[mythtv-users] overscan problems with nvidia 8400 GS

[Allen Edwards]

On Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 2:36 PM, Dale Pontius <DEPontius at edgehp.net> wrote:

> 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
>


I am not at my system so cannot check for sure but it is an agp system and
had some other issues with newer drivers so as I recall it was one of the 71
series, perhaps the one you reference above.  I think there is only one on
the nvidia site of that series.

Allen
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