this.
>>
>> Dale Pontius
>>
> 
> As part of my experiments when setting up the dual monitor system I did
> experiment with the settings in myth for screen size and you can make the
> screen smaller and thus no overscan using that.  It didn't work for me
> because I have two screens with different sizes that are display 1 but it
> may work for others. Of course, when you use firefox to watch Hulu you have
> a problem.  If the myth browser would do flash that could be solved there.
> 
> That said, is it possible to fake out the screen size with a mode statement
> and reduce the screen that way?  Another idea is to run X inside a virtual
> screen that is adjustable.  Perhaps that could be part of the release.  Is
> that possible, I don't know.
> 
What level of nvidia-drivers are you using?

Yesterday I borrowed the extra cabling, and brought the new Myth
frontend upstairs and connected using component video at 480i.  Aside
from the terrible overscan, the picture is great.

I'm running Gentoo, and "stable" is nvidia-drivers-177.82 on x86, amd64.
 I seemed to remember hearing somewhere that things got dicey past 173,
so I just masked that system and am running nvidia-drivers-173.14.15 on
it now.

Using nvidia-settings I can't change the overscan.  Moreover, it won't
even query any sort of overscan setting, even though it gracefully
accepts your suggested commands.

I haven't yet tried working with the modelines, though I go to the sites
you suggested, and have one to try.  At the moment I'm more concerned
about getting the modeline into the right section in xorg.conf.
Thinking of this, the ongoing "simplification" of xorg.conf scares me,
because I fear it's taking away my ability to MAKE it work, when it
doesn't "just work", as is happening now.

At the moment I can get back to nvidia-drivers-71.86.06 with several
levels in between.  What level are you running?

Dale Pontius